Real Church

I was reading some great material this morning about "Organic Church"- Real Christianity vs. Religiosity.The article was written by Neil Cole. God is Making the church an alive, vibrant and living organism. I need to continually ask God to keep me focused on the correct mission. If we have a great organization but lack the presence of Christ, we won't make eternal difference in people's lives. We know what our experience and what our traditions are but looking at scripture with honesty and courage will bring us to a place where it is not so much about us as it is about the risen Christ. It is not about what we have done or what programs we are doing but true Church is about Him. At times I operate like I need to protect God's reputation, when my efforts really need to be simple encouraging people (and myself) to encounter Jesus, alive and present. The Matthew 18:20 verse is a key: "For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them." The presence of Jesus is crucial to what the church is. He should be the most recognizable aspect of the church in the eyes of the world. IS the work being done for Jesus or by Jesus? The real fruit of the apple tree is not the apple. The real fruit is more apple trees. Christ in us is the seed of the next generation.