Church, who needs it?

The man said, "I really do believe in God and Jesus, but I hate church." The irony underlying the conversation hit me hard. How could I, a creature of the Church, a man who has spent his entire adult life employed by religious organizations address that statement with any kind of integrity? I understood what he meant though, for I, too, have found myself despising parts of organized religion. Sometimes I, a full-time Pastor whose calling is perceived by most people as being all about spirituality, long to escape religious enterprise to do something 'spiritual.' My friend went on to ask, "Do you find many people like me?" The answer is yes! There are a lot of people who claim faith on some level but who have abandoned organized religion. The reasons are many, but a few are common. What are they?

1. Too much emphasis on money.
Church buildings need maintenance. Programs have to be funded. People who teach, preach, and lead have to be paid. But what about ineffectiveness, waste, and a lack of accountability? May I dare to say that if businesses were operated like a lot of local congregations, they would be bankrupt in a year or less! Many church leaders expect people to pour their money into the offering plate, but resent the questions about results. It is somehow considered unkind to ask - what did that all that money accomplish for God and good? And, yes, there are those few preachers who live extravagantly. The few get a lot of press and live high profile lives. But the truth is that most church employees live on salaries that are less than they would make in the secular world. They do so gladly. I am convinced that where the mission of a church is defined, where results are being observed in terms of that mission, and where real people needs are being met - there will be ample funding for God's work to be done without resorting to gimmicks, pleading, or pressure.

2. Too many hypocrites.
It's true that the church has its share of people who talk faith better than they walk faith; but, many others are totally sincere, if imperfect. If I somehow managed to poll family members and/or work associates of each and every person who sits in the pews of my church, I would find gaps in every one of their lives. I know that I don't get it right everyday, or even every hour of a single day. I'm sometimes less than loving. I allow fear to overtake faith. I misjudge others. I become the victim of my own pre-conceived ideas; but I do really love God! Christians are 'becomers,' works in progress, growing in Christ. If you're throwing stones at the 'hypocrites' in the church, watch out, because your own sins are likely to be revealed sooner or later. That said, I know there are churches where image has overtaken substance, where tradition is worshipped on a higher level than God Himself, and where conformity to the accepted rule is king! I probably would not hang out in that kind of church too long, either.

3. Irrelevant to my life.
Yes, the message of the Gospel must be connected to the culture. Paul himself said that he was willing to become all things to all people so that by all methods he could bring them to Christ! It is important to be conversant with the people that we hope to influence. The rest of the story is this: too much accommodation of the culture destroys the distinctive quality of a real Believer's life. Our calling is to be 'the salt of the earth.' But the Believer who has become 'worldly' no longer functions in that way. A healthy church will always have a tension between those who guard the gates and those who drag in the sinners! It will always have the evangelists whose hearts bleed for those in need and the theologians who work to protect both orthodoxy (right beliefs) and orthopraxy (right practices). The church isn't just about being relevant. God has given the Church (and Christians) a message of transformation that conflicts with the sins of whatever culture into which it is spoken! A church that is so compromised as to have lost her voice to call people to live in love, in mercy, and justly, isn't worth a thing, no matter how many fill up her building on Sunday.

Who needs to be a part of the church?
Every Christian Believer! The Christian experience is not a Lone Ranger one. The highest and best spiritual life is not lived in isolation from other Believers. Christianity is a communal experience according to the will of God. We are called to be a part of the Body of Christ, working at the relationships with other Believers.

The Bible says, "God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best. A body isn’t really a body, unless there is more than one part. It takes many parts to make a single body. That’s why the eyes cannot say they don’t need the hands. That’s also why the head cannot say it doesn’t need the feet.
In fact, we cannot get along without the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest. We take special care to dress up some parts of our bodies. We are modest about our personal parts, but we don’t have to be modest about other parts. God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem the least important are valuable. He did this to make all parts of the body work together smoothly, with each part caring about the others. If one part of our body hurts, we hurt all over. If one part of our body is honored, the whole body will be happy.
Together you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is part of his body." (1 Corinthians 12:18-27, CEV)

Find a group of Believers who are serious about the prime commands- Love God wholeheartedly, and love others unselfishly - and commit yourself to their company. Work at it. Give your all, for God's sake.

The Bible says that the results will be simply amazing: "we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ. No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love." (Ephesians 4:13-16, The Message)