In our lovely, little community we have a church dedicated to being brand new. We have another that exists for cowboys - and wanna be cowboys, and another for bikers. All the major brands of human tradition are represented - with their sectarian names identifying each tradition. We have the older models, imported from Europe, and the newer, made in America brands. Surely you ought to find one that pleases you. But doesn't that miss the whole point of being religious? Are we seeking to please ourselves or God? "For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10). If the Son of God always pleased His Father and did His will rather than pleasing Himself and following His own desires (John 8:29), even though it meant going to the cross (Matthew 26:39,42,44), should we be seeking to please ourselves or our Father?

Are you happy with your church? But is God? May I humbly suggest that you should look for a church that is determined to please God regardless of whether or not men are pleased? Shouldn't the question be "What kind of church does God want?"

- Meditate on These Things, Nov. 2013