I start with these words from the Apostle Paul found in 2 Corinthians 3:18:

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

I thought about this verse after I read this statement from The Importance of Being Foolish (pages 68-69) by Brennan Manning that states:

When forms of pleasure, leisure, and recreation refresh mind and body, revitalize the spirit, they bring a sense of balance, rest, and wholeness.But sought after for themselves, they send us on a roller-coaster ride during which each sensation must be geater than the last one for the thrill to continue.

Why does the experiential church love the experience over expository? Because the experience brings pleasure while the expository leads to Christ which brings purity. If you look up the Greek word for Glory, it is “doxa” which also means “dignity” and “honor”. Study the verse in context and you see that the Lord wants to change us to be like Him with dignity and honor instead of becoming the latest Christian mega-trend to be changed from experience to experience, pleasure to pleasure, and ‘new thing’ to ‘new thing’.

Why do we see so many people leave churches when the ‘party’ dies down to join the church down the street with the new ‘party’? We tend to act like pentecostal party animals who live for the weekend in order to ‘party’. As one party dies down, we look for another party to attend until the partys run out in the wee hours and then we sleep in and wake up with the big hangover after the celebration is done. We love the party, but hate the after consequences we have to experience. Therefore what do we do?

Attempt to create the eternal party. How do we do this? By creating the eternal church service mentality by macro-micromanaging every second and eventually create our own little world with the windows shuttered, doors locked, and the screws, nuts, and bolts are tight where we overkill our praise to Jesus while not really living at all.

Ladies and gentlemen:

The party is over.
The hangover and buzz is lingering.
However, the time for coherentcy is fast approaching.

Will we choose to be transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord? Or will we ask God this Sunday to give us enough strength to make it through the week to get to the weekend to attend the next party? and continue down the path of trying to numb the hurt but appease the sensation by looking for the sensation greater than the last one?

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