the Church

Flashback Friday: What Are Your Church’s Strengths?

Frank

***Originally posted 8/30/10. Reposted to fit in my present series on the church.***

I’m reading Transformational Church by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer as a compliment to my reading of Michael Spencer’s Mere Churchianity. Chapter two introduces the “Transformational Loop” of properties present in Transformational Churches. It is a loop because each area feeds into another and no one property can stand alone in a strong, transformational church. The areas are Discern, Embrace, and Engage and the properties present are a Missionary Mentality, Vibrant Leadership, Relational Intensity, Prayerful Dependence, Worship, Community, and Mission.

Reading through the description of each of these, it quickly became clear where my fellowship is strong and where it falls short. The recommendation for a stagnant church to become a transformational church is to identify your strengths and use them to build the other properties. For example, if your strength is worship, use that to build community, and so on.

I’ve been wrestling for some time with why things don’t seem to be clicking in my fellowship. We have our strengths and weaknesses just like any other congregation. And I don’t expect us to be perfect. But I just get the feeling that a piece is (or pieces are) missing. This loop helps me to identify what we need to build on and grow in.

My fellowship’s strengths are mission and community. We have a strong evangelistic focus, taking on the mission of Jesus to “seek and save the lost.” We build community through small groups for accountability, personal growth, and to facilitate evangelistic activities. These communities forge life-long relationships.

However these strengths ebb and flow. We take our strengths for granted and grow complacent. I believe this is because our strengths do not have deep roots and this loop bares that out. We are strong in mission, but lack a missionary mentality. We are strong in community but lack relational intensity. So our strengths are what we do, not who we are.

I am also convicted personally because I lack in prayerful dependence. I’m not a prayer warrior, though I need to grow in my prayer life. But I look around and I don’t see many prayer warriors around me either. I admired an Elder we had who would pray “without ceasing.” Ask him a question and he would pause, consider it, and then pray about it. Without fail, every question. But I don’t see that as my church’s culture.

I also admire one of my best friends who is strong in worship. He lives it, studies it, and teaches it but being worshipful has only rubbed off on a few. And our Sunday services are better for it!

So the pieces are there to build, despite my negativity. I’m sure if I looked around I could find individuals who are strong in one or more of these properties. The trick however is spreading those strengths through the congregation until it becomes part of its culture.

Given that background, what would you say are your church’s strengths?

What are your strengths and do they feed into your church’s?

Would you describe your church as “transformational”?

The Parable of the Boathouse

Frank

This can be Googled as “the Parable of the Lighthouse” or the “Parable of the Lifesaving Station”. Some attribute it to Theodore Wedel dating back to 1953, others attribute it to “author unknown” but adapted by Steve Rudd. And it also is a sample sermon in several guides and even published by Youth Specialties periodical Ideas. I heard this in a sermon years ago and have adapted it as I recall it being told- hence the change from Life-Saving Station to Boathouse. Either way, it is just as relevant today as it was when I heard it and as it was whenever it was written.

***

There was once a bay that was very popular amongst sailors. But it had dangerous, rocky shores. Yet because of its captivating beauty, many would sail in, only to meet their fate at the jagged rocks.

The most experienced sailors were saddened by this regular occurrence, but then boasted how they were able to navigate the treacherous waters. But then a young sailor came to the bay and asked to be taught how to sail through the dangerous bay. Teaching someone else their secrets never occurred to the old sailors, but one wise old sailor invested his time and his knowledge into this young seafarer.

As the young sailor learned, the wise old sailor also learned that he liked to teach. So he invited others to come learn the secrets of the rocky bay. Now this wasn’t popular with the other old sailors who wanted to protect the knowledge they learned the hard way, but it was very popular with younger sailors who had always wanted to visit this bay but were afraid to.

What once was measured by numerous tragedies was now measured by the number of lives saved. As the number of students grew, more and more people started to sail in and out of this bay. So the wise old sailor decided to build a boathouse, from which he could teach other sailors how to navigate these waters and also teach them how to save the lives of other sailors who were less fortunate. The boathouse became a popular gathering place for the sailors. And as its popularity grew, amenities were added. Big-screen TVs. Pool tables. A fully stocked bar. And it became such a popular place that many came to the boathouse not to sail or to save lives at all, but simply to hang out.

Eventually, the wise old sailor passed away and left the boathouse to the first, now not so young, sailor he taught. But the young sailor didn’t sail anymore. He was busy managing the boathouse making sure all his clientele were happy and well-fed and the boathouse continued to make money. Yet even though most who came to the boathouse didn’t sail, the bay was still a popular attraction, as was the boathouse, so many still attempted to sail in.

When once the number of casualties from the rocky shore was almost zero, the sailors in the boathouse stopped noticing that number creep back up to where it used to be. More, in fact, because now people were sailing in just to visit the boathouse.

But as more and more sailors died in the treacherous bay, fewer and fewer people frequented the boathouse because some of these casualties were from their own number. As the casualties increased even further, people soon began to avoid the boathouse altogether because they were sad over so many lost friends. It wasn’t long before no one came to the boathouse any more.

Today, people still sail in to the bay. Not for the boathouse, but for its natural beauty. Sadly, many of these sailors die in their attempt. More sad is the fact that there is no one left to teach them the secrets of the bay; the old sailors have all passed away and the young sailor had forgotten how to sail.

Where to Now?

Frank

Continuing our discussion on Michael Spencer’s Mere Churchianity with Glynn Young and Nancy Rosback. Melissa at In Silence, Humming Softly has also joined the discussion so be sure to check out her thoughts as well. This week we’re on Chapter 18, the final chapter of the book. You can check out Glynn’s thoughts here and Nancy’s will coming later here.

I’m struggling to come up with a reaction to this final chapter of Mere Churchianity that would also be a standalone post. Maybe I’m being sentimental, now that this discussion is drawing to a close, though I have some follow-up thoughts that will come later. I guess I just don’t feel resolved. Sadly, Michael Spencer’s life was cut tragically short. In fact, he didn’t even live to see his book on the shelves. He was struggling with his health as he was making the final touches on this book with his editor (as described in the epilogue). Maybe he knew his time was short, so he got in what he could. The last chapter does seem like a compilation of “these are the other topics I wanted to cover, but ran out of time” as he listed out a series of questions or objections one might have in response to his book. Personally, after spending chapter after chapter describing (very well, I might add) what is wrong with the Church, I don’t see much offered as solutions. And my nature is to want a quick-fix, five-part plan with vision statements and mission goals- the very things Michael pontificated against.

But maybe the story is meant to be left unfinished. Our walks with Christ and our eternal destiny are known only by one, and it not us. We look for answers in this world, hoping that everything will wrap up nicely in a bow. But from our mortal perspective our life, our faith, and our eternal purpose are uncertain. I’m not comfortable with that. And if I take away anything from this book, maybe it should be that I can’t control everything (or anything for that matter). I cannot control my church. I cannot control other brothers and sisters in Christ. I cannot control whether someone I am reaching out to accepts or rejects the message of the Gospel. I cannot control whether mainstream Christianity will ever mold into “Jesus-shaped spirituality”. I cannot control the reactions of the readers of this blog. I cannot control…

But I can control my relationship with Jesus. I can control my thoughts and attitudes to be Jesus-focused. I can control my prayers and with whom I choose to share in fellowship. In other words, I can control my own spirituality to be Jesus-shaped and strive to surround myself with others who share the same passion.

Hah, I guess I have post for this chapter after all.

*************** 

I also want to share some excerpts from this chapter that I think are worth reflecting on:

First, it is worth noting that Jesus’ condemnations of the Seven Churches in Asia found in Revelation came only a generation after Jesus’ death. In other words, it didn’t take long for these early churches to become “church-shaped” instead of Jesus-shaped. Michael reminds us of Revelation 3:20, “I stand at the door and knock…” The implication is that for our churches to return to being Jesus-shaped, we need to invite Jesus back in as the focus of our church. Ironically, Michael follows up with the admonition to “pursue Jesus-shaped spirituality [that] won’t take you to a building with a sign out front.” (pg 210) In other words, “go and do” to seek Jesus-shaped spirituality. However, I think the lesson we can draw from Revelation is instead to “stay and invite” Jesus in to where we are. That may be too passive, and I see Michael’s point, but I think Jesus-shaped spirituality is not a matter of going to find Jesus, but of inviting Jesus in. You could argue that the former is divisive and rebellious in the context of organized religion while the latter is individualized and subjective.

Second, Michael’s response to the question, “Are you antichurch or antidenominations?” Is worth its own post. And I may go there at some point. But I want to at least quote part of his response. “It doesn’t take a scholar to understand what the New Testament says the church is supposed to be doing. If a church isn’t supporting and growing disciples, isn’t crossing cultures with the gospel, and isn’t encouraging and producing Jesus-followers, I believe you’re entitled to look for a different form of community that is doing these things… Denominational labels will tell you very little about whether the people in a congregation are all about Jesus or are blissfully disconnected from him… I want every Christian to find a Jesus-shaped community that is doing what the New Testament says a church should do… Christians follow Jesus into the world as disciples on the mission Jesus gave us. The best churches facilitate the mission of Jesus and grow Jesus-followers who pursue that mission.” (pgs 212-213, emphasis added)

Finally, Michael closes with a terrific description of Jesus-shaped spirituality accomplishing the above. First, a warning from earlier in the chapter, “You may find yourself far outside the doors of many churches and thrown in with whomever the scapegoats of the hour happen to be. (interesting choice of words since Jesus is literally the ultimate scapegoat) You should expect to be called liberal, emerging, naive, rebellious, and unsaved…Your faith will likely be questioned, and you may experience moments of suffocating doubt and discouragement.” (pgs 210-211) So what do we do? “The Jesus-shaped life is found where Jesus would be found… talking to a single mom… going to India… working in an inner city… leading a worship service…taking in foster kids… counseling… pray[ing] with anyone who asks… starting a church… volunteering to teach… Stretching the influence of the gospel outside the comfort zone of the usual. Being a witness to the church of what Jesus would be doing… And finally, when we come home, we will find that Jesus has made us like himself, and yet, amazingly, we will have remained in every way ourselves.” (pgs 219-221)

I pray that each of us, through our own unique experiences, may one day stand before our Lord Jesus-shaped, shaped by Jesus.

Eyes and Hands

Frank

Playing catchup on our Mere Churchianity discussion group with Glynn Young and Nancy Rosback. I’m a week behind and hope to catch up with another post either this evening or tomorrow. For the discussion on Chapter 15, “The Good and Bad of Being Alone,” be sure to visit (or re-visit) Faith, Fiction, Friends and NancieMarie. Meanwhile you can check out their thoughts on the latest chapter here and here (but don’t spoil it for me!),  Melissa at In Silence, Humming Softly has also joined the discussion so be sure to check out her thoughts as well.

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!'” (1 Corinthians 12:21)

Unity but not uniformity. Community but not conformity. Sounds nice, but sadly is rarely seen. Authentic Christian community offers an uncomfortable paradox: one one hand, we are all parts of one body commanded through dozens of ‘one another’ passages in the Bible; on the other hand, we are all given unique gifts and talents to be used to advance the Church. We are expected in Christ to be part of a collective while forging our own path of faith. Oftentimes, churches do not know how to handle this delicate balance, so they err to the side of homogeneity. And free-thinkers, as Michael Spencer describes, are often forced out.

I don’t agree with Michael’s depiction of Jesus in this chapter, but I do see his point. I don’t believe Jesus was a solitary man. Yes, he often sought solace, but that was for recharging himself spiritually. He poured himself into those closest to him, yet he intentionally kept that number small. A theme I continue to oppose in this book is the notion of Christianity without community. I just don’t think you can survive spiritually that way and I think the instructions to the Church we read in the Bible bare that out.

But, we also cannot fall into the temptation to be a conformist or a yes-man and identify our spirituality by our fellowship rather than our own faith. The Body of Christ is not made of only feet or hands as 1 Corinthians 12 describes. We need our own faith, our own relationship with Christ, our own struggles with God in prayer. And sometimes that might mean walking away from the structure, the system.

It’s a delicate balance, as I said, and I’m sure we all have stories of how we’ve had to “fight the power” so to speak. I won’t belabor this point, but do encourage you to read Glynn Young’s post on this subject linked above. His story is too close to mine for it to be worth sharing again.

Of Sandlots and Cathedrals

Frank

This post continues the conversation Glynn Young, Nancy Rosback and I are having over the book Mere Churchianity. They always have a head start on me, so be sure check out their thoughts on Chapter 13, “Leaving Behind the Church-Shaped Life” over at Faith, Fiction, Friends and Bend the Page. Melissa at In Silence, Humming Softly has also joined the discussion so be sure to check out her thoughts as well.

Michael Spencer, being a baseball fan, uses the analogy of Big League ball versus his childhood playing in empty lots. He notes that despite all the scandals (steroids, salaries, sex), it is the kid’s game that captures our imagination and fanhood. As soon as the game under the lights and in the cathedrals to the game forget this, then interest will wane and seats will empty. The same is true of the Church, that it is the Jesus-shaped Spirituality that exists inside each of us, outside of the “big-time” walls, that drives us to the Church. And like Major League baseball, churches who forget this may fill the pews for a time, but will find many leaving for the purity of the sandlot.

To keep myself out of trouble, and being a huge baseball fan myself, I’m going to continue with the analogy. I grew up watching Minor League baseball. Rookie level as a matter of fact, where “kids” fresh out of high school would try and show of their talents, earning measly pay, and hoping to someday earn their “cup of coffee”. I lived far from any major market team so I relied on TBS and WGN to watch the Braves and Cubs, respectively, and the network Game of the Week. I would follow my favorite players through the box score in the local paper. When traveling to visit family, we would catch a big-league game if we could and the enormity of “the Show” was magical compared with the rookie league I was used to watching. The players were faster, their moves more crisp and polished, their talents far surpassing the kids scraping by at the lower level.

I had my favorite players, enshrined with posters, jerseys, and baseball cards. I didn’t care about the value of cards, I would trade away a valuable rookie for a card of my hero (but I at least knew not to put them in my bicycle spokes). The first World Series I remember watching, I laid out all my cards from each team and I followed the game using the cards to keep score.

Times changed and I grew up. I realized that none of the players I watched in the minors made it to the majors. An expansion team came to my region. Still not close, but drivable. TV expanded, ESPN gained in viewership, and I could catch a game every night. The Internet came and instead of following my favorite players through the “simple” box score, I now could follow their “splits” and “advanced metrics”. The Internet and Cable TV enabled the 24-hour news cycle and sports followed suit. I could find out what my favorite player was doing at almost any moment. They would soon become unable to hide from the public eye, so every misstep, every harsh word, every bad decision would be highlighted for the world to see. And the magic of the game, the childhood awe, waned.

Today I live walking distance to a high-A club and I love taking my son to watch the game at this level. I go to Major League games on occasion, but the price and the publicity for the most part has discouraged it. There’s something about watching these kids trying to make their way that maintains the childhood purity I remember.

So what does this have to do with the church? The megachurch, the spiritual superstars the big crowds can drown out the child-like awe we should have before Jesus for the sake of the show. Just as the Internet as created instant experts out of every fan who voices an opinion, so it has for Christians and the blogosphere  who have no expertise other than their opinion (myself included). And I think myself, like many who relate to Michael Spencer in this book, are longing for Jesus-shaped Spirituality that can be found in the sandlots, being played by kids, free from all the trappings, glitz, and glam. When Michael was sharing this analogy, I was thinking about how the game is the same, whether played in the Major League cathedrals or at a beat up Little League field. Jesus is the same, whether worshiped within walls filled with thousands, or in a beat up old church filled with a dozen. And in both places, Jesus is found by the awestruck child who just loves the game.

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3)

Label Me, I’ll Label You

Frank

This post continues the conversation Glynn Young, Nancy Rosback and I are having over the book Mere Churchianity. They always have a head start on me, so be sure check out their thoughts on Chapter 11, “It’s a Bad Idea to be a Good Christian” over at Faith, Fiction, Friends and Bend the Page.

Soren Kierkegaard said “once you label me, you negate me.” The idea was that labels strip us of our humanity, reduces us to nothing more than that label, and denies what makes each of us unique. If you label everything, then nothing has meaning. Michael Spencer observed this in our churches and came to the same conclusion: these labels have no meaning. “Dynamic” worship. “Seeker Sensitive” church. “Good Christian”. My favorites are “missional” and “purpose driven” as if the church leaders just read a book and suddenly they’re a new church.

This should come as no surprise. Our consumer-driven culture requires everything to be marketed, even churches. And because of this, churches are constantly on the lookout for a niche, a buzzword, a marketing strategy that makes them stand out above the rest. I was on a business trip in Utah where I saw a billboard advertising a church. Their motto was, “church. caffeinated.” (To get the in-joke, you have to understand that Utah is 90-ish percent Mormon and they do not drink coffee.) Sadly, we seldom see churches advertised as God-centered, Jesus-focused, or Christ-like. If you didn’t know the label, you wouldn’t know these churches are even Christian.

When Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone began the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, they wanted to strip all the labels that described people more than their beliefs. One of my favorite movies is A River Runs Through It. The patriarch of the family is a preacher and the movie has this line, “My family is Presbyterian, which my dad likes to say is like Methodists who can read.” Ask a stranger on the street if they are Christian and they are just as likely to answer their specific tradition as to just simply answer “yes”. Stone and Campbell desired a church free from from labels so these churches adopted the simple name “churches of Christ.” Of course, a hundred-plus years later many might as well be called churches of Tradition, churches of Legalism, or a capella churches. (Oh wait, some already call themselves by the last one. Sigh.)

If there is to be a movement back towards Jesus-shaped Churches, preaching and living Jesus-shaped spirituality (which even Michael admits is just another label), we need to strip ourselves of the labels that divide and instead embrace Christ alone as the “author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). This is his premise of what so many who have left the Church are looking for. It is sad they have been unable to find it. I believe these churches are out there (see some of my previous posts from this book). I pray that we find these churches more and more out in the religious marketplace.

The Perfect Church?

Frank

(I warn you in advance, this one is long. There’s a reason I didn’t finish it last night like I planned or earlier this morning as I hoped…)

***

I’ve been on board with Michael Spencer through eight chapters of Mere Churchianity and I’ve enjoyed every part of the ride. But I had to get off the train at chapter 9 (though I’m going to jump right back on at 10). In chapter 8, Accepting the Real Jesus, Michael drew a line in the sand delineating the Church consisting of disciples of Jesus and the institutional, religious church filled with Christians. But it seems as though in this chapter he forgot the line was there.

I agree with Michael that you cannot keep “church shopping” hoping to find the perfect church because you never will. I also agree that many people’s spiritual journey to be Jesus Shaped will lead them “out of the church as they have known and experienced it.” (pp 109) I can personally testify that this can be the case. In fact, I do believe there is a perfect church worth going after. But I do not believe everyone Michael describes in this chapter has found it.

Let’s begin with the perfect church. What does it look like? Michael listed several flavors of church he experienced trying to find it. Someone commented yesterday that it would be great if we could combine each of these into one. I’ve always felt that the perfect church would have the reverence of the Catholic/Orthodox church, the worship of an AME church, the emphasis on Biblical survey of the Calvary Chapel, the outreach of a foreign mission, and the doctrine (personal bias) of the Restoration Movement. But I haven’t found that yet, and I don’t think I ever will. But that does not mean I cannot create it.

You can browse the titles of Christian books, search the themes of Christian bloggers, and find the most followed Christian tweeters and it won’t take long to notice that many are on the same quest to find the elusive perfect church. There was a push not long ago to “restore the First Century Church” even though that is not described in the Bible. The best we have to go on are the sparse writings of the Early Church Fathers and the Didache. Right now we see the “Acts 29 Church“, or as I like to say “the next chapter”. Catchy name. I pray they are successful in creating authentic community and a Jesus Shaped church. I’ve also seen “the Acts 2:42 Church”, but there is very little written in the New Testament, and even less in the book of Acts, for “what” this perfect church should look like outside of a few anecdotal examples.

But there is plenty written on “how” this perfect church should function. For the sake of our discussion, I’m going to stick with Ephesians 4. Here Paul gives an outline of how Christ’s church should grow up in unity. (And remember that Jesus prayed for unity amongst His believers the night before he was betrayed.) First, the perfect church is up to us. “[L]ive a life worthy… be completely humble and gentle…bearing with one another… make every effort to keep the unity…” (v 1-3) And later, “to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it… It was he who gave some to be… to prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (v 7, 11-13) In other words, the perfect church is up to us, doing our part, “From [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (v 16, emphasis added)

Of course, we are all human. Our pride and selfish ambitions will get in the way of what Paul describes above. Over time religiosity, legalism, and false-doctrine will set in. And the church we thought we were a part of will become unrecognizable. But, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” (1 Peter 1:24-25) We can always turn back to the Word and return to what is right. I do believe that in this sense, the Church is undergoing constant revival as each generation comes to it seeking to be Jesus Shaped.

But the description above isn’t the approach Michael Spencer takes. Instead he takes an ecumenical broad-brush and (practically) declares that everyone who is doing good work in Jesus’ name is part of this true church. Yet Jesus himself said, “not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” And it continues, “only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) This is consistent with what Michael wrote in chapter 8, but appears to abandon here. It is also interesting that when Michael declares “There are thousands of Christians where I live. They express their faith through how they serve…” (pp 111), he then lists off several brand-names of churches as if they are all equal. But he does not mention the Mormon Church. I would expect that many Christians, and most Evangelicals, would not consider the Mormon Church to be Christians, yet I challenge you to find any group as focused on their communities and on their families as this church. According to Michael’s description of the “true church” in this chapter, they have to be included in the discussion. Unless he applies an unwritten doctrinal line.

There is a written line in Ephesians 4. “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (v 4-6) Which brings us to the “One Church”.

This is a dangerous doctrine. Not because it is unbiblical, but because of our human nature to corrupt everything we are a part of. The Restoration Movement began when a Reformed Baptist and a Presbyterian got together, examined their doctrines in light of Scripture, and chose to go another way. They strived for One Church, unifying the divisive denominationalism that still exists today. Because of the emphasis on One True Church being defined solely on Scripture, the church they founded, the Churches of Christ, have been turbulent with division ever since. I think the Scripture says this, you think that, therefore we cannot agree and you are no longer part of “my” One True Church. Yet Paul said he doesn’t care  so long as the Gospel is being preached and Jesus said no one can do a miracle in his name one minute and curse his name the next. You see the slippery slope?

So what does that mean for you and me and our quest for a Jesus Shaped church? First, we have to look to the Word of God to measure the state of our church, not our feelings, not the latest bestseller on church growth, and absolutely not traditions. Next, we have to examine ourselves by the same standard. Are we “doing are part” as Ephesians 4 instructs? Finally, and this goes back to the thrust of Mere Churchianity, we need to keep Jesus as our focus.

Is there a perfect church out there? With our sinful nature, sadly not until Jesus returns to claim His Kingdom. Is there a Jesus Shaped church out there? There are likely many and as Michael describes, there is no shortage of people striving towards it. Is there One True Church? Yes there is, and it is defined by God’s own Word, not by the walls we construct. I pray one day we can worship there together.

Be sure to also check out Nancy Rosback’s thoughts on Chapter 9 over at her blog, Bend the Page.

Weekend Reading, 25 September

Frank

I really enjoyed the discussion this week on Mere Churchianity at Bend the Page, Faith, Fiction and Friends, and In Silence, Humming Softly. So much so, I’m dedicating this weekend’s reading to that theme. Some are new posts, some are old, but all speak to the same problem: something is wrong with the church.

As much as I harp on “authentic community” and question when is it ok to leave church, the reality is people are leaving the church and for many reasons. One good example, testimony if you will, comes from Stephen Lamb writing about why he left church over at Jesus Needs New PR. Click here for parts 1, 2, and 2.5 (looking forward to 3!). This reminded me of this old post from Marshall Jones Jr. And Christian Ray Flores shares his own experience in two parts.

Of course there are lots of reasons for this, and looking over past blogs leaves us plenty to ponder.

First problem is we often leave Jesus out of our Christianity.

  • This is the theme of Michael Spencer’s book, but is also the point of Frank Viola and Leonard Sweet’s Jesus Manifesto. A great review can be found over the the internetMonk and an old guest post from Viola at Jesus Needs New PR.
  • Brett McCracken notices we are also tempted to leave Jesus out of our serving, especially now that the Social Gospel is en vogue.
  • Of course, the more we take out of the Gospel, the less we’re left with. And Jason Stasyszen writes the Gospel is soon reduced to a single note in a symphony.

Of course, maybe the problem is us?

  • Our nature just likes to complain. But Patrick Mead writes that you only have a right to complain if you’re actually doing something about it.
  • And Wade Hodges asks us to stop using the excuse that we’re not being fed and figure out how to feed ourselves.
  • We’re also very judgemental and competitive. Jezemama laments the competitiveness that “feels just like church“.
  • Other times we’re just stupid and gullible. Bradley Moore reflects on Christian spam.

We also are tempted to be “relevant” and “seeker sensitive”. That creates it’s own set of hazards.

Solutions?

  • Matt Appling and Alise write letters to the Church in America a la the letters to the Seven Churches in Asia. That’s a start.
  • Of course, there are still reasons to go to church as Katdish and Esther Meek point out. Maybe we should focus on the positives instead of all the negatives?

But we do need to own up to where we fall short. Maybe we should take a cue from Domino’s Pizza, confess our shortcomings and commit to change? An interesting thought from Tyler Mahoney writing at the Huffington Post.

Food for thought. With a new sauce. Enjoy.

When is it ok to walk away?

Frank

Last week Pope Benedict XVI visited Great Britain for the first time in centuries and in the face of the ongoing child abuse scandal. Some demonstrators were so bold as to say that the Catholic Church “murdered” their souls. Despite this, they still identified themselves as Catholic: “I am a Catholic, but my faith is in God, not in those church officials who have covered this up,” one of the demonstrators said. Valid point, but why stay committed to that church?

At the same time, we have the audience Michael Spencer is writing to in Mere Churchianity; those who have left their churches and in some cases Christianity altogether because of abuse, hypocrisy, luke-warmness, and countless other reasons. Last week, I listed some specific examples. Each of these had valid reasons to leave, but I think just as importantly, each have a valid reason to return: the church is not Christ and Michael continues to hammer this point as we continue through his book.

Let us consider these “sins” of the church: abuse, hypocrisy, luke-warmness. You could add neglecting its mission, being polluted by the world’s values or even other religions. If this sounds familiar and you find yourself shouting, “preach it brother!” recognize that this isn’t anything new. In fact, these are the same claims Jesus himself brought against the church in Revelation. In other words, the Church has been screwing up since it was founded. Not that that makes it ok. In fact, Jesus had some very harsh words to those churches. So today we continue to re-vector our programs, our polity, our preaching to make sure our eyes are “fix[ed] on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2)

This is in fact the point Nancy Rosback makes in response to my query “But I wonder, how much responsibility should be on us, Joe six-pack Christians and our failure to recognize that little-c church is made up of people who make mistakes and is different from the big-c Church?” Her reply:

I was wondering when this topic would come up for discussion.

I actually think that Michael, as a pastor, was truly concerned for the people that have left Church, and wanted to reach out to them.

I also think that Michael was wanting to get a message to Church groups, that they must not lose sight of Jesus as the reason for being.

The thing is, if one really looks at any church from the beginning, we can see that human groups have not been able to keep there eyes on the source.

Yet, i think that God continues to renew His Church (capital C).

And that is why we see the changes in the small c Church over the centuries. There are always people that start new groups, thinking they have the answer to make it right. But, even if they are on the right path at first, many people lose sight of the reason for being.
and on it goes.

renewal happening in hearts, but, not all hearts, we are all growing in the same field until the harvest.

it IS a battle, a spiritual battle. the Word says this.

and i truly believe that God is going to continue to renew His Church, big C, no matter what anyone does.

As believers, we must allow ourself to be renewed, so that we do not become blind.

Now how this plays out in each individual life is up to God and that individual.

I do not BELONG to a little c- Church, even though i may gather with people that do. I choose to go with my eyes open to Jesus, or to not go with my eyes open to Jesus, and pray that i always will have my eyes open to Jesus.

We need to seek out others to encourage in Jesus… and in this we will be encouraged in Jesus.

How this is done, is in the Love of God. That is the ONLY way.

Where this is done, is anywhere that God leads each person to do it.

It can be done anywhere.

Here are some basics that i don’t ever want to leave, ever:

God is in charge of His Church,

Love God with my heart,

Love others,

and keep my mind on the fact that my Lord, Jesus Christ, is actually with me every second. (in many ways)

Can’t argue with much of that, but I will anyway. Keeping in mind, there are 51 “one another” instructions (some are more strongly worded as commands) to the Church found in the New Testament. Many of these cannot be followed outside of an authentic church community. One specifically, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) Yes, you could argue that you can still have an authentic Christian community and not call it “church”. But then I’d just turn around and call you a “house church”. I guess whatever form it takes, we need each other for encouragement, for sharpening, for instruction, and for worship.

And this still doesn’t address the countless numbers who have walked away from the Church for any and every reason.

Keeping in mind Jesus’ own words to forgive not seven times, but “seven times seventy” times (Matthew 18:22) and to leave any offering to the Lord and first “be reconciled to your brother” (Matthew 5:23-24) yet “It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.” (Luke 17:2) Add to that Paul’s instructions to “submit to every authority” (Romans 13:1 and also Hebrews 13:17) and to “not put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way” (Romans 14:13, but really the whole chapter applies). And finally going back to Hebrews 10:25 above and the example of abused Catholics at the beginning of this post, my question this week is:

At what point is it ok to leave the church?

And when should one return?

This continues the discussion of Mere Churchianity. More of the conversation can be found at Bend the Page and Faith, Fiction and Friends.