“I Don’t do Organized Religion”

Have you ever heard that phrase or something similar? I have. In fact, lately it seems that whenever I try witness to certain people, that’s the phrase of choice. It’s almost like a defense mechanism. As soon as their radar picks up on the fact that I’m trying to turn the conversation into a direction they don’t want it to go, “I don’t do organized religion,” flies from their lips. Up until now, it was such a shock that I hadn’t come up with a good response. Of course, if I wish to ever actually have a meaningful conversation about God we these people, that has to change.

So here I am, on a mission to come up with the perfect throw back. Now some people have a knack for knowing what to say and when to say it. Take my son for example; he’s always got a comeback for everything. I, on the other hand, usually think of what I should have said long after the conversation has passed – days if not weeks later – as is the case in this instance. At least I have arrived at a response, late that it is; I shall be ready for the next time.

So by now, you’re probably wondering, “So, what is your secret weapon?” Simple, “Good, neither does Jesus!”

Now, your first reaction may be one of surprise, or maybe you had already figured that out before you even read the title. Either way, it’s true. He (Jesus) doesn’t do organized religion. In fact, he continually warned people against getting “caught up in religious actions.” The very people that opposed him the most and were instrumental in getting him hung on the cross were considered the religious experts of the day. They continually tried to “trap” him with words and deeds. Yet, every time He responded with love and taught that their relationship with God was the important thing.

Of course, Jesus does want us to gather together in prayer and worship, encouraging and teaching one another. It’s the other stuff that has the possibility of getting in the way. No, the stuff in and of itself isn’t bad. It’s just when we let those things become our idea of worship or hinder our own or other’s worship.

Personality. That’s what determines most of our thinking about church services. We each have ideas of the way the administrative things should be handled. We have our own ideas of what the service should look like. We even have opinions about the style of preaching we expect to hear. But frankly, none of that really matters to God. He only asks that we have a personal relationship with him. Prayer and worship are a natural outpouring from our spirits as a result of that relationship. We gather together to encourage one another and teach/mentor one another. That’s it, pure and simple. Stand, sit, kneel, raise hands, pass the communion trays, dress up, dress down, Sunday, Saturday, Wednesday, fancy building, someone’s house, outside, inside – all of that comes down to personality and preference.

That being said, I’d like to thank my youth pastor for instilling in us (my youth group) the core of what I believe worship is. You see, worship happens every minute of every day, 24/7/365, as the saying goes. Unfortunately, our worship isn’t always focused on Jesus. However, the more someone is “in tune” with God, the more their focus is on Him. You don’t have to be in a fancy building or in a special service to pray and worship God. You can have a conversation with Him in the car, at your computer, while playing or working – anywhere, anytime. This idea of prayer and worship being a conversation was introduced to me through our weekly youth group meetings.

Now, the funny part is that the first high school youth group meetings I attended were over the summer between my 8th and 9th grade year. Since that is the time of vacations and such, the weekly attendance had been around 10-20, the same number as attended our Sunday school class. As was the custom, kids volunteered their parents to host our evening youth group meetings throughout the summer. My parents signed up for the last week of the summer, right before school started, in order to help me feel a part of the group. (I was extremely shy back then.) I had given them the numbers that I just gave you as an estimate of how many to expect. Luckily, my mother always over plans, because over 50 people showed up!

Now, for a rural church of around 500 people in a small town in the early 1980’s, you would not normally expect 50-60 students in a youth group. But (I quickly found out) that’s what we averaged throughout most weeks throughout the school year. During the school year, we met in the church basement or in the cave-like structure at the nearby church camp. We didn’t do anything too fancy – normal games and activities and a short lesson for the first hour – all what you’d expect to see at a youth group meeting. The thing that drew people in and set apart our little “community” as it were was the 2nd hour of our meeting.

During the 2nd hour (which sometimes turned into an hour and half to two hours, much to our parents chagrin), we turned off all of the lights (a potentially dangerous action with a mixed group of high school students) and either sat around or sometimes stood in a circle while praying and singing to God. Conversational prayer was the focus of most nights. We brought requests and praises to the group, and then lifted one another up in prayer. It was a conversation between us (each person in the room) and God. Intermingled between these “prayer conversations” were songs. They weren’t planned; they just happened. Usually, they were a direct result of someone’s request or praise. Sometimes, they were just something that someone wanted to “say” to God. We laughed, we cried, we hugged, we sang, we communed with God. No order of worship, no special theme, no special clothing requirements, no requests to stand, sit, kneel, no skits, no instruments, no special music. Just a time of gathering together to be with God. And it wasn’t just kids from our congregation (Converse Church of Christ); there were Methodists, Wesleyans, and even an occasional Catholic, just to name a few. The best part about all of it was, I believe that God was right there enjoying the time with us. He laughed at our jokes (and sometimes our songs, there were a couple of silly ones thrown in every once in awhile), cried over our sorrows and struggles, participated in our hugs of comfort and support, and smiled during our times of praise.

Why did I tell you all of that stuff about my high school youth group meetings? Because that was an important part of the formation of my idea of what church is all about. Yeah, my local congregation has times to sit and stand, people share special music, there are committees and board members to make decisions, and there’s a chain of command when it comes to the really big stuff. But those things aren’t the most important to God. Our relationship with Him is what’s most important. The rest is stuff that we think is important.

No, God doesn’t do organized religion, either. He’s actually all about a personal relationship with you. He does want us to come together on occasion for a coporate time of worship and to lift one another up in prayer. But He won’t be found in the everyday politics, He just wants to be the focus of our worship!