Following Jesus

In the bible, Paul tells the church in Corinth that they can just follow him since he is following the Christ (Jesus). I can see where that makes some sense back in the day. The Corinthian church didn't have the bible to teach them what Jesus taught, only the few people that taught what Jesus had proclaimed.
That's not the case today.
If you want to follow Jesus, you don't have to (and probably shouldn't) follow a person that claims to be following Jesus. In bible-speak we would call that idolatry. 

I mention this today because I see a lot of that type of idolatry within the church in the US these days. Honestly, it's always been there. 
Pastors know that oftentimes they are idolized by their congregations and do little to discourage it. Perhaps they secretly enjoy that kind of admiration.

Back when I was doing pulpit supply (filling in for pastors) I would often find myself preaching at churches where only a few people knew that the pastor would be gone. Pastors figured that if they weren't going to be there, the people would also take the week off from church. Perhaps the great tragedy from that is that if the people don't show up, neither does their money.

I get it. 
We get used to how a particular person teaches and preaches and that is what we want to hear. But we need to ask ourselves -- Are we going to church to worship God or for some other reason like worshiping the pastor or being with certain people? 
In my own mind, those alternative reasons are okay as long as we are honest about it. I don't think The Venues calls their Sunday morning gathering a worship service, maybe just a service -- probably some kind of church-y language to let non-Venues people know this is when they meet. When I do actually attend on Sundays (which isn't very often), I can honestly say it doesn't feel like I've been to church -- at least not in the way that going to church once felt like. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not. I am sure that it works for a lot of people -- especially for people that have been hurt by churches and church people.

My following Jesus today looks much different than it did when I was trying to convince others to follow Jesus. Today I follow Jesus because I believe it is a better way to live rather than a better way to die. I see being a Christian as embracing the Christ-spirit within me, within others, and within the world around me on a moment by moment basis rather than waiting to die to be in His presence.
I don't go to church to sense the presence of God.
I sit here on my deck, surrounded by plants, looking out at the field and the trees beyond it.
I breathe deeply.
I hear the nearby bluebirds and sparrows, and the distant crows.
And I sense the presence of the Creator.
This is my church.
This is where I connect with God.
From here, I follow Jesus and his teachings.

I know it is not a theologically sound way of Christianity, but I'm only sharing it as my own. There isn't enough room on my deck for very many others so you will need to find your own way to connect to God. And if you are interested in learning what Jesus taught, I'd recommend starting with the beatitudes from The Sermon on the Mount. You can find them here.

John