During a recent lunch time around-the-table discussion in which the topic of conversation became belief in God one of my coworkers voiced his belief in God but quickly and adamantly expressed negative feelings toward the church, or organized religion as he referred to it. His negative feelings toward the church didn’t surprise me; in fact, over the past several years I have heard the same basic negative feelings of disappointment and frustration expressed by a number of different people who have declared themselves as being spiritual people who want nothing to do with the church.
The more I think about the frustration and disappointment expressed by many toward the modern version of the church with all of its man-made baggage and theological pollution, the more I understand their cry and identify with their feelings. Shouldn’t one of our goals as Christians be to help people set aside their negative ideas about the church long enough so that they can clearly see and experience the pure, living water offered by and through Jesus?
In all honesty, the church is guilty of polluting the pure water of Jesus. We’ve been so focused on being correct in our doctrine and pointing out the interpretational errors of others that we’ve failed to inspire hope and offer a vision of the beauty that exists in living the Christian life. Statements such as the one expressed by my coworker should encourage those of us who are Christians to look within and question whether or not our lives are truly reflective of the Lord we claim to love and serve. These statements should lead to a renewed determination within us to be no less or more than simply Christians – cleansed of man-made baggage and theological pollution.
At the same time, statements such as the one mentioned earlier should also motivate us because such statements indicate a desire within modern man to know and experience relationship with God. These types of statements reveal that there are people who are thirsty for truth and discovering meaning to life; and indicate the importance of our returning to and refreshing our own souls in the source of the pure, living water so that we may be more able to lead them to Jesus, the pure, unpolluted source of life for all who trust in him.
These are my thoughts, what are yours?
Hey,
I mostly agree with you. I couldn’t even count the number of times I’ve heard people make statements similar to what your coworker made. Sometimes the church has been way off. Some “Christians” are completely unChristlike. I think we can be open and honest about our shortcomings.
But, there are many of people who make statements like these because they simply have no idea what they’re talking about. I am in church three times a week, and I have lots of Christian friends who are not hypocrites, who are not obsessed with “being right” as much as they care about being righteous, and who largely embody what Christ wanted the Church to be. Yes, the church isn’t perfect, but that isn’t what we claim to be. We need to show the love of Christ to help people get past their negative presuppositions, but I believe many people make these statements because it’s trendy, and not because it’s absolutely true. This kind of statement is often used as an easy way to avoid having to really investigate the church to see who we are.
I don’t disagree with your goals of sharing Christ with these people and correcting their view of the church, but I don’t believe we have to also hold a negative view of the church. Based on my 28 years of experience growing up and remaining in the church, the positives far, far, far outweigh the negatives. Hopefully in the upcoming years we can make some progress in getting people to see past the stereotypes.
Thanks for your post,
Mark <
Mark,
I really appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts regarding this post. I also appreciate the spirit in which you present your thoughts, even if you both agree and somewhat disagree with me.
First, I want to correct any potential misunderstand regarding my thoughts, especially if those thoughts cause you to believe I am suggesting that we should see the church in a negative light because of statements like the one addressed in this post. My primary thought in this post is that whenever I honestly consider the possible validity of the frustration and disappointment expressed by many toward the modern version of the church with its man-made baggage and theological pollution that I have to admit that the church is guilty of polluting the pureness of Jesus and his church. I could be wrong, but I don’t think we can deny the truthfulness of this point.
Yet, I do believe, as you remind us, that there are people who are not obsessed with being right as much as they care about being righteous. Those are the people who, in my opinion, are seeking to inspire hope and offer a vision of the beauty that exists in living the Christian life. Those people should be commended, or applauded if you will.
Second, you are correct when you imply there are a number of reasons people make statements like the one referred to in my post. However, regardless of the number of possible reasons – valid or not – the church can benefit from honestly questioning whether or not we have become burdened by man-made baggage and theological pollution. If so, we need to be honest enough to change and seek the pure, unpolluted life that is in Christ.
In actuality, I don’t think we even somewhat disagree; I think both of us agree we need to be more Christ-like.
Again, thanks for your comments.
We are working through Dan Kimball’s They Like Jesus But Not the Church in our 20s-30s class. It is very insightful in how to dialog with a generation that has the view you talk about above. I highly recommend it.
Matt,
I have not heard of the book of which you speak. It sounds like it would be a good read, and will probably find its way onto my bookshelf in the near future. If you were to give one key thought from the book that might shed light on this discussion, what would that thought be?
I enjoyed the book as well as your thoughts on the book. I strongly believe that as believers we need to stress the importance of corperate worship. We need to stress that Church is not just Church but the “Family of God” that God desire all believers to be a vital part of in life. Wonderful thoughts about this topic. I believe it is definatly something that we should stress. The importance of become the important part of the body of Christ.
I strongly believe that the church has had a bad reputation for such a long time that has turned people off to attending worship and become a vital part of the community of believers. We need eachother. Christ knew that we needed each other. I believe over this next century this will change and that the church and Christians will display more and more the virtue of Christ and the necessity of Church. I believe in the future more and more believers will become apart of the Lords Church.
I want to thank you so very much in dealing with this topic that has been neglected for many years.
I have been impressed by your blog and will be visiting it as much as I can. God bless you and all you do in life. Keep up the great work you do with your blog.
Hey Chris! I haven’t been blogging since Feb. 2008. I have been working on a book. I am starting back now though. I just read some of your more recent posts. Good work! Love what you’ve been writing.
Come visit me sometime over at my blog. http://www.endsandmeans.wordpress.com
Preacherman and joejames, thanks for visiting the site and leaving your comments. It is good to hear that people appreciate the thoughts I am sharing with the world…
Joe, it is good to see that you are back as a part of the blog world once again. I am trying to be more active than I have been. I will visit your site and welcome you back.
i have been in church since i was old enough to know i was in church. i have seen so many changes. it seems like a lot maybe not all but a lot of the churches now is about; money, materials things and politics. A lot of stuff in the churches are man made and no where in the bible. I have never heard of a ATM machine in the church. so i think a lot of people are turned off with pastors who can’t seem to just have 1 wife and not 5 and 6 girlfriends. anyway i love the lord and i love church, but just like God he loves the sinner but he hates the sin.
Linda,
I wanted to thank you for your comments yesterday. If you spent very much time at my blog you probably noticed that I have not posted in several months, perhaps even more than a year. It is funny, sometimes (if not sad), how good intentions can be and are often interrupted by our busy schedules; such has certainly been the case with my blog. But, your comment was a pleasant reminder that people still come across my blog and I need to spend more time writing.
Like you, I have been in the church for many years (28 to be exact) and have seen a few changes in that time. I agree that many congregations seem to be more interested in things that don’t matter; such as the items you mention: money, material things, politics, etc. I also agree that many of things in the church are man made, some of which are not addressed by the Bible and other which are counter to the Bible. We have to be wise enough to discern between the important and the unimportant, and loving enough not to make an issue of those things that are unimportant.
I also agree that our conduct of life is an important part of our witness to the world. Unfortunately, temptations exist and we often give in to its empty promises; ALL of us. Ministers/Pastors/Etc need to be aware that being leaders carries a greater responsibility to be examples of faith in action — but lest we forget, it also makes them a larger target for Satan’s attacks. You are right, we need to love the sinner and oppose the sin.
Again, thank you for your comment. I would love the opportunity to discuss whatever thoughts you may have concerning any of the articles at “Rediscovering Faith.”