This morning I was thinking about the local church and Alcoholics Anonymous. (I am not sure why. I don’t ask questions. I just let the thoughts come as they please.) I decided to check out their website and here is what I found:
Alcoholics Anonymous® is a fellowship of men and women who share
their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their
common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement
for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA
membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. AA is not
allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does
not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes.
Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve
sobriety.
This statement caused me to ask a few
questions about the local church.
What if the local church started operating
like an AA group?
What if we set aside our differences
and focused on our similarities?
What if the local church was open
about our common problem?
Here is what it would look like:
The local church is a fellowship of men and women who share their
experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common
problem and help others to recover from their sinful nature. The only
requirement for membership is a desire for holiness. There are no dues or fees
for local church membership; we are self-supporting through our own
contributions. The local church’s only association is with Jesus Christ. Our
primary purpose is to remain holy and help other sinners achieve a state holiness.
I mean, just think about it this way
>>> If you were to enter an AA meeting, you would find people who had
their last drink 30 minutes before the meeting, people who had their last drink
30 years ago, and everyone in between. The only requirement for membership is
to be an alcoholic and to have a desire for sobriety.
This should be our starting point. Inside
the walls of the local church you will find people who are just starting to struggle
with their sin nature, people who have struggled with it for years, and
everyone in between. The only requirement for membership is to be a sinner and
have a desire for holiness.
Maybe the church needs to begin each
service with each member standing before the congregation and saying, “Hi, my
name is Marc Grimes and I am a sinner who desires to become holy.”
Grace & Peace, Marc
