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Again, part of the problem is that our church structures are not designed for interaction and mutual learning. Why not read, as a church, one of the many books listed in this essay, and then discuss it? Why not come up with creative ideas for implementing changes where necessary? Yes, this will take time and effort. It'd be much easier to let one person or a committee make some recommendations, and for the rest to vote on them. But does this reflect well on the church as a discerning community? Can we know the will of God or not? Don't we have the "mind of Christ"? (For more on this, see the special issue of Searching Together, Autumn 1984, on "Discernment, Dialogue and Decision-Making in the Church".)
Brethren who will not communicate with one another upon spiritual subjects are as traders who shut up their shops and will not buy or sell. Too wise to be taught and too idle to teach, they live isolated lives ... without joy to themselves or benefit to others. We shall all be beggars together if we shut ourselves like hermits and cry every man for himself. ... Let us hold mutual discourses upon our experiences, make pleasant exchange of our knowledge and aid each other by our gifts.
- Charles H. Spurgeon
I was pleasantly surprised the other day, when out of the blue, my oldest son began spontaneously sharing his thoughts about church. I'm not sure what moved him to share his ruminations with me, but I asked him to set his ideas down in writing. Here's what he said:
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I feel as if the church has become different than Jesus would have envisioned it. I feel lots of churches have become too used to having extras that help us in our worshipping. But the Christian faith is very simple and we really only need to bring a Bible and an open mind. All else is superfluous. Having more material resources DOES NOT determine the quality of the church. A group of Christians on a deserted island with nothing but some Bibles could form a better church than many we have in North America. Another big point is the question of why are church expenses so high? What do we need? We also need to change the structure of the church. For example, we really don't need pews; I think sitting on the floor would do just fine. As well, I think our church time should be 20-25% teaching and 75-80% SHARING. Often, a Christian has some sort of problem as they enter the church, and during the sharing time, they cannot say it due to time constraints and the fact that they feel obligated to be quiet as to not disturb the flow. As well, there are many older and more experienced people there, so they could give valuable advice, perhaps because they have firsthand experience. After all, why do we give some people the title of "deacon" and "elder"? Because we feel they help other people because they have experience. On a related note, almost everyone should stay upstairs in the worship service. Then the younger people will gain important knowledge and learn about what it's like to be a Christian as an adult. Another thing is that some people are more cold and impersonal to others, maybe because they don't know them too well. The elimination of pews would certainly help. How about sitting with people you don't know as well? In summary, I believe that the church is somewhere you learn and help someone else learn. You don't need anything to do that. God loves the poor Christian with nothing as much as the rich Christian with lots. Throughout history, Christians have lived with nothing and still were excellent in their faith, even better than some Christians today. Perhaps we need to HAVE LESS in order to GAIN MORE. my son Jonathan, age 14 |
Well, I have at least one conversation partner! But it would be nice if more Christians were as passionate about church life. Because of my prior bad experiences with churches, I've been very reluctant to openly share my ideas for fear of rejection or ridicule. But I've reached a point where I can't hold them in any longer, so I've gone out on a limb and exposed my deepest burden to whoever should read this. My prayer is that some of you will walk beside me and be my conversation partners. Even if we can't meet face-to-face, I would appreciate meeting in cyberspace (in fact, I've met many "soulmates" this way!).
Once I was on my own
And falling
Once I was all alone
And calling
For someone, anyone today
To help me just a little on my wayAnd then I took a look around
And I saw the love that surrounded me
I knew that it was up to me
To cast off all the fears that bound me
Jackson Browne, Cast Off All My Fears
May we strive to make our church a community where everyone will be able to sing with deep sincerity the the second stanza of the above song. Then we shall all be free to be who we truly are in Christ, both individually and corporately.
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can.
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.J.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
| Appendix: Some Thoughts on My Present Church |
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