The Contemptible Body
Tell me, what do you think of when you hear the word “church”? Is it those TV Evangelists, protestors at veteran’s funerals, bombers of abortion clinics? Old women and Sunday clothes? A priest and a confession booth? Huge glorious steeples? What about the smell of old wood in ancient cathedrals? Billy Graham? How about pain and gossip and segregation? I’m just wondering, because I’ve been doing some pondering on the word myself…
Before 2004, I had attended church only for funerals and on one occasion, went to a Christmas play with my neighbors. Ah, the memories… But prior to that, I guess the only spiritual notions that crossed my brain where my grandmother’s haunted house, my extreme fear of death (at the time), and that my sister was in heaven with God. Nothing to theological. With four years of church-going under my belt I’m a bit more informed than I used to be, but informed in ways that I never thought.
As I’m sitting here, writing this and ignoring the huge amount of finance homework that needs to be done, a rush of my past collides with my own self and it causes my brain to be filled with so many emotions. You see, nowadays, when I ruminate about church and what it means to me, a swarm of pain, joy, confusion, and fleeting happiness comes and hovers over me.
About a year ago, I was involved in a somewhat nasty conflict at my previous church. It turned out to be one of the most painful and bitter experiences I’ve ever endured. But it opened my eyes to the fact that while churches should be Christ-like, they are still full of humans and thus have the ability to create pain.
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but we Christians haven’t been the prettiest thing in America lately. I’ve read stories about a church that goes to veteran’s funerals protesting and holding up signs that say “God hates you.” At my college, there’s a Christian extremist group who like to terrorize everyone on campus with their signs that say “Islam is not a peaceful religion” and “Halloween is from the devil.” After seeing these things, it was like my eyes were opened and God whispered one simple, but powerful concept into my heart: God is love. Period. He always has been and always will be, no matter what the crazies at my school or the extremists protesting with their “God hates you” signs say. I had never understood this before (it seems a little ridiculous because that’s what the whole bible is about!). But I do now, and the concept goes even further: this love should always be present in our own lives, as well as the church.
Oh what an epiphany it was, but it’s nothing new. God, the one who created Earth and all its inhabitants, has always done nothing but love creation, despite what creation thinks. What we, especially as Christians, considered detestable, untouchable, sinful, and unlovable, God has not. He does not let color, ethnic background, political beliefs, money, sexual orientation, or whatever gets in the way of relationships, get in the way of His love for HIS creation. He’s even done something so drastic as to sacrifice his own son, his own self, so that there would no longer be the barrier of guilt or fright standing between Him and people. In a way, God’s love for humanity is like the ultimate love story. The Creator, so in love with his creation, took so many measures to make sure that his creation new of his love, and then, he gave his creation the choice to choose for themselves whether they believe in the Creator and his love, or not. Because love isn’t love at all if it is forced.
Speaking of choices, I make horrible ones daily. Everyone does, even churches do (big gasp here). Making sure to keep this in mind I’m still pondering the meaning… what does church mean to me? In the dictionary it’s defined as “the whole body of Christian believers; Christendom.” But I think it’s deeper than this. Just because we go to church, doesn’t mean that that’s all we need to do, and then just live our lives as we please. But we tend to skip right on over this. Churches become institutions instead of sanctuaries. God moves with or without steeples and preachers, because that is who he is. Yet, he has commanded us to be a body, a family. And this family of ours is commanded to bless others (remember Abraham, anybody? “I’m going to bless you so that you may bless others”). Isn’t this what it’s all about? God is love; so naturally, one would assume that’s what a church should represent. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of churches that do such, and then there are plenty that don’t. There are plenty that point a finger at those not considered Christians, while saving all their love for themselves (I got sucked into this thought, too)
Yet in all this, I begin to understand what Jesus was doing while he was here on this earth. He took special care to show love to the “outsiders,” the “sinners” and what the Jews considered at the time, the “unclean.” There are so many who need to be loved outside of our Christian circle.
In the end, it goes as Jesus said, “Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone.” If we have any condemning to do, then it should be right in the mirror, pulling that plank out of our own eye, because no one is without sin. However, because we are saved doesn’t give us the right to use the “holy finger” on those who aren’t.
Posted on April 21, 2008 12:00 AM
Comments
I'm sorry you had a bad experience at your previous church. And I agree with you that God is love, and that we should be people of love.
But I don't think criticizing the church is the answer. As a postmaterial young adult with postmodernist tendencies I've done my fair share of criticizing. However, more than once I've had to face the harsh reality that blasting the institutional church is fruitless un-love. It does nothing but draw battle lines. Not only that, but the "institution" expects to be hated on by websites like this.
Let's not play into the stereotype. I'm not saying you must start attending your local megachurch, but you could start by recognizing how they ARE attempting to be the body of Christ instead of how they aren't. Bitterness is a dead end.
Posted by: Jared Hazzard | April 21, 2008 2:02 AM
I appreciate your struggles, and am sorry for your bad experience. But I've said this many times over these past fews years in ministry. Church problems, are people problems. Somehow we all fall into thinking that the church is this weird over-brain that supersedes Christian though. I think this is very wrong, and very unfair to our modern church "leaders" We are the church, when it's good and when it's bad, we have to choice but to identify ourselves with the body of Christ (lest we cut ourselves off from the head). You want the church to change....repent, confess your sins and repent.
Posted by: Matt | April 21, 2008 12:56 PM
thanks for the input guys! but, if you read a little deeper into the article, it goes beyond the church. thanks!
Posted by: tara | April 22, 2008 10:18 AM
I think this is very well written and indeed goes beyond the church. Your experiences have led you to be able to look objectively at the institution of church and see its humanity while exploring the root of the problem. I see that you are not attacking the church, but searching for the answer as to why the rest of America sees the church as something bad. Great job!!
Posted by: Shannon E. | April 22, 2008 6:09 PM
Tara,
I feel for you because you are seeing something that I have seen for about 40 years and you have gotten two not-so-favorable comments.
We are our own worst critics most of the time, and that is doubly true in the church. It is so very easy to criticise the church because it stands for something that is so far above its capability to emulate. I am part of the church and I could go on for some time about how ineffectively I truly represent Yeshua in my daily life. Yet I think I am more righteous than most of my 'christian' friends, amongst whom many are pastors.
The other day, I was listening to a major christian radio program that was comparing Oprah Winfrey to an occultist with a doctrine of demons. I wondered why we tend to label those whose doctrine does not line up with our own as 'satanist'. I also wondered how much more difficult it will now be for all christians to present the gospel to the millions of Oprah worshippers, now that a mainstream evangelical group has labelled her "New Spiritualism" as a "doctrine of demons".
As I read how Paul worked his way through the Greek cities, I do not find him calling their belief system a doctrine of demons. Rather, I see him carefully examining what they believe in and seeing how he might compare that with the gospel.
Maybe instead of going negative toward the Oprah's, Mormon's, Hindu's, Islamic's, and Bhuddists of this world, we could find what it is about their belief that fills the 'god-shaped' hole in their hearts and help them find a relationship with Yahweh by using their convictions in a positive way.
Posted by: Wayne Bays | April 22, 2008 6:28 PM
I see what you're saying. I guess I'm sensitive because I've spent a lot of time with disillusioned church-goers and it seems all anyone wants to do is bash the institution. As you're pointing out, though, it's not the institution- it's the people. That line has to be clear. Regardless of whether a church is established or emerging, if people live with unlove it will be an "eyesore".
Posted by: Jared Hazzard | April 23, 2008 12:37 AM
I agree that when the Church doesn't act like the Church, it gets really ugly really fast. But, the problem always boils down to our hearts; what is in our hearts will come out and show itself. The church will remain no matter how ugly we the church act, because Jesus ordained the creation of the church. All we can do is continue to follow Jesus, because beauty always comes out of the pursuit.
Posted by: Sam | April 23, 2008 3:33 PM
Tara,
I agree with you, that we as Christians are above all else commanded to be loving and compassionate toward all of God's Children. (And of course, everyone is a child of God!)
However, I would argue that the overemphasizing the phrase "God is Love" drastically oversimplifies our relationship with God and one another. While I believe that God loves everyone (and that we should not forget that Jesus had some very radical and difficult commandments for us, outside of just loving others. He was viewed as offensive by many. And while he preached love, he also made references to the bad vines being separated from the good. John the Baptist said Jesus came to separate the wheat from the chaff. And let's not forget Paul's willingness to chastise those churches he loved. While the meaning of those things are certainly up for very different interpretations, it's certainly doesn't inspire the "warm and fuzzies."
Don't get me wrong, I think priority number one for the church should be sharing God's love with the world, but that doesn't mean that we need to keep our mouths shut when we see objestionable behavior inside or outside the church. Does that mean picketing funerals? Of course not! In my mind we can support gay marriage rights, watch South Park, and be fully-engaged citizens of the world! But we need to decide our stances on tough issues through careful study and prayer. It's easy to reduce Jesus to a sweet and cuddly guy, but his message was far more prfound and radical than that. And at the risk of sounding like a radical right-winger...We can't engage in complete relativism in the name of God's love.
Posted by: Kevin | April 24, 2008 5:24 AM
Thank you all for your comments! This subject, though it may seem to be an easy one, is so important to us as humans and christians as well.
Kevin, I completely agree with you. These points are also very critical to our beliefs. For God is the ultimate judge, and his justice will always rain down. In the end, those who choose themselves over God will not make it to eternal life, as we read in John 3:16. What I am specifically talking about here is how we, who consider ourselves called by Christ, deal with those who do not know him.
I am not saying here that Jesus is a little teddy bear. He is all things: savior, brother, friend, redeemer, God, creator of the universe, and so many other things. He has commissioned us to tell other's about what God has done for us. I've seen people carry on the Great Commission in many ways: evangelism, surveys, threats, leveraging things over them, relationships, and any other crazy way one could project it. But, out of all these, when it comes to nonchristians, the best way for me, is to love them. Build relationships with them. Be there for them. And tell them about Jesus. Whether they reject or deny him, still love them.
When I recall the bible, I only recall Jesus condemning those who already had Jehovah as their god. When it came to "gentiles," he loved on them. The tax collector, the lady at the well, and so on. Did he tell them to turn away from their sin? Yeah. But he showed compassion.
Sometimes I feel like a hippy when it comes to the whole love thing. But it's true!
Your comment on the overusage of "God is Love" makes sense. And would fit perfectly if we as Christians actually portrayed this, and fulfilled this, but we haven't, but I haven't, therefore the world is lacking in Love. And I think that there is no such thing as too much love, either.
God is all things. He's sovereign, he's just, he's compassionate, he's jealous, he's zealous. He wouldn't be these things if he was not love. And thank God for that!
Posted by: tara | April 24, 2008 1:04 PM