System Failure of “Churchianity”

We live in a peculiar time when we are more connected than ever electronically, but also more lonely than ever. News travels faster than lightning. There is so much noise and a constant bombardment of information. We are constantly pulled to the surface and our biggest struggle is to find a quiet place where we can unplug and listen to our hearts. We can reach thousands of people through a post on the Internet but our human condition remains the same – we crave close relationships, to be known, to be held accountable, to be transparent with a few close friends, a small, safe circle where we can truly be ourselves. How do you get to know somebody? You spend time together. Our time is limited. Our bodies are limited. We can only be present in one place at a time. The Internet has us believe that we can be everywhere at the same time. But it’s not reality. It’s not healthy. We become fragmented, spread out thin. Profound depth and commitment is hard to find these days. We’ve created a culture of instant impressions. Fame lasts for a few days. The latest trends are short lived. The word “viral” that used to describe an unwanted respiratory infection is now a dream of many individuals – that their posts will “go viral”, spread everywhere and get millions of likes. This same phenomenon has spread in our churches. Pastors and leaders are battling these same temptations – the desire of being liked, being known, being famous at the price of selling out their souls, their integrity. These temptations are not new. But the World Wide Web has only existed for the last 30 years of human history. This is a new landscape, uncharted territory we haven’t yet learned to navigate. The temptations are the same, since the beginning of time, but the ways they play out are new. 

I’ve been hurt by a few leaders through my years as a believer. Not necessarily personally, but just by watching their actions and attitudes from a distance. I had expected more from them. I have come to realize it is a systematic problem. The problem is the system. We have a wrong view of what church is supposed to be and consequently we have the wrong view of the church’s leaders and preachers and we put them on pedestals and expect them to lead us and give us what we need. We put our hope in different leaders and therefore we get more hurt when they don’t live up to our expectations. We have a consumer mentality and we shop for churches like we shop for a new pair of jeans. We want just the right fit. We talk about a church service in terms like “it was good” or “I really liked it”. What does that even mean? 

I have come to a few conclusions concerning “church”, what church is and what church is not and I’ll throw a few pointers out  here: 

1 – Church is not a business and cannot be run as a business. Church is a fellowship of believers that are sharing life together. If we start running the church as a business it poisons the pure, organic life of the people. Jesus called us friends, not employees. And Jesus said that true friends are willing to lay down their lives for one another. You cannot orchestrate that kind of commitment. That would be spiritual abuse. It has to be birthed in the supernatural, in the eternal love of the Father. 

2 – Church is not an institution, but a family. Nobody wants to grow up in an institution. Institutions are prisons, psych wards, hospitals etc. Although church might serve as a hospital at times if people are hurt, church is primarily a family. Not an orphanage. A real family. Families might be more or less dysfunctional but they’re still families and they stick up for each other. Hopefully. 

3 – We are not members of a club that requires dues to support the “professionals” but we are all vital members of a living body. Every body part is gifted in a different, but essential way. We need to honor one another and our unique giftings in church. (1 Cor 12, Rom 12:5). We’re all meant to work together, supporting one another in this one goal – to give glory to God and be His body on earth. 

4 – Church is not meant to feed me. I can eat at home. I shouldn’t be going to church gaping like a hungry baby bird, waiting to be fed. I go to church to share in the fellowship and worship and celebrate together with my fellow believers. The phrase “going to church” shows that we have a twisted view of what church is. We’re thinking of church as a building, not as an organism that we’re a vital part of. We’re embodying and carrying “church” with us wherever we go. We, as believers, are the church. We are the bride of Christ. We need to grow up into our true identity as sons and daughters and be Jesus’ body to this world. 

Jesus modeled what church is when he gathered a handful of men around him and invested time and energy with them as they shared life and purpose. Jesus never started a Mega Church. He shared his message with thousands of people (I’ve always been amazed how he did that without a sound system) but even more so, he shared in smaller settings and in one on one encounters with individuals. He was so unknown that Judas had to point him out in a crowd (with the famous kiss) so they didn’t capture the wrong guy when they arrested him. Yet he impacted the world so much, that here we are, 2000 years later, pondering this movement he started, now called Christianity. Jesus never meant to start a religion. That was the last thing he was interested in. Quite the opposite. The religious leaders at his time were the people Jesus called hypocrites, fools, whitewashed graves and offspring of vipers. Jesus’ agenda was more of liberating people from a religious, legalistic  mindset and inviting them into a loving relationship with their heavenly father. I believe that is still his agenda. Is it our agenda also? Or are we too busy building various ministries and branding ourselves rather than laying our lives down for our brothers?