Christian Carnival CXIV

This week's Christian Carnival is up at all kinds of time.

Ed at Attention Span does a bang-up job of nailing "the club mentality." I see this as one of the principle sins of my own local church. There are definitely clubs within in, resisting the work of the Spirit, as Ed identifies:

I've spent far too much time shaking my head at the actions of church members. I've heard far too many stories of the most unchristian responses from supposedly Christian individuals. Certainly we're all sinners and can't be expected to behave as we should every time, but often that is simply an excuse for not seeking to do as Christ has taught. It's a cop out. And I see it done primarily in those people who view their church as a club.

What do I mean by that? I mean those churches who guard their traditions and their people from all who might change something and have little regard for others outside of their own sanctuary. A church where one must be an accepted part of the group or else face virtual shunning. I'm sure you know about them. I could show you a small church where the pastor would bring visitors on Sunday only to have them virtually ignored for the better part of two hours by the spiritually negligent. Why were these folks ignored? They were different. They wouldn't fit in. They're not "one of us" -- meaning they aren't going to be allowed to become "one of us" at any cost.

Monk