I have been taking some time to visit churches, to really take some time to see what God is doing in our city. There are some amazing things happening. The invitation of God’s grace and mercy for anyone who would want it is simply remarkable.
But what may be just as striking, and a little discomforting, is how the image of our churches are just that: images of us. Now, I don’t want to harp on the institution of the church. I believe with all that I am that one of the greatest expressions of God’s mercy is the fact that His church continues despite ourselves. However, one of the most common characteristics of our churches that I have noticed is that we more and more confuse personality and production for presence. And at the end of the day, nothing can replace the presence of God. Yet, we are seeking the charismatic onstage personality, or the slick, well put together production. I suspect we are attracted to such a church because it looks better than we feel inside. Entertainment is being confused with transformation.
By and large, our church looks more like us, our culture, our desires for success and a comfortable life than Jesus. The other day I ran across this quote in The New Parish regarding a professor who was searching for the real thing in churches he visited: “He kept searching for real-world examples of followers of Christ who were integrating deep community life with formative practice and meaningful engagement with their context.”
We search for a church that looks like what we know it is possible of being because we know it is possible. If Jesus is who He really said He was, and this church business is really something He began, if what He has done in our own lives is real as a result of what He did on the cross, then we know that we know that church can be a reflection of the same love, grace, and transforming power we experience through Jesus. So the question remains, why are we not finding it? Why is what we know to be true so elusive?
I think part of the reason is that the contextualization of the church has made it easier for us to make church into something we are comfortable with rather than what we are uncomfortable with. It is easier to create and lead church through our strengths and our own abilities than it is to rely on God. It is much easier to lead in our comfort zone than it is to risk to the point of being out of control. But control is only an illusion.
I think part of the answer is to start making church more about the One who has called us than about what makes us look successful. The kingdom of God is a reversal of everything we know. If we risk to make it more about Him, maybe He will again take His rightful place of being in the center of our churches. Maybe if we risk to let go of control, we can follow the One who is truly in control.
Perhaps it is time to stop doing church, and it is time to start being church.
We live in a city where looks are EVERYTHING even if you are not in the entertainment industry. As creatives, we are called here to live Christ despite the show or the biz but it often seeps in and, sadly, personality and production do often trump His Holy Spirit Presence within churches. Having Jesus be your center is a matter of daily surrendering all the church hype, self-hype(egos, fears) and L.A. hype to God and letting Him reign(“let God out of the box”). It’s not easy but one’s willingness to be in this continually shifting process is where one’s breakthrough begins. Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Well stated! The challenge is being able to find God in the place of surrender. This often begins by expecting that He will be there. It is closely linked with trust that He is there although we may not see Him. This is only complicated by seeing those around us in Los Angeles who prosper through self-centered means and thus challenging our thinking. Seemingly, compromise equals success. It is difficult to find those who have gone before us who kept God first and who were also successful. So, could it be that God wants to do something so radically different with our generation that God uses our availability to shame the wise?
I definitely want church to reflect me, or at least a better version of me and the people I want to be associated with, what I’m comfortable with. I am realizing how hesitant I am to participate in churches that don’t fit that image, which may be keeping me from seeing a more diverse reflection of God. And yet I crave resurrection power, worship services beyond performances, being surprised by people different than me, and wonder why I don’t get it.
Ingrid, you make an excellent point! We often gravitate to a church that reflects an aspect of who we are. It is not only easier to grow spiritually when someone who looks like us shows us the way, but it also confirms to us that God will meet us exactly where we are and we don’t need to look different before God finds us. Even Jesus was contextualized in a Jewish culture. I do think contextualization is vitally important. I have to say that I value what the churches I have visited are trying to do. But, I think we can easily exchange the fullness of Jesus for what is comfortable. The question always haunts me: are we building Jesus’ church or are we building Our church?
Matt, that’s such a great question. I think God is extremely gracious to use our feeble representations of church to build His church, which hopefully motivates us to reflect His fullness more -well, fully. Exchanging the fullness of Jesus for what is comfortable…it’s comfortable to reach out to people like us and while that is powerful, when true reconciliation and unity happens among diverse groups, transformation and the Spirit’s power is hard to deny. So it may be cliche, but doing our best to make our churches more relationally diverse is one way we are pulled out of our comfort zones and forced to work with God in advancing His Kingdom.