Recently, I’ve posted some graphs or issues that concern me regarding the church, particularly my own little corner of white conservatism. I have been pretty open that I think many of the “new” positions of the church regarding politics is dangerous and unBiblical.
However, that has led some people to ask me if I hate the church, or if i’m leaving the faith, or something along those lines. My friends, nothing could be farther from the truth. Allow me to elaborate.
Francis Bacon once said that a little philosophy inclines a person to atheism, but depth in philosophy inclines a person to God. That is, sometimes people get a little glimpse of something and see some of the underbelly (as all things have), and think that is all there is. But if they stick around and push through and keep looking, they will find real truth and beauty.
A Little Church Inclineth to Frustration
Something similar happens when people start to get involved in churches. They start attending and see all the happiness on Sundays and Bible Studies and outreaches and so forth. And they think: “this is great, this is what Jesus wanted his Bride to be.”
But then they get on the Board, or the worship team, or start attending annual business meetings, or try to lead Women’s ministries, or get involved in something at a deeper level, and they realize that EVERYBODY at church is a selfish narcissist, and is most likely inhabited by, at minimum, 3 legions of demons.
They think to themselves “the Church is so corrupt. People are spiritually abusing me, pastors (or whatever authority) is just in it for power, the board just wants money, the leadership isn’t serving God at all.”
A lot of people leave church around this time. They think they’ve seen the REAL church, and they KNOW the truth that churches try to hide. They go on Twitter (or X. Lame.) or Facebook or Instagram or whatever and talk about their “experiences with the Church,” and talk how about they’re rediscovering the “real” church by just loving people outside the church, without all the mess and baggage and tradition of the church.
Depth in Church Inclineth to God
BUT (and this is where we’re gonna get real, my friends), that’s because people wanted a fantasy church, not a real church. If you want an analogy, it’s like when people first get married, or start dating. They think “this person is amazing. I’m not good enough for them. They are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m glad to just be in their company.” But five years later, they’re thinking “How could God let me make such a mistake. This person doesn’t care about anyone but themselves. They deceived me, and hid who they really were.”
The truth, they didn’t hide themselves from you (in most cases). You just didn’t know them, as they really are. Churches are no different. If you only attend church i on Sunday morning and maybe a bible study here and there, it’s no different than a dating relationship when you go out once a week. It’s easy to think everything is perfect.
But once you start talking seriously about the future, once you get that engagement ring, things change. Then you see more of the complex person across from you. You see they aren’t just “them,” they are Dave or Marco or Juanita (names taken from my recent DoorDash deliveries), with their own struggles and self doubt and passions. They are a “person,” not a character in a book or movie.
Real Love, Real Relationship, Real Everything, is when you work through those hard things. When you decide that you will surrender part of yourself for the good of the other person. When their good and well being becomes more important than your own.
Jesus Knows, and yet…
If you are a Christian and believe Jesus is fairly knowledgeable, do you think that he knew that kind of people that would be in His Church. Do you think he was suprised that sinful people act..you know..sinfully? Do you think he didn’t know that the angels in heaven might be more honorable, more worshipful, than the scumbag disciples?
And yet He came anyway. He chose to work through people. Because He loves us. Because there’s beauty in the transformation. Because there’s joy in the work. Because we are in His image, and we reflect the Glory of God in a way no other creation can.
That’s how I want to think about the Church, both my local church and the church worldwide. I want to see and understand the darkness that is there, not to live with my eyes closed to the suffering and the problems. But I want to look Beyond those problems, I want to see the beauty in the struggles that all of the people I see on Sunday morning are going through. I want to push through the “little bit of church” and get to the “depth in church.”
In every church (ok, almost every church), there are good people striving to do what’s right. They are trying to serve God as best they can, and struggling with their issues, the same as I am. I may not agree that their view of God or vision for the Church is the right one, or I may disagree with their methods. But I can look for the beauty that is there.
I can look for the people who are cleaning the church, who are manning the food outreaches, who are coming to the late night prayer meetings, who are doing what they can, even through their pain. Even in the people I disagree with, I can try to understand how they see God and the Church, and how they are trying their best to follow Christ.
Yes, I have concerns with the corner of the church I’m involved in. I think politics has infested it to a dangerous and non-Godly level. And yet I still see the beauty there. I see people doing what they think is right, and maybe a little bit of nudging will help.
It’s because I am committed to the Church that I won’t walk away, and I won’t ignore what I see as danger signs. We must work and find a way through this, together, with Christ as our Head. That is my goal in calling out the church. I am not saying I hate the Church.
Quite the opposite. I love Christ, and as a result, I will love His Bride as best I can. I will work to find a way, as long as I am able, under the guiding hand of Jesus. That is what the Church is. That is what we are called to. That is what will break the gates of hell, and bring hope to the world.