Below is a great snippet from Jeff’s message on church membership:

Something happens when Christians start to date.  There are two extremes.  One group tries to over spiritualize everything, and the other group unfortunately  just takes God completely out of the equation.

Let me show you what it looks like when somebody is trying to over-spiritualize a situation.

Just a simple Google search of “Christian pick up lines” will show you what I am talking about.  Here are a few I found:
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Sunday, we are starting a series at North Side entitled “Church Matters.”  During the summer, we are going to look at what the New Testament says about what a church is and is not.

Much confusion exists today on what a church is and what a church should be doing.  We hope to clarify that.  Not with our opinions or thoughts, but the Word of God.

We recently got some church members together to talk about how being a part of North Side has changed their lives.  It was incredible to listen to their stories:

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When you are still in school, summer can be a great gift for relaxation and, unfortunately, a great divergence for spiritual formation.

During the summer months, you have more time than ever to read the Bible, pray, and serve, but sometimes, that freedom can lead to laziness and apathy.

I’m hoping to help that for some of you.

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One of my favorite movies when I was a child was the Christmas classic, Home Alone.  When I was in elementary school, I got to watch Macaulay Culkin live out every child’s fantasy on the big screen: no parents, no siblings, freedom without end, and making your home into a legitimate war zone.  The desire to be a mischievous hero marked every little boy my age.

If you remember the plot line, Culkin’s character, “Kevin,” had a pretty awful family.  He had a brother Buzz who wanted to feed him to his tarantula.  He had to bunk with his cousin Fuller who was prone to bed-wetting and was downing some serious levels of Pepsi.  Worst of all, his cheapskate Uncle Frank was known for spouting off towards Kevin one of the most memorable movie lines of all time: “Look what you did, you little jerk!”

Let’s face it: Kevin did not have the best family in the world, so when they dramatically disappeared one morning before Christmas, Kevin thought he had been raptured into a parent-less bliss.  His wish had become true.  His annoying family had been whisked away from his home.

While every child has probably wished a family member away at some time in their lives, every person also knows what it is like to be overwhelmed with the state of their family.  While we all have those family members that disappoint or upset us, we also know what it is like to be truly concerned with the salvation of a family member.

It’s beyond they get on our nerves, we are truly worried about the state of their souls.
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