Like the vast majority of southern kids during the 1970′s and 80′s, I went to church from time to time. My parents took us to an Episcopal church for several years and then sporadically attended Baptist churches after that. For the most part, I was bored. The one outlier was a Sunday school class in middle school with a teacher who talked almost exclusively about the coming Armageddon. He had little difficulty keeping the attention of his group of boys.
Like most people, even those who think they are Christians, I was not one. But when I went to college, I came to understand the Lord. It happened at Florida State University.
Without giving you my testimony, I can just say that it began with the meetings of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship on campus. I experienced worship and teaching, but it wasn’t like church. We didn’t dress up. We met in a room in the student union.
Music varied in quality with students playing any instruments they could, especially during my first year. We sang words from an old overhead projector and shook keys and made noise. Once I learned not to be self-conscious, it was fun.
The teaching wasn’t like the sermons I remembered (or didn’t remember) from church as a kid. Speakers connected with us, reached out to us, talked about very practical things. The persistent theme was the ways being a Christian should affect your life.
But what made it all work was probably less the programming and more the community. I learned to love the students in our chapter. They became like a new family to me. I was so happy to see them. We met as a group and became part of each others lives the rest of the time, too. They were my social group, my worship group, my homework group, my neighbors, my community. We practically colonized one of the apartment complexes near campus. On top of it all, they were the people who supported Ruth and I by attending our wedding, wishing us well, desecrating my car as a honeymoon-mobile, and giving us gifts.
When I left that group, it was hard for me to find a church. Ruth and I tried a number of places, but I was never satisfied. I couldn’t find anything to match what we’d had before at FSU. I looked for the worship experience that would make it worthwhile to attend, but was rarely happy with that. I tried to find a superstar preacher to amaze me with talent and wisdom. But that wasn’t enough. I sampled churches, found them wanting, and discarded them.
In other words, I was spiritually immature. You may hear of individuals who are so disenchanted with the church that they practice Christianity on their own as if they are advanced Christians. I think that’s the wrong interpretation. A failure to find a church and invest yourself in it is a sign of spiritual immaturity.
Here’s what I found. If you go to a church — preferably a Bible-believing one close to where you live so you will be worshipping with your neighbors — and become part of the community, you will discover that church will become delightful to you.
Don’t go with a consumer mindset. Don’t go thinking that you have to be entertained or amazingly taught or lifted into a higher plane by an ultra-talented worship team. Don’t sit back and judge the person teaching Sunday school as though you are Simon Cowell and the teacher is a performer. Pay attention. Look for opportunities to contribute. I am teaching now and have no illusions that I am a great authority on the gospel of John. I am grateful every time the other members of the class help me out.
Just go, week in and week out, and get to know the people in your church. It may take a while, but eventually you will form relationships and the people in your church will become to you what the people in Intervarsity were to me. Then, when you go to church you will be going to a reunion that happens once or twice a week. It will be an occasion for joy.
The secret of the church is not that it is some business to be run or a show designed to catch curious onlookers. The secret of the church is that is a community. It is a place where you belong and where people know you. In other words, it is a lot like the old bar on the television show Cheers. And it helps you to live the Christian life. In the church, you will become aware of what is going on in other people’s lives and they will learn about your life. You will pray with each other and minister to needs. Christianity is not meant to be practiced in isolation.
So, stop shopping for a church. Stop sampling. Don’t fall for all the hype of a Disneyworld experience with a Christian aura around it. Don’t chase after a superstar preacher. You can hear that on your iPod. Feel free to contribute to that ministry. But find a church where you can be part of a community of people who know each other and will help one another live the Christian life, sometimes as helpers and sometimes by being in need and providing an opportunity for others to help.
May 4th, 2010 | 9:47 am | #1
YAY!
Thank you for this post! You said, “Christianity is not meant to be practiced in isolation.” I would say that it can’t be practiced in isolation. Even on a desert island in the Pacific, the memories and thoughts of the brethren will be with you.
May 4th, 2010 | 11:16 am | #2
This is a valuable post.
May 4th, 2010 | 11:17 am | #3
Ah, but what if what we see as “church” is actually impeding fellowship? There are more answers than a) the traditional church model and b) the lone-wolf, “I don’t need no stinkin’ fellowship!” model. I don’t see “picking a church” as a Scripturally sound method.
I will agree that being constantly dissatisfied with the church because it fails to meet your needs is not a sign of spiritual maturity. Neither is passively accepting the status quo. We should constantly hold up our practices in the church to Scripture in the same way we hold up other doctrines.
May 4th, 2010 | 11:36 am | #4
Just excellent. Well said.
May 4th, 2010 | 12:45 pm | #5
Arthur,
The problem is, the church isn’t a “thing”, it’s a people. You should accept this much at least as status quo: Everyone is a serious sinner. I don’t see how the “church” can impede fellowship.
That helps lower expectations out of folks and saves space for charity for those other rascals who aren’t getting it right.
May 4th, 2010 | 2:23 pm | #6
Augustine of Hippo said, “You cannot have God as your Father unless you have the Church as your mother.” Church is family – our brothers and sisters in Christ, fellow adopted sons of God. We should have the same attitude and commitment to our church families that we have to our natural or adopted families – at least.
May 4th, 2010 | 3:20 pm | #7
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May 4th, 2010 | 3:32 pm | #8
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May 4th, 2010 | 3:42 pm | #9
A friend of mine dropped out from church for about two years. When he came back, he came back with a vengeance. I asked him, “What did the church do differently that made a difference?” He said, “The church didn’t do anything different. I came back as a different person. I stopped thinking that church was about me and started thinking that it was about how I could glorify God and serve others. Now I can’t get enough of it!” He was a huge encourager to everyone he touched. It’s amazing how community tends to shatter the distorted mirrors into which we tend to gaze upon ourselves, eh?
May 4th, 2010 | 4:07 pm | #10
Arthur said we must test the Church in light of Scripture. That’s true, but in real-world terms what does that mean? Isn’t there also a danger in private interpretation of Scripture?
May 4th, 2010 | 8:09 pm | #11
In general what the ordinary person wants, and, therefore what religious institutions tend to provide, is little more than consoling social associations and optimistic talk, perhaps in combination with self applied techniques that people can use as a means for consoling themselves and acquiring worldly goods.
The modern world is a fragmented world. Full of individuals who regard their own separateness and independence as absolute, who demonstrate no profundity and who are not moved by profundity.
Indeed profound questions, and more importantly, profound doings, are strictly taboo in the kind of consoling congregations that Hunter advocates and praises.
May 4th, 2010 | 8:53 pm | #12
John, you’re revealing your own bugaboo. There is nothing about the type of community I’ve praised which would rule out the exploration of profound questions.
May 4th, 2010 | 9:43 pm | #13
“Arthur said we must test the Church in light of Scripture. That’s true, but in real-world terms what does that mean? Isn’t there also a danger in private interpretation of Scripture?”
I hope I don’t get in trouble equivocating between Church and church, but that means we learn what a particular church teaches, test it against what the Bible does, and if it matches up, super-duper. During the sermon, do I hear about Christ crucified? Do I hear both Law and Gospel? Are the sacraments administered? Are sins confessed and absolved? Every church will have a lousy outing once in a while, so don’t judge too quickly. And if the style of worship is different that what you’re used to or the people are different from what you remember, be patient.
Christian fellowship is certainly very powerful and encouraging. But fellowship flows as a result of the Gospel, not the other way around.
May 5th, 2010 | 8:18 am | #14
You said:
“The secret of the church is not that it is some business to be run or a show designed to catch curious onlookers. The secret of the church is that is a community. It is a place where you belong and where people know you.”
I like the fact that church is a community (thank you Jesus!) but must confess that a lot of my friends/acquaintances in other faiths have the same thing. In fact, the “good community” part of religions (of all types) seems to be driven by a broadly human desire to belong, be accepted, be appreciated, etc.
The “secret” of church, then, has to be something other than just the community. I guess I am agreeing with you about the fact that community is necessary, but it can’t be the penultimate (read: sufficient) substance of its existence or we have nothing more to offer than lots of other organizations, groups, religions.
I think I’m saying what David C. Miller said… but with less boldness because I’m not quite as optimistic about an actual “test” for determining if a church lines up with the Church. In real life it seems much harder to know if a church is really good. Therefore it seems like the only way to know if a church is on the right track is to become a part of it first…
Which, I suppose, is part of the reason the parish model encourages you just to go to your local church and make it work – this is really the way you’ll know anyway – it’s just the old-school denominations own up to this, while the rest of us sort of pretend that we’re able to “figure it out” without diving in.
May 5th, 2010 | 9:06 am | #15
Ekklesia is the Greek word commonly translated as “church”. The actual translation means “the called out ones”. Many of St. Paul’s letters were written to an assembly of believers or the new Christian churches of that city (ekklesia). Whenever I read about defining the body of believers in a church I am reminded of the Bereans of Acts 17:11.
“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (NIV)
So I agree with David’s deduction of Arthur’s testing the Church in light of Scripture. The Bereans tested Paul’s words and so must we. The key in reading the passage in Acts is not one Berean but rather a group (assembly) of Bereans. As a local group of believers we test the message given by the leadership as the Bereans did. Additionally, if the local chuch passes the test of Scripture, then become connected as opposed to being a lone wolf. The connecting allows for contribution and thus we fulfill Paul’s directive in 1 Cor. 12:1-31. Granted no church is going to meet everything to everyone, but the basics must be met and the body willing to connect.
Food for Thought
If you are Hungry
May 5th, 2010 | 10:18 am | #16
RS,
Are you sure that your quote isn’t from Cyprian?
May 5th, 2010 | 12:05 pm | #17
No, I’m not sure. I’ve read lots of Augustine and never found it, but of course there’s so much Augustine that doesn’t mean much. My Sunday school teacher first quoted the quote to me years ago.
May 5th, 2010 | 1:50 pm | #18
RS,
I think it originated with Cyprian. In On the Unity of the Church he wrote, “Habere jam no potest Deum patrem qui Ecclesiam non habet matrem.” Or, “He can no longer have God for his Father who has not the Church for his mother.”
I just stuck the Latin in there because it appeals to my inner Pharisee.
May 5th, 2010 | 1:54 pm | #19
And just for further pride stoking, I’m not sure why the source translated it “his Father” and “his Mother.” Looks like it should be “a Father” and “a mother.”
All that to say, the church is good and all Christians should be gathering with a local body. :)
May 5th, 2010 | 3:31 pm | #20
Gratias tibi ago.
I’m OK with sticking in possessives for articles when translating from Latin to English. Latin, of course, rarely uses articles; English very often does. Latin also rarely uses possessives, or at least classical Latin rarely does. When I went looking for an example from the Vulgate, I couldn’t find one. Regardless, we’re already “adding something” by adding an article to make the translation grammatical in English. Sometimes we’re actually adding less by using a possessive instead of an article, especially with relationships. We see this more in passages regarding children and siblings than parents. “His son” keeps any ambiguity in the original regarding brothers. “A son” will frequently imply there are brothers; “the son” will usually imply there are not.
Without the capitalization of “Ecclesiam” we’d have the same issue, and it carries theological significance. Is it, “…who has A church [as his] mother,” or “…who has THE church [as his] mother”? I think “…who has his church as his mother” might avoid this judgment-call.
May 5th, 2010 | 3:56 pm | #21
Someone rightly pointed out that the world can offer everything most churches offer: money management classes, weight management programs, feeding the poor, principles for better living, etc. Since Christ instituted the Church, and given that we are commanded to attend, there must be something unique that only the Church can give: sacraments.
May 5th, 2010 | 4:31 pm | #22
dj, some “principles for better living” the world can’t teach. Some are only found in God’s Word, which the Church receives, conserves, shares, teaches, and interprets. The Word is also unique to the Church.
May 5th, 2010 | 4:39 pm | #23
RS,
The Gospel is unique to the Church. That is clear. My argument is about the life-giving power that the Church can offer is given in sacraments. Without them, we have no church.
May 5th, 2010 | 4:50 pm | #24
I agree with you, dj, about the Sacraments. In fact, I was saying “Sacraments” to myself a line or two before reaching the end of your comment. My comment was just a reminder that the two go together: Word and Sacrament
May 5th, 2010 | 5:23 pm | #25
The people God foreknew is a reference to Israel. God, in Christ, has united Jews and Gentiles.
May 5th, 2010 | 5:42 pm | #26
Orthodoxdj: “My argument is about the life-giving power that the Church can offer is given in sacraments.”
Define and explain more about this “life-giving power” in the sacraments.
“Without them, we have no church.”
Let’s say a non-Catholic, not-EO “church” celebrates Communion and baptisms. Is that a “church” according to you, Orthodoxdj?
May 6th, 2010 | 5:27 am | #27
Dr. Hunter, with two doctorates you ought to know that your reference to you and your wife in the sixth paragraph is in the objective case and should therefore read, “Ruth and me.” Peace.
May 8th, 2010 | 4:03 am | #28
[...] The Secret of Appreciating Church [...]
May 8th, 2010 | 1:31 pm | #29
[...] The Secret of Appreciating Church “So, stop shopping for a church. Stop sampling. Don’t fall for all the hype of a Disneyworld experience with a Christian aura around it. Don’t chase after a superstar preacher. You can hear that on your iPod. Feel free to contribute to that ministry. But find a church where you can be part of a community of people who know each other and will help one another live the Christian life, sometimes as helpers and sometimes by being in need and providing an opportunity for others to help.” [...]
May 9th, 2010 | 6:25 pm | #30
[...] Things shares the secret to appreciating church – and it closely relates to being a church [...]
May 10th, 2010 | 8:38 pm | #31
And I should know the difference between a first and last name. Please accept my apologies, Dr. Baker.
P.S.: Your grammar is still incorrect.
May 12th, 2010 | 10:31 am | #32
Has anyone heard of the brothers and sisters in Indianapolis? http://www.squidoo.com/allathisfeet .Who is Lord, really?
May 24th, 2010 | 10:27 am | #33
The original article was exactly what I needed – thank you!
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