Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Do You Bail Water or Abandon Ship?

I believe in the Church.  It may be increasingly popular not to.  There is a lot of criticism and cynicism revolving around the Church.

Such feelings are understandable.  Many people have been burned by the Church whether through legalism, hypocrisy, or abuse of authority.  And I cannot blame anyone for these feelings.

There also seems to be a growing conviction our faith is something personal and solitary.  Why would I need others to be involve in my private spirituality?  While I agree about the importance of individual faith and personal salvation, I do not believe it negates the very real need for others.  Our faith is not our own at the expense of involving community.

Past wounds coupled with an over-emphasis on the individuality of faith can produce a very anti-Church sentiment.

Given the fallen state of things and the brokenness of the Church we have to ask ourselves if we will bail water or abandon ship?  With the reality of our situation what will we do?  Do we fight on?  Do we jump ship?  Will we work to help build the Church into who God has designed us to be or will we give up?

It is important we ask ourselves our expectations of the Church.  Why does it surprise us when the Church acts like a bunch of broken people?  We are all in progress.  I am a hypocrite, not for lack of effort, but because the goal set before me and my current level of sanctification are not equal.  I have to be honest about my short-comings, while keeping my eyes upon Jesus.  The Church is not a place for perfect people, there are none.  The Church is a home for the sick and hurting.  Can we give the Church enough grace to be the Church?

Life is not a solitary experience.  Our faith, while personal, has never been intended to be lived alone.  In fact isolation was the first "not good" thing in all of Creation, "it is not good for man to be alone" (Gen 2:18).  Too much of scripture testifies to our corporate design.  Heb 10:24-25 exhorts meeting together and encouraging each other to grow in our faith.  1 Cor 12:12-27 and Rom 12:4-8 both describe how we as a body are to function together.

We in the Church need each other.  I am not autonomous; I cannot do this on my own.  Often we have this "American dream" view of faith which is not Biblical and is not real.  Life is full of hurt and challenges, and we need each other to stand firm.  I have seen too many friends walk away from their faith not because of Theological problems, not because of inconsistency, not because of imperfections, but because of a lack of community.

Something greater happens when we come together; in community there is power beyond the sum of each of us.  Corporate worship is not just about meeting at a regular time or socializing after service, but is about the Body of Christ coming together to grow and uplift and re-calibrate ourselves to be better equipped for going out into this dark and broken world.

Ultimately I believe in the Church because Jesus believes in the Church.  He has wept, bled, and died for the Church.  Jesus would not have come to earth, been rejected by people He loves, and died painfully on the cross if He did not believe we were worth it.  Similarly He would not have left His ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18-20) to us if He did not believe in the Church.  

Grace is not a one shot opportunity; Jesus did not give us just one second-chance but instead opened the door for us to come home.  I may want to limit how much I forgive the Church, but Jesus in His infinite forgiveness of my sins has not called me to be limited in forgiveness.

Instead may we also sacrifice for the bride whom Christ has declared to be worth it.