Shallow and Boring

If it's not shallow, then it's boring. Sometimes it's both. A lot of churches are attractive because they are full of action and surprises. They have this and that ministry, they are seen showing social concern in the marketplace, they travel a lot for missions, they easily plant new churches, the works. Yet, they're shallow. You never hear them talk of God's awesome presence or visitations.

In fact, they prefer using expired medicine for their medical missions instead of rely on God's supernatural healing. Well, not all of them.

When they gather casually, they just talk about their ministries and the things they do and are good at, and the things they receive recognition for. Yes, they often talk about "ministry" but it's really just about themselves. You never hear them talk about how God moved in their lives supernaturally, or marvel at God in Scriptures, especially his supernatural works. In fact, they often mock at anything supernatural of God. They're shallow, though they can point out verses to defend their cause and preach the Word intellectually.

What matters to them is their accomplishments in ministry. They belittle supernatural and awesome encounters with God face-to-face and say things like that are obsolete and do not produce anything in ministry. What matters is what grows churches in practical and measurable ways, they insist. "Let's talk about what is real," they'd add. The supernatural and awesome move of God is close to nonsense to them, if not nonsense per se. Yes, they produce, but they're shallow.

Genuine Men of God

I love listening to real men of God who often encounter God in supernatural, awesome ways. I note that such men are often characterized by meekness, selflessness, patience, kindness, gentleness, quietude, and genuinely God-centered. They seldom talk about themselves or their accomplishments. They are often interested about you when they're not talking about God.

Well, there are fakes, of course, pretending to be deeply spiritual. But you can easily see through them if you're deep in the Holy Spirit and in God's spoken Word.

Genuine men of God have regular church ministries--they have compassion for lost souls but they do everything the way Jesus did things. They listen to the Father and not just do what they like to do. They're plain-looking and live simple lives, yet they are far from being shallow. They can talk about God deeply and tour you to God's Throne Room and chambers and courtyards. They can catch God's scent and know if he passed this or that way. And you can tell the veracity of their God-sensitivity by the fruit of their lives--their Jesus character. Jesus said you will know them by their fruit.

You won't catch them bragging about self-centered stories with arrogant "successful" people. If they find themselves trapped in such conversation, they just quietly listen and smile and nod at the super stories of conceited people about themselves. You'd sometimes see a slight discomfort on their faces when the self-centered talk goes too prolonged and pronounced, and you'd see how they'd wish they were some place else where only God is honored. Some people are just full of themselves, using God and his work to gain more glory for themselves.

Two Kinds of Christian Churches

So you'd see two kinds of Christian churches today--the shallow and the boring. To the "Shallow" also belongs churches that just want to make noise "for the Lord." They do this to attract more people, especially the young. All they want to do is make music to the Lord and sing for him. When they gather casually, all they talk about is music and musical instruments and this concert and that singer. Sometimes, they sing casually to blend their voices. Oh, how they love singing (and probably they love to sing for the Lord, too), but they're boring nonetheless. 

In reality, they don't know much about God, and what they do know is just a figment of their imagination, their own concepts of who God is. There's no depth in the spoken Word. There's no real, supernatural, awesome encounter with God's spoken Word which comes direct from his own mouth. All they know is how to sing and blend their voices and their musical instruments. These kinds of Christian churches are shallow and boring. They have a lot of activities and make a lot of noise, but they have nothing, really. Without the awesome, supernatural spoken WORD and presence of God (the WORD is Jesus), you have nothing.

Then there are the boring churches. These are church people who remain in their church to grow old and die someday. They take part in activities (because that's spirituality to them), and they support the ministry and the pastor. But if you listen to them--really listen to them--there's no real depth in the spoken Word of God. They're actually empty and miserable, though they have a vague feel of "joy serving the Lord." But it's nothing but the same "joy" people feel when they are active being part of Lion's Club or Kiwanis or the Rotary. They feel happy and content to have themselves used for something beneficial. But it's not the joy from the Holy Spirit.

Genuine joy from the Spirit of God comes when you experience his awesome, supernatural presence through God's spoken Word. There is no other way you can enjoy God authentically except through his holy and supernatural ways and Word alone.

Thus, when you are with these kinds of Christian churches--yes they have the Word, they teach and preach it, but it's all boring because they have no real LIFE and power. Often it's also because they're shallow. You sit there and listen to the preaching but get nothing. You may get carried away by the solemnity of it all and be good for a while, but it's only for a little while. No real permanent and radical change in Christ. Yeah, the Word of God is powerful and it always brings something beneficial to you. But Paul said the Word can also kill you if you just hear the letter of the Word. The Letter kills, he said, but the Spirit brings life. Some churches and preachers can give you nothing else but the Letter of the Word--all information.

When you are God's flesh on earth, you look for nothing less than real Manna from heaven. And that Manna is awesome and supernatural. It cannot be produced by intellectual study and preaching of the Word. It cannot be through human theology. It comes only straight from God's own mouth. God's flesh can be fed only by that Manna--Jesus who comes straight from heaven. Jesus, the very flesh of the Father. God's flesh cannot be fed by artificial food and synthetics. It will spew out anything of man, not because of ill-will or hatred or insult, but because of their God-nature. A genuine God's flesh on earth will scour the whole earth, desperately seek even the ends of the earth, just to get fresh Manna from heaven, the spoken Word, who is Jesus Christ.

Shallow and boring and dead tired of being like that all your Christian life? Tired of man and his church activity and ministries? You need God's supernatural and awesome presence--and his spiritual activities. Get out of all the kinds of Christian churches around you which are man-made. You need to be God's flesh on earth.

Well, it's a lot worse if you're not yet dead tired of men's churches..