Mere Churchianity

Jesus-colored Glasses

Frank

This post joins the discussion being carried on at Bend the Page on Michael Spencer’s book, Mere Churchianity. The second chapter, titled the Jesus Disconnect, discusses how the Evangelical church has lost sight of Jesus among all the programs, seeker-sensitive trappings, and relevant topics. Glynn Young offers a perspective of “the worship wars” while Nancy Rosback reflects on how she personally loses sight of Jesus.

I want to approach this from yet another perspective, that of ministering to those thrown under the fast-moving, sold-out, evangelical bus. A quote I especially like from this chapter reads, “Evangelical Christians… believe their ship is listing to one side because it gives them a more interesting look at the iceberg.” This is the Jesus-colored glasses I refer to. Michael continues, “Evangelicals believe that people who distance themselves from the church are not disenchanted but ‘under conviction of the Holy Spirit.’ Christians are convinced that the generally low opinion people have of them… is because people can’t deal with the uncomfortable truth about Jesus.”

Ministering to addicts, I have learned that not everyone struggles because they aren’t committed enough, don’t pray enough, or don’t have deep enough convictions. Real people face real demons in their past, their character, and their habits that cannot be overcome just by showing up every Sunday with a smile on their face. We too easily forget that Jesus came for the sick, not the well. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” (Matthew 9:12)

Sadly, we are quick to abandon the slow-moving for the sake of moving the church “forward” full-steam. Sold-out was our buzzword, but was code for legalism. You didn’t have time to deal with your marriage, your addiction, or your purity. If you weren’t 100% committed to the “purpose” then you weren’t really a disciple of Jesus. This is a battle I continue to fight when our calendar gets filled with evangelistic activities with no room to insert any solid food (Hebrews 5:11-14). As a small-group leader, when I recently questioned the schedule I was challenged to choose between the addiction ministry I help lead and my small group. Well that was a no-brainer (and thank God it didn’t have to come to that).

We say we are being Christ-like by “seeking and saving the lost” (Luke 19:10). We justify sacrificing our own health, spiritual and physical, because we “take up our cross daily” (Luke 9:23). And instead of “not putting out the Spirit’s fire” (1 Thessalonians 5:19) we instead get burned out. And the bus keeps rolling on while we are left behind.

Now I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer. It’s not always like this, and it’s not everybody who feels this way. But this attitude is contagious. We believe the hype. We are more inspired by a rah-rah pep-rally sermon than the life of Jesus. We are human. And the most important point I’ve taken from this book so far is that so are my brothers and sisters in Christ. The church is not a machine, but a living, breathing, body of believers. Real people with real struggles.

When Church Signs Lie

Frank

Normally, I’ve been reserving Tuesdays for my “virtual small group“. I haven’t been able to work out a post yet, so try again tomorrow. In the meantime, I strongly encourage you to stop over at the blog Bend the Page for a discussion on Michael Spencer’s book Mere Churchianity. Also check out the discussion at Faith, Fiction and Friends and Poems and Prayers.

My comment from the blog if you wish to discuss it here:

I think the trap of the church sign is that we, as individuals, are supposed to be the evidence of Christ’s presence. We gather as a community of believers in a “church” to worship together, to fellowship, to study, and support one another (all the “one anothers” in the NT). What I struggle with, and is evidenced by the lying church signs, is that the church too often is the end, not the means. The end should be a Christ-like life, not filled pews.

Be Careful How You Talk About Your Bride

Frank

One of my convictions when it comes to marriage is to never speak negatively about your spouse in public. This conviction came about from observation- almost every Sunday I will hear someone bad-talking their husband or wife. It’s one thing to be open for the sake of getting help, but it’s a whole other to just gossip and gripe.

We treat Christ’s bride the same, sadly. And I am guilty of this myself. I just read this fro the first chapter of Transformational Church bt Thom Rainer and Ed Setzer and I need to camp out on it for a while:

Right now it is en vogue to look down on the church. If you take a look at certain sections of the blog and book worlds, or just peruse the Christian Twittersphere, you can find all kinds of people taking all kinds of shots at the Bride of Christ. And they’re doing it for all kinds of reasons. Many are disillusioned with the church of their upbringing. Some are discouraged by decline or scandals. A younger generation is frustrated with the church’s apparent apathy about social justice causes. Some are upset that the church won’t get more modernized; some are upset because the church has lost it’s ancient ways. There are criticisms abounding of emerging churches, seeker churches, missional churches, traditional churches, Boomer churches, multi-site churches, old churches, new churhes, and the list goes on. Sometimes it seems there are as many complaints as ther are Christians, and some of these complaints are well meaning.

But… If you can’t do, teach. And if you can’t do or teach, become a critic.