Club, Clique, Cult, Sect or What?

What is the church of Jesus Christ? My guess is that if you asked 50 different people, you would get 50 different answers.

Some people (Often church members’ themselves.) see it, or at least treat it, as a club. It is a group to be a part of; a place to hang out; something that provides services and fun things to do. Giving to the church is often equated with paying dues and it is important to belong to the right club – one that is of the correct social status.

Often those attempting to become a part of a church feel it is much like a clique. Every human social organization tends to become inwardly oriented and focused. We become fixated on ourselves and each other. We are comfortable in our group. We like the people in our group. (If not, we change groups.) Pursuing and nurturing the relationships we form in our group(s) takes up all of our time and we really don’t have room in our busy schedules to incorporate another person. Even though every such group considers themselves friendly (Because they are friendly with each other.) and inclusive, the group becomes inwardly focused and lacking social room for more people and looks and acts exactly like a clique.

Sometime members of one church see other churches (that fail to believe exactly what they believe) as sects or cults. Often those outside of the church who honestly don’t get what this God thing is all about, see the church as a cult. First, let me admit that some of our basic Christian beliefs are not a part of the norm of the unbeliever’s life. Communion can be seen as a bit freaky and baptism is a tad odd. If praying is seen as talking with God, isn’t that a little weird? Some Christians are put off by others who speak in tongues or believe in supernatural healing. Protestants have a hard time with the Catholic thinking that the bread and wine of communion are the real body and blood of Christ. None of this stuff concerns me. I have had some wonderful experiences in all kinds of churches that have opened my eyes to differing ways of approaching the life of faith… except for one. For me, snake handling is over the edge – way over the edge. During worship we can enjoy quiet meditation; share in written liturgy; clap our hands; speak in tongues; shout and dance. But don’t be getting the snakes out on me.

Almost all church members I know, either in how they think or how they act, see the church as an institution. The church is, for all intents and purposes, what we believe it to be… what we want it to be. The question becomes, what is it really intended to be? I believe the New Testament makes it clear that the church was designed to be none of the above. Obviously, over the centuries, under the influence of various church leaders, it has morphed into one or more of these guises.

In our day and time, the church most often presents itself as an institution that has become fixated on self-perpetuation. The institution and its continuation have become the central issue instead of s[reading the good news of Jesus Christ. Those outside of the leadership of the Catholic Church can’t understand why the church hierarchy reacted to the accusations of sexual abuse by several priests with a lack of public disclosure and seeking to right a very serious wrong. Unless one understands that the “life” of the institution and protecting the institution is of paramount importance to those who see the church as an institution. The institution has become “holy.” This seems so obviously wrong I find it intriguing that it is seldom named and addressed. It seems that we, both Catholic and protestant, are so accustomed to seeing the church as an institution, and only as an institution, we can no longer imagine it to be anything else.

But Scripture is clear that the church, in its best and most vital form, is anything but an institution. The Church is described as The Body of Christ. We, the Church, are Christ’s physical representation here on earth for our generation to see and come to understand the Gospel. We must constantly ask ourselves, when people look at the church, do they see Jesus? As the Body of Christ, the Church is a living organism, not a lifeless institution. The Church is the love, grace, healing and life source of Jesus interacting in relationships with the culture around it. The Church is alive and sharing life with others.

The Church is people and thus is a movement. Its purpose is not to perpetuate the institution; its purpose is to produce changed lives. All of the Church’s resources (time, energy, talents, funding) should be focused toward sharing the life giving, life changing message of God’s love, forgiveness, grace and healing. Sure, structures must be put in place to facilitate getting that basic work done; but the structure (by structure I am talking about more than buildings) must never take precedence over the mission and the message. The mission of the church is first and foremost. The church is not. And way too often we confuse the two.

The question for each of us to consider is: What kind of a church am I a part of? Club, clique, cult, sect or what? Me – I want to be a part of an “Or What” church.

Copyright © 2013, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved