disillusionment with church

This past week I have had several conversations with several different people that underscored a growing sentiment, a sentiment that Bev and I have been hearing for about five years. People are very disillusioned with the way we interpret and do church. Now before you disengage spiritually and intellectually with this statement, before you immediately assume that these people are somehow disgruntled church-goers who want to do things their own way, hear what I have to say.

Most of these kinds of conversations have been with people who either are or who have been in leadership in a local church, pastors, elders, people in music ministry, and deacons, etc. They are not disillusioned with God, with Jesus, or even with heart to heart transformational relationships. No these things are dear to their heart. What does deeply bother them is the lack of these things in their churches. What does deeply bother them is a sense that the system of church (the structure, the activities, the ministries) has taken precedence over both God and people. What does bother them is the lack of love for people. What does bother them is that when they begin to question the status quo, they are immediately dismissed at best and rejected and vilified at worst by those who seek to protect the church system.

A pastor wondered if it is even possible for the large church he led to be truly real and vulnerable. (He confessed that people in the church were sure that they were vulnerable but in reality were hiding behind facades.)

An elder wondered if anyone in his church would even relate to him if he wasn't an elder. Would anyone miss him if he quit attending Sunday services?

The wife of a person previously involved in music ministry expressed with sadness that when her husband was no longer "in ministry", people quit relating to her and even avoided her.

A couple that both participated in various leadership positions in church observed that they had gotten so busy in "ministry" in the church that they no longer had the time or energy to engage with people in a meaningful way.

The frequent reaction of people who seek to protect the church system is to quickly assume that something is somehow wrong with people I mentioned above. I know all of the listed people personally (and could have listed many, many more). Each person I referred to above is a follower of Jesus. They are not rebellious or trying to cause trouble. They are simply responding to what they see, the reality of their situation.

They have been to the top of the system and have discovered it to be empty. They fear that we have left the ways of following Jesus, exchanging active participation with Jesus in redeeming the world for busy church activities. They no longer have a desire to build a great ministry, a great church, or a great anything. They simply want be deeply involved in the redemptive work of God in the world, interacting with people in a way that God's transformational power is unleashed. They do not want to align with and to be identified by a specific group, ministry, or man. Rather they want to be aligned with and be identified by their participation with Jesus. On the other hand, they deeply yearn for God-centered personal relationships that will be both safe and challenging. Relationships that go beyond the "how are you? I'm fine" standard that defines many church relationships.

For the past number of years people from all types of theological persuasions have been prophesying that a new wineskin (to use Jesus' words), a new way of being church, (perhaps more accurately, a restoration of an old way being church) would emerge. We are seeing that emergence in the hearts of people.

Abundant life and the Waterfront Tavern

This past Saturday evening Bev and I enjoyed an evening together. Friends had given us a generous gift certificate to the Waterfront Tavern in Lewistown. Everything about the evening sparkled with life. The chef at the Waterfront obviously enjoys creating culinary masterpieces, blending flavors and presenting them exquisitely. The steak seemed to melt in your mouth, every bite of the crab cakes demanded another. The October Spice lager blended with the meal to perfection. We dared to try an unknown (to us) desert of rum-soaked lady fingers topped with mousse and chocolate syrup to discover it equalled the rest of the meal. We finished off our desert with steaming rich coffee enhanced with real cream.

The entire experience caused me to reflect on life, more specifically, the abundant life promised by Jesus. It seems to me that we frequently define Christianity, not by abundant life, but by the things we can't or shouldn't do. A pastor friend of mine was recently chided for having too much fun in public. Somehow we have made Christianity into a dull, sober lifestyle, mistakenly assuming that our joyless existence satisfies God.

When I began to truly follow Jesus, I discovered joy in the journey. My life is no longer defined by a set of rules but rather by abundant life. I have learned to shun the things that are not conducive to abundant life. I am learning to wholeheartedly embrace the things that bring life. Abundant life does not eliminate pain but rather it carries me through the normal pain experienced as a result of living in a sin-tainted world. Abundant life does not negate the mundane, ordinary duties of life, it causes me to rise above the place of being defined by those duties. Abundant life does not always keep me from sinning but it will keep me from living in a place of sin.

I do not believe that our experience at the Waterfront caused abundant life, it was a result of abundant life. Abundant life begins in the heart, in our place of oneness with God. As we heed the longing of our spirit to be united with Him, we discover our heart becoming alive. The "aliveness" in our heart then allows us to experience the fullness of God as expressed in our day to day world.

I believe that the writer of Proverbs understood this as he penned the following words -
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (Proverbs 4:23). My prayer for you is that your heart is well, that you too experience the abundant life!

walking together

For those of you who wondered - I did not vanish from sight the past month! It has been a very active season in our lives. For our family, this has traditionally been our busy time of year.

Bev and I did have the opportunity this past weekend to spend time with some fellow travellers on our pursuit of God at our New York lakefront property. At one time our friends were on the road to destruction but more recently have begun the journey toward life. Our time with them refreshed us and reaffirmed the value of connecting relationally in a heart to heart manner with people.

While most people affirm the need for relationships, I am convinced that most people rarely experience deep, heart to heart relationships. I am not talking about the Sunday morning "I'm fine, how are you" kind of relationships. The relationships I am talking about result from life deeply shared. Struggles, joys, dreams, and encouragement are freely shared. Burdens are carried together, questions are explored in community. Facades are not necessary, and in fact, are discouraged. In the midst of our heart to heart relationships, God enters the dialogue, engaging in the give and take.

My hope for each of you reading this is that you will experience the love of true Christian community, not in manner that never goes beyond the surface to the heart, but in the way of Jesus and His disciples, in the way of first century church.