What if Prayer were different?<\/strong><\/p>\nWhat if when we prayed for something, we concluded every prayer by asking, \u201cHow can we ourselves be an answer to our prayer?\u201d<\/p>\n
What if we didn’t feel the need to bow our heads, close our eyes, and fold our hands when we pray?<\/p>\n
What if prayer was more like a conversation with God than a strange, wordy, repetitive\u00a0incantation?<\/p>\n
What if we stopped saying “Father” after every phrase? (I thank you, Father, for this beautiful day, Father, and for the opportunity to be here, Father….). He knows we’re talking to Him. He doesn’t need the constant reminder.<\/p>\n
What if we didn’t backtrack on our prayers of faith with the statement “…if it’s your will”? (I know Jesus prayed this way once, but that’s a subject for a different study.)\u00a0<\/p>\n
What if we stopped using prayer as an excuse for\u00a0gossip?<\/p>\n
What if strategies for getting money were different?<\/strong><\/p>\nWhat if we didn\u2019t pass tithe plates?<\/p>\n
What if,\u00a0when someone wanted to give a large sum of money to the church, we had them sign a document saying that they understood this did not entitle them to any sort of recognition in the church, or any power or say over where\/how the money was used?<\/p>\n
What if we didn’t take “special offerings” multiple times until we got the amount we were “praying” for?<\/p>\n
What if we\u00a0didn’t pressure people into giving “10%” (which is a misunderstanding and misapplication of the Old Testament principle of tithing)?<\/p>\n
What if fellowship were different?<\/strong><\/p>\nWhat if believers actually cared for each other?<\/p>\n
What if we wanted to spend time together? How would we encourage this to happen?<\/p>\n
What if we were more interested in loving and serving each other than in being served?\u00a0\u00a0But HOW?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This post concludes my “What if…” series. I am sure I will have more questions in the future as I try to seek answers to those already asked, but that’s what this process\u00a0of reimagining church is all about. I know that most of these questions will come back to haunt me in the future…. What […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[19,32],"class_list":{"0":"post-720","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"tag-discipleship","7":"tag-theology-church","8":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n
What if... (Part 5)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/what-if-part-5\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What if... (Part 5)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This post concludes my “What if…” series. I am sure I will have more questions in the future as I try to seek answers to those already asked, but that’s what this process\u00a0of reimagining church is all about. I know that most of these questions will come back to haunt me in the future…. 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