i am once again reading
“The Pursuit of God” by A.W. Tozer
it is an amazing book
a must read
and a must re-read
for anyone wanting more of Him
todays reading just jumped out of the page at me
with all the talk going around about
how to do church
mega
mini
house
campus
big
little
public
private
on and on
Tozer seems to explain it perfectly
read the following excerpt
and let me know what you think
by commenting below
“Someone may fear that we are magnifying private religion out of all proportion, that the “us” of the New Testament is being displaced by a selfish “I” Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become “unity” conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole Church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life.”
The Pursuit of God
Chapter 7 – The Gaze of The Soul
A.W. Tozer
Amazing thought! If God is the true focus then I don’t think there is really a “wrong way” to do “church.” Sticking with the piano analogy I think the problem though, occurs when the wrong person is striking the keys. If people are allowing the wrong person, place or thing to constantly hammer away on them (be it in the secular or church world) without ever getting retuned that is when they start to become irrelevant and out of place…not to mention annoying and painful on the ears.
Be careful who or what you let “play” you!
We seem to focus more on the playing and less on the tuning. Let’s not worry so much about what others are playing, but just make sure that we are in tune. I think we often hear someone else playing something different than us and we assume that they are out of tune. Not out of tune – just different. THe amazing thing about the quote is that it implies that unity is born of worship not of denominational similarities. That being said, if you don’t believe the same thing as me – i still think you’re going to hell.
I am in complete agreement with Jody’s thoughts on this. The unity that we get when we let God be our true, complete purpose of every day is amazing and so powerful. Being unified in His Will for His Kingdom carries us so far and reaches way past our own selves and the overflow touches all those around us in our daily lives. And that is an important role that being in a truly God-centered church is so that we can be retuned when we have been “played” by the wrong person. Can’t wait for you all to visit Promiseland in Calhoun, Ky again.
I have read this book too… Amazing! I really believe that the church is coming back to this. So many ministers have been preaching on the same subject. I believe that there are members of the body of Christ seeking after the God in our private time, the true heartbeat of Christ. I am reading a book now called “Your God is Too Safe” by Mark Bucannan. There are other Christians who want a safe God, one that they can call upon at game time for good weather, or for small favors. One that is interested but not invested! But there is another group who realizes that we serve a God who so much more powerful than a sunny day at a football game.
You preached a message called Divine Alignment at church one sunday… There is a church raising up that is marching to the same beat, and singing to the same tune… divinely aligned. This is the church I want to get back to!
Here’s a link to a free .pdf of that book:
http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF%20Books/Tozer_Pursuit_of_God.pdf