Church: Getting In The Way
October 27th, 2009 by Victor
Sean and I attended a church service this past Sunday night which got me thinking about the role and function of the church. Certainly we know that biblically, “the church” is not the building, but the people who gather together, be it in a building, a home or on the street who are joining together to worship God, encourage each other and take time to read Scripture, share a message, sing, pray, etc. Different people have different experiences and what they consider the church and I’m not writing this to talk about which version is best, what should be included, removed etc.
One of the things that struck me during this past Sunday’s fellowship was the pastor’s lengthy and descriptive apology from the church to the world, the church, the lost, the Christians and more. He shared his heart with the congregation about the flaws that have persisted in him, and the leaders of the particular section of the church.
And here’s what it got me thinking - we must work hard to be transparent. People have been offended, rejected, turned off, upset, hurt and the like by this thing called “the church” and some of that has been their fault and some of that has been the fault of the people of the church. That any of this is the fault of the church is really sad - we need to represent Jesus and point people to the Father like he did.
Our worship services can’t be about us. They need to be about God.
Our teaching of the Bible can’t be about us. It needs to be about God.
Our discipleship can’t be about us. It needs to be about God.
And where there is some of “us” still existing in how we are doing things, we need to decrease and let Christ increase by the spirit.
The pastor’s apology ended with a sobering plea. He said something to the effect of “if you’re one of those who have been pushed away because of the church, our flaws, our sins, or whatever - please do not give up on God on account of us.”
I join in with his words - Please do not think that God is like us. God is great and merciful and just and loving and compassionate and wise and forgiving and faithful and powerful and more and more.
We need to stop making God like us and we need to be like the God who is. When we make God in our image, people come to know Him and then they hate a God who is critical, judgmental, over opinionated, under involved. And then they will go on having experienced what they were told God and Christianity was like and it had little to do with God or Christ.
So lets do church this way - get out of the way. Lets be like Jesus so that when they see us - they see the Father.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church… [Ephesians 3:20-21a]
For a great picture as to what the church should be about, click here to listen to Sean’s message “A Beautiful People”
Great thoughts! You stated that “I’m not writing this to talk about which version is best, what should be included, removed etc.” But, might that be a core to the problem; that we have taken what Jesus meant to be a family and turned it into an institution or an organization?
In my 25 or so years of being a Christian, I have witnessed at least three unpleasant church splits, and several churches that just kind of withered away. None of these instances were because we were not being effective or ineffective witnesses or whether or not we were true followers of Jesus, but because of the power plays and self-centered-ness that comes with any man-made organization.
I know that there are exceptions to my experience, but I think that part of the problem is that we have moved away from what Jesus intended for his church to be.
What a great article!
This article is a very personal one. I think every person reading it, will compare the truth it contains with their own experience in religion or church or organisation.
Since many JWs visit this site, and the Watchtower organisation will be the one this article will be compared to, there’s a few things I’d like to mention in this regard.
Any JW will know that there’s no such thing as apology from the leaders of the WT Society. According to them, their very existence was predestined, and as such, there is no shortage of self-proclaiming and self-exalting statements claiming their deservedness to be “God’s channel.” According to them, God will use all kinds of ways to “test your loyalty” to his arrangement. Whether it be a life-threatening blood-transfusion policy, obedience to an elder accused of repeatedly abusing his daughter, but still serving, since she was the only witness to the crime, or believing preposterous interpretations of prophecy.
How much the WT Society has blurred the image of God to millions trapped therein. Once freed from WT shacles, the believer sees God as he really is. Through the image of Christ. For the first time one experiences a gracious God, no more the cowardly Watchtowerised villain who uses all hideous tactics to keep you trapped and enslaved to a system that is abusive in its very design. Once the Watchtower wedge has been removed, true redemption and reconciliation with God takes place. And one experiences a closeness with the Father no pseudo-messiah will ever rob you of again!
Thanks for the article once again.