E. Stanley Jones wrote nearly eighty years ago, “But the Christian faith as an organized system…can not lay claim to the kingdom of God as its exclusive possession; for as Jesus broke the Jewish mold and universalized the kingdom of God so he broke the organized Christian mold and made the kingdom of God open to anyone who would bring forth fruits thereof.”
I have been reading in a significant number of publications the renewed interest in defining what Christianity is, or is not, and how the Church today is defining and reshaping its role. Most of what is written seems to me to be nothing more than a new strategy, program, or emphasis to maintain the current institutions that we have grown comfortable in. In other words, we are striving for survival.
In my early years as a Christian, Church was not very important. Telling others about Jesus and his life changing power in my life was important. Worship served only to help me connect with God in a community setting. Church was a place to hear more of Jesus and His ways, so that I could help others come to know and experience this life changing personality.
The Church today, and when I speak of Church, I am really talking about the United Methodist Church of which I am a part, is struggling to keep the doors open. In North America we are seeing a steady decline in attendance and giving.
Programs regularly come down from on high, with the hopes that they will somehow revolutionize the Church and bring about growth and renewal. This is a tragic play of the type William Shakespeare would have written.
As I see it, the problem lies in the fact that Church has overtaken “the way”. Our religion matters more than our spirituality. The rules are more important than the hearts of unbelievers.
If this is not the case, then why are we still debating whether gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender folks are not welcomed into the life of the Church? Does not Jesus welcome all persons, regardless of their life path?
And why are we still debating the color of the rugs, the paint on the walls, and whether the youth can use the gym, or other parts of the building? Why do we quarrel over pastors not visiting enough, or too much, or a million other things from finances to church socials?
On June 21st, 2010, I celebrated 32 years as a Christian, and yet I still feel as if I am a toddler in my spiritual development. I have not been able to conform to the religion of the Church, and for that I thank God.
I am still a rebel when it comes to Church rules and regulations. I still want to defend the defenseless. I want to welcome the stranger into our midst. I want to heal the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the imprisoned.
More than anything, though, I want to be so close to God that one day He will say to me, as he did to Enoch, “Come on home with me to dinner. My house is closer than yours.” (This is a paraphrase version of “Enoch walked with God and was not, for he walked with God”. Genesis 5:24)
I have a desire to lose my religion and keep my spirituality. That is not to say I do not desire being a part of the larger body of Christ. I want to be part of the Church, or more correctly, I want to be a part of The Way. I want to share my love for Christ, and His love for me, with others. I want to worship, and help others to worship the living God.
Above all else, I want to follow “the way, the truth, and the life”. I want to follow Jesus from here to eternity. I do not want to follow the Church, but I do want to be a part of it. Is that too much to ask?
