There is no doubt that I have problems with church, I’m sure they are well known to some, and not so well known to others, but the fact is I do, and I think it could be done in a different way.
“It is inevitable that enthusiastic members of the churches of Christ will begin to speak with members of other religious institutions, and invariably, the characteristics of what makes one church differ from the other must be discussed. Our religious friends will agree that there is one God, and that Jesus is the Head of the Body, the church, but there is a disconnect that occurs between us regarding what those things mean. While we insist vehemently that the churches of Christ (the sound ones) have the faith and practice right and everyone else has it wrong, this seems too much to swallow to our friends.” – unknown
I found this in me readings lately and it kind of put some things into perspective. The thing for me is I’m outspoken, sometimes when I should be and sometimes when I shouldn’t be. The statement is an honest assessment of how it is in churches. To me this quote seems to show the relative feeling that I have about church, I sometimes have a problem with people opposing my views.
If I am to be the church, then in a sense I do get to do things my own way. If I am to bring the kingdom of God to people on this earth however, I also have to do it God’s way. Someone asked me what the kingdom of God is this week. To me the kingdom of God is God living in me, and you and many church people. We take the kingdom of God wherever we go, because we reflect it. We reflect Jesus, or are supposed to, in every facet of life, the kingdom of God shines through our actions and our responses.
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." - Luke 4:18-19
The church then, defined as an assembly of believers, is us, and we are the church. We have the responsibility to go out and do great things for God. And those great things start with the smallest of gestures that make an astounding difference too many different people. We have the responsibility to not only show the kingdom of God, but to bring it to the forefront of our lives, and into the dark world around us.
God is more domestic than monastic. It means, too, that in coming to know God, the dinner table is more important than the theology classroom, the practice of grateful hospitality is more important than the practice of right dogma, and meeting with others to pray as a community can give us something that long hours in private meditation (or, indeed, long years spent absent from church life) cannot. Such a concept also blurs all simple distinctions between “religious” and “purely secular” experience. - Ron Rolheiser
This quote intrigued me; it speaks of how I view church as being. I think most of what church should be, is done outside of Sunday from 11 – 1. Church incorporates hours, days and weeks. Church isn’t something that just happens Sunday, but something that keeps on going when the music stops. When real life starts, church shines, or at least it should. We bring the church wherever we go, something I have learned time and time again. Church is something we cannot get away from, it’s something we reflect, and greater more, we reflect God’s Kingdom and himself. While this might be a scary concept to digest, it is unavoidable; it is what we are called to do. It isn’t easy and I’m still not there, but I’ve made a commitment, and I find strength in what that commitment entailed.
“The community of Christians springs solely from the Biblical and Reformation message of the justification of man through grace alone…Not what a man is in himself as a Christian, his spirituality and piety, constitutes the basis of our community. What determines our brotherhood is what that man is by reason of Christ. Our community with one another consists solely in what Christ has done to both of us.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Life Together”)
Church, the way I want it to be, is more then just what I want, but what God wants. I want church to be a place where people are free to express themselves, a place where authority is used but never abused. One day I would love to see a “church” with people who question and ponder, a thinker’s paradise, if you will; A place to seek out truth, and share life together. I would like to see where church could really go. I want church to be was Jesus envisioned.
"Jesus...envisaged that, scattered around Palestine, there would be small groups of people loyal to himself, who would get together to encourage one another, and would act as members of a family, sharing some sort of common life and, in particular, exercising mutual forgiveness. It was because this way of life was what it was, while reflecting the theology it did, that Jesus' whole movement was thoroughly, and dangerously, 'political'. And...the main characteristic of the cells that Jesus called into being was of course loyalty to Jesus himself." -N.T. Wright
3 comments:
I, for one, am glad you decided to go a different route with this post. I enjoyed this post and just wanted to share some ramblings related to this subject.
I think you hit the nail on the head with the idea that we are the church. Oftentimes it can be very frustrating trying to deal with what we believe to be shortcomings in others, a community, society, church, etc. I know, as I'm one of those environmental-commie-hippies that is dead set against the SUV and the yuppies that drive them. (Stupid yuppies.) I am also very well aware that the easiest thing to do when you feel someone is attacking you is to attack right back.
However, I think getting heated over the tiny shit is what ruins the entire Christian message for most non-believers. I really wish Christians could simply agree to disagree on certain issues. There are hundreds of different churches and if one is doing something you don't like, find one that is.
I like your statement that if you're the church, then you get to do things your own way...but to bring the kingdom of God to earth, you have to do it God's way. I think this really rings true. I used to have a huge issue with speaking in tongues and that sort of stuff. It's still a hang-up for me, but if its what floats other's boats, then go nuts, I suppose. You just won't see me around your gatherings for too long.
For me, my vision of what church is (or should be) is probably a lot different than others because of my history as an atheist. I don't think the church has done an effective job of conveying the true message Jesus brings because it took me 24 years to finally hear it! So for me, my vision of the church is one which is more integrated with our society and culture than most church's have been in the past. I think there can be a great deal of Truth found in the least Christian of sources, yet most churches seem to build up into Christian ghettos, building walls to keep all non-Christian entities out. There is no doubt that a strong core of believers with a sturdy foundation of faith is important for any church community, but we should also take great care not to become too "Christian" and cut ourselves off from the outside world.
I think your last paragraph is getting at what Scott was talking about. It seems to me that Scott doesn't believe a traditional "church" is necessary at all, since we are the church, what is the necessity of having a church building besides for gathering for a mass message? Basically, a church should be a community of friends gathering independently, discussing, worshipping and building up each other in Christ. I'm not sure where the idea of a traditional church came from. The idea of it certainly doesn't accomplish the ultimate goal of bringing the word to all that havn't heard it. After all, how can we communicate the truth of Christ if we're boxed up in an exclusionistic building labeled as a church?
I totally agree with you Brad, church should be an outward act, a cultural thing that embraces the culture around it. I think church is far to confined into a building, like Jon stated here. Church, which means the people, need to be out in the community, in society, making noise and stirring shit, for God!
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