The System

I watched a very eye-opening documentary this morning called Waiting for Superman. The trailer is below.

The main idea of the movie is that our nation has created an education system that does not most benefit the people it is trying to reach, in this case the school age children of our cities, towns and rural communities.  Instead, it caters to those who run the system.  You should watch it and come to your own conclusion.

My concern here is not that movie or the public education system, my concern is the church.  After watching this I was force to ask myself, "Have we in the church created a system that is not reaching those we are called to reach so that we can keep happy those already in charge of that system?" 

Here is what I fear it looks like for too many of us.  Church is for me and I must fight to ensure I get what I "deserve," even if I am not doing the "job" I am called to do.  Do we have our own unwritten form of "tenure" that says that even if a church, or pastor, or leader is ineffective at reaching and teaching the nations or even the community with the gospel of Jesus Christ, we cannot remove them, close that church and seek other ways to "reform" the community of faith. 

If a school fails a child, that is tragic.  Their lives are too often left to a lottery (see the film) and if they are not picked...well the outcome is the perpetuation of the problem. 

If a church fails a community or the nations, it is eternally tragic.  We are commanded to "make disciples of all peoples" (Matt. 28:18-20).  There is no going back if we fail in this one command.  The church must stop being the system, and must start being the church.  If we fail, people are not just destined to a life of struggles but are condemned to an eternity in hell.

This documentary maintains that all children can learn regardless of their neighborhood, background, or life experiences.  I really believe we, in the Church of Jesus Christ, have the responsibility to take this message to all, because everyone can be reached with the gospel. 

Just some thoughts, I will continue to study and really see if there might be this connection.  The fact that something is wrong in our nations school systems is obvious.  It is just as obvious that something is wrong with the vast majority of our churches.  We don't need "Superman." We need to be obedient to Jesus Christ.