It is beginning to seem as if I am going to be unable to escape the outpouring of cynicism these days in regards to Christians and "how they do things." I thought retreating back to school in Calgary might give me shelter from the proverbial cynicism storm for awhile, but much to my dismay, no dice...
The phrase "Christians and how they do things" might appear as a pretty vague statement, so I'll try and zero in on what I mean.
Essentially, I mean that people - both Christan and non Christian - have become considerably frustrated with the way in which Christians proclaim a certain belief and choose to reflect that belief through the way in which they live their lives (i.e. the choices they make, the Churches they attend, how they spend their time, what they consume, and so forth).
Of course, at the top of the list of complaints is "Church." A close second - or maybe even a tie for first - is the way in which "Church" and Christians are reaching out to people.
I could share anecdotes about the way in which people have expressed their anger and frustration on this subject, but that's not what I want to get into here.
The main point I want to get across is that people are angry, and this anger leads to the resolution to "check out."
Now "checking out" may look different depending on the person and what they believe, but I've found two main ways in which people are checking out (and it usually is related to what they believe about Jesus).
The first type of "check out:" an individual who believes in Jesus, has attended a church for at least a short span of time, but has reached a point in which conventional church just doesn't speak to them anymore. Because they are frustrated with the conventional North American model of contemporary churches they respond by not going. They complain. They take an individualistic approach. Note: this type is not to be mistaken for people who choose to form a "home church" or choose to "do church" in a less North Americanized format. There are many Christians who approach Church in a way that lines up with scripture, but whose model for worship, preaching, discipleship, etc. does not match up with a conventional contemporary Church service. I'm not really here to judge what constitutes a church. What I am here to do though, is say this:
If you aren't actively part of a community that gathers together to worship Jesus Christ, study scripture, pray, do life together, take communion, and baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I encourage you to find a place where this happens. Most, if not all, of the people reading this blog live in North America. That means you can worship freely without persecution; that means there a thousand different ways to "do church" and a thousand different places out there that honors God and all you have to do is show up and participate!
The second type of "check out:" an individual who doesn't believe in Jesus, may have been to church once or twice, but is looking at the state of the North American Church from an outside perspective - usually atheistic or agnostic - and is doing nothing but laughing, mocking, scorning, spurning, satirizing, condemning, and on, and on, and on.
Here's an example of a second type of "check out" that a friend shared with me today. Just a warning and disclaimer: I don't read this blog, so I can't promise that it's content/language/general perspective on life is something that is valuable or appropriate. I am sharing this link to illustrate the way in which Christians are being viewed by many people today; I am not sharing it so that you become a regular subscriber to that blog.
Anyway, whether it's the first or second type, I have this question that has been nagging me and I can't ignore it anymore: do I get angry when I hear these people speak/read their writing because they are wrong, or do I get angry because they are right?
Honestly, I can't arrive at a solid answer to the question.
In some ways, I think they are "right."
In another way, I think their response to "being right" is completely erroneous and out of line with scripture.
Two verses helped relieve a little bit of my stress and anxiety on this issue today. The first is Jesus proclaiming that the prophecy of Isaiah has been fulfilled:
"For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them." (Matthew 13:15)
The second is the Apostle Paul writing to Christians struggling to figure out how to "do it right:"
"Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Phillipians 2:12-13)
Now what I have gleaned from these verses is the following: though there may certainly be many things wrong with the way things are being done today as far as Christianity goes, it is not an appropriate response to "check out." Rather, the appropriate response is to continually be seeking God for an answer to the question "how do we do it right?" If love something or someone, you invest in them or it. You don't check out when things get messy or difficult.
We cannot allow our hearts to become dull. We cannot close our ears and eyes because we are sad that there isn't a church out there that lines up completely with the way you think it should be done. We cannot passively discover the salvation that Christ freely offers; discovering and receiving this gift requires active, pursuit, passion, adventure, fear, and trembling. It is not a journey that is meant to be done alone thankfully. It is a journey that God will guide us on if we only humble ourselves and ask Him to.
If you call yourself Christian, you are called to do everything you can to make Church, the Body of Christ, as strong and as beautiful as it can possibly be. You are not called to take your ball home and sulk because they wanted to play CFL rules, and you only watch NFL; because they call it "soccer" and you call it "football;" because you wanted to be shortstop, and they made you play first base.
If you aren't Christian, I pray that your ears and eyes would be opened to the beauty that is Jesus Christ and the life He has to offer you.
