Introduction: After reviewing this posting, I realize it might sound like I believe we should treat Christians better than we treat non-Christians. I don't believe that, but it should be noted that it might be easier to offer love and forgiveness to those that don't believe the same as us if we can love and forgive those that share our values.
I still consider myself a Christian, and I still see God daily in the world around me, but the distance I feel from my "beliefs" seems to be growing. This is funny to me, because I feel strongly about what I do still believe. God's existence makes total sense to me, and I do not doubt his presence. I still believe Jesus' ways are the perfect example for the human life to emulate, so living with Him as the centerpiece of my faith is also a certainty for me. I guess what is most likely the cause of my "lost" feelings is the fact that in the last year I have given up organized church.
I am not one of those that has a problem with organized religion, mind you, but merely modern organized "church". I probably wouldn't have this problem if I was Catholic, they still have the sense that your church is your church regardless of how happy you are, or what the church is doing for you.
My problem is one clearly shared by numerous people in the evangelical world today, the collective evangelical church (and how the church views personal faith) has become too much of a product. The "church" is a building, or a charismatic pastor, or the people attending the church, and you get to choose which building, pastor, or group of people most appeals to you. They design the church to fill certain needs for certain types of people.
If your needs or beliefs change, or the direction of the church changes, there are countless other churches waiting in the wings to sweep up the mess that is made. People even switch churches based on advertising campaigns. People aren't unhappy where they are, but the grass is greener on the other football field, or they're gym has treadmills, AND elliptical machines. Is this how we were made to come together? Choosing which church best fits us? Don't we share the Christian title with many types of people, including those we don't always agree with?
Even beyond those whose exact beliefs we don't share, I'm sure there are many instances where people choose not to attend a church based on how others might look. How many whites do you see in a primarily black church? How many people in Nampa would attend a mostly hispanic congregation when there are countless churches populated with a white majority? Even with shared beliefs, people feel uncomfortable when they can't blend with the crowd, and they have the option to leave for whatever reason they choose.
Having limitless options really doesn't do great things for loyalty. It takes people of high character to stick with a church during the rough times, and most people can't live up to that standard. I've left a church or two in my day with hard feelings.
It seems to me that the way Western Christianity does "church" is still focused on the Sunday Service, and that is why I want to leave it behind. How many sermons have I heard that said that the church is the people in attendance and not the building? Do they mean that all Christians are the church, or just those in their denomination?
What if the church didn't revolve around a Sunday Service or an established denomination? What would it look like if it was just a collection of believers that had good relationships with one another? What if the nearly 200 million Christians in America decided that they were all the church body and we treated each other like brothers and sisters of the same faith? Wouldn't that make people begin to treat their neighbors a bit differently? Would we consider any time we spend with the other 199,999,999 Christians to be "fellowship"? A gathering time would be nice, but would it be necessary?
There is a 75% chance that the next American you see registered his or herself as a Christian on the 2008 census. What is the likelihood that you would treat that stranger as a brother or sister in Christ? What is the percentage of strangers that you treat with respect, or better yet, with unconditional love? Yet, at the Sunday morning service, you (hopefully) would treat all in attendance with the patience and love that comes with a shared faith in an unconditionally loving God. If we saw all Christians as the body of Christ, we might start to realize how much we have to offer those that are in need.
I am CERTAINLY not the best at this. I look at my customers at the Flying M as cattle lined up for the slaughter, not like humans in need of a little grace and love. I could also probably use some of that grace and love from the strangers I encounter, not that I deserve it.
So what do we do to solve this problem? Many have tried to start new churches, others strive to better the ones they are in, and others (like me) just give up. I would go to a church that was attended based on location like the public school system, but that would never happen (unless I joined the Catholic faith, like I mentioned earlier... Hmmm.)
Maybe I don't feel distanced from my beliefs, just alone in them. My problem probably comes from a feeling that I no longer belong to an official congregation that knows my name and my family and my personal life story.
But the more I think about it, the more I realize that this isn't true. I have a bounty of close friends in my life, probably more than most people who attend Sunday service style churches. When things go wrong, I have friends who gladly talk to me, when things go right, I have countless people wanting to celebrate. When I need somebody to tell me not to be such a jerk, I have that, too. I have friends who learn and grow with me. I have friends that I challenge and that challenge me right back. I have a group of people that I can trust to help me with pretty much anything I need.
I suppose I should stop to realize that I do have a church body that I rely on, and that I don't need to feel inferior or left out of the faith because I don't attend a Sunday service or have some middle aged pastor preaching at me regularly.
I feel better now.
Happy Easter, Christ died because he loved us and wanted us to be forgiven. Lets celebrate with endless practicing of love and forgiveness.
