"the reason we may feel like we don't need church in America is because we don't. We know what it takes to survive, we know a little bit about having faith, and we have our own communities and that can be enough to carry us through. But then there are underground churches in other countries that need that church for the support and faith building that they need."
I am re-reading Anne Lamott's book 'Traveling Mercies' in which she talks about her church numerous times and what it means to her. A living, breathing, loving, and giving family nurturing her and her son Sam. I wonder then if church is like that for me, but that is not what I find in my co-church goers. So many people are looking for different things once they enter the door that it is impossible for me to think of what I am looking for, and more times than not I have no idea of what I am looking for and I feel like church is a waste of my time.
Perhaps this is a season and perhaps I look into this issue way too much, but sometimes I can't help but to feel like church is happening at my old house when we all sit around and eat and drink together. Sometimes I feel like church is at the bar, or on top of a mountain, or in the car while having a great discussion, or when I watch a film or read books that get me thinking.
What is church and why can't I ever find it at 'The Church'?
(comments welcomed)
Ryan
(here is a photo of me thinking about church)
5 comments:
ry-c
i miss you and your wife.
Hey Ryan,
This is a good, honest, searching post. I think we should constantly be asking questions like these. As uncomfortable as they are to ask, they are really really really important.
You mentioned, "I am trying to look at what church is and what it means to me." And your friend said, "the reason we may feel like we don't need church in America is because we don't."
I may be overthinking things, but I'd suggest part of problem in America is that we filter everything through how things look and feel to "me." I'm not saying it's irrelevant how we experience things, just saying that every single thing is often judged by how it feels to "me." And I'd also suggest that a major factor in why the church is mostly irrelevant in America is because we've so deeply screwed up Christianity by making it all about the individual, and so the church starts giving out products like sermons and new "worship" songs and whatever else to individuals and Christianity becomes a marketed, pre-packaged item rather than a relationship.
I hope I didn't come off as too harsh in the paragraph above, because I have to admit that too often I want to make Christianity center on me and serve me, and I get pissed when people challenge me...but then I realize that I really deeply need them, and church begins to mean more.
I've grown to be more and more disgusted with what church is, and I think some good questions to live with are these:
"What is church as the New Testament sketches it out? And how does that compare/contrast with the average "church" now?"
"Who did the church hang out with/spend time around then? And how does that compare/contrast with the average "church" now?"...and so on and so forth.
It becomes pretty clear to me when I read in the New Testament that church was centered around dinner tables, equal relationships with the rich and poor, servanthood, humility, and being intentional about all of these things.
I think the church today is mostly irrelevant because it's very few of those things, and I think we need courageous people who will return to the heart of church; sharing normal life with each other, but being very intentional about why we do the things we do and how we do them and who we do them with.
I like this quote that Brian McLaren uses, "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change things build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."
I like that quote, because we can form a group of interested, intentional people, and pursue strong relationship with each other under Jesus as our Lord, and through working hard through that, we have ourselves a church.
I don't think you look into this issue too much, and I agree that church can happen anywhere. I think it centrally happens when people go out of their way to really really share life with each other and follow Jesus. Whatever that might look like.
Ryan,
Enjoying hearing your thoughts. You're thoughtful and I like that. I'll try and give you a cll soon. Maybe next week, when I'm down in SF it will be easier.
David.
in regards to what you had to say nate:
i have thought about the the whole "what i need in a church" and "this church suits me" thoughts many times and i couldn't agree with you more. church is not and should not be the place we go because they play these new worship songs that get us emotionally charged, and we shouldn't go to the church because the pastor tells the best jokes, and we shouldn't go because everyone there is just like us. i am behind what you are saying all the way.
after re-reading my post i realize that all of my wording made it sound contradicting. to re-edit my post instead of saying what i am looking for i would say 'what church is' the idea that i got from traveling mercies was that she saw church as a "living, breathing, loving, and giving family nurturing her and her son Sam." then i went on to say that so often i find myself having church in the company of family and friends, at a bar, on top of a mountain, etc. that was where i meant to go with that.
i dont seem to go to church and wonder why i go because the music may not be my thing, or because there are no other bankers there, or because our pastor tells funny jokes (as you know we don't even have a pastor at the table) but i more or less question the system of church now as opposed to house churches, meeting places like bars, or even places of solidarity.
i hope i clarified that a bit more. thank you for your words and what you had to say. it was very encouraging and challenging to me.
Ryan,
From reading your response, it doesn't look like you're questioning church as much as you're questioning church as "event" and longing for church as "lifestyle" or church as "relationship." I'm with you on that wholeheartedly. The deeper I go into seeing what leadership of church as "event" or "building" is, the more I am turned off by it...it's so impersonal and encourages persons to be less messy so that the church can be more "clean" and "professional" in its image and therefore attract more middle-class families who will give more to the church and on and on and on and on...
Bleh.
And I would add that I don't think searching for what is true "for me" is inherently bad. I was reading this morning in a book called "The Calling," and he quoted a Danish philosopher named Soren Kierkegaard (who I think I'll name my first son after, but that's another topic haha). Soren said this,
"The thing is to understand myself, to see what God really wants me to do; the thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for which I can live and die."
Basically, I think he's saying that we all NEED something to invest ALL of our lives in, something that gives us purpose enough that we would die for the meaning it gives us. And so we have to ask, "What does this mean for me?"
That's why I think church happens when followers of Jesus get together "intentionally" and really commit to stick with one another through all the good times and all the shit life throws at us. We worship God with everything we are; nothing is excluded from being a place where worship can happen; including all the places you mentioned.
Post a Comment