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This is an accusation I often hear from people who were raised in the church. They felt stifled, and could hardly wait until they were old enough to escape the clutches of the sainthood.
Is the Church out to control as many people as it can drag into its doors? Does the Church just want you for your money? Does the Church exist only to squash your freedom; taking away abortion, divorce, gay marriage, sex, music, booze, cigarettes, dancing, fashion, parties, and basically your right to pursue happiness? Who does the Church think it is?
Good question. Just who or what is the Church? There are several possible answers:
- a) The Church is a building, usually a big, fancy building (cathedrals in Europe) where religious people go on Sunday mornings to be bored for an hour. This building also hosts weddings and funerals, and it gobbles money, forcing the people who go there to fork over ten percent of their paychecks every week. To enter this building, one must be dressed in their Sunday best Puritanical clothing. Divorced and homosexual people are not permitted to enter the Church.
- b) The Church is a group of self-righteous hypocrites who think that they are better than everyone else because they go to church. They get brownie points for every non-Christian they manage to drag into the church building on a Sunday, with bonus points if they manage to snag an atheist and convert him/her.
- c) The Church is a group of people who meet in a church building (nothing too fancy, just a modest building big enough to fit their needs), to worship God together on Sunday mornings. The faithful can also be seen meeting midweek in small care groups, usually in homes, for in depth study and fellowship (usually these meetings include prayer, coffee and cookies). If you look closely, you will also see members of this group quietly volunteering their time and energy meeting needs in the community, and cheerfully giving tithes and offerings to support the needs of the local church and to fund global initiatives.
- d) The Church is the collective term for all followers of Christ, past, present and future. This group is made up of countless members who share equally the blessings of kinship with the creator and sustainer of all creation. Also known as: the body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, the branches of the vine, and the children of the most High God. While living out their lifetimes in physical bodies in the created universe, the members of this multitude are myriad in their differences: differing abilities, gifting, socioeconomic status, geography, and spiritual maturity; but all sharing in the same Spirit.
If you chose a and/or b, then it is understandable if you believe that the Church is controlling and money grubbing. Perhaps your understanding of the Church is based on childhood memories of being forced to wear uncomfortable clothes, sit on a hard pew for an entire, never-ending hour, subjected to endless prodding and pokeage from siblings and shushing from parental units who demanded that the family put on a show of reverential respectability while in the presence of Christian society.
If you chose c and d, you are less likely to feel controlled and stifled by the church. You see the church as a family, whether you are a part of the family or just wish you could be. This was what drew me to the church. I saw the family and wanted to be a part of it. The good news is that this family is always open for new adoptions.
There is still hope for those who chose a and/or b to change your answer to c and d. The church only seems controlling to those who refuse to relinquish control of their lives to God. The truth that sets you free is this: sin is a much harsher task master than God is.
I have at varrious times felt some a, a bit of b, not a lot of c, or d.
The truth will set you free, but for me the truth means researching OUT of ones comfort zone. Whereas most “bible study” groups ONLY study the bible and not too much else. As such very few Christians are aware that other “virgin” births have taken place, that King James was a well known homosexual (at least you took the time to check that out) or that most Christian holidays are deeply rooted in pagan tradition (see The Pagan Christ).
I do see the Church as controlling, I have even heard people say “What would Jesus do” as though they cannot make choices for themselves or cannot decide what is right or wrong without the Bible telling them. For me that is where the control lies. That a person needs a book to tell them what is moral.
Your link is well written for your point of view even though it is not my point of view.
I find that most people with this complaint also feel very put upon by almost anything, and trend towards having a guilty conscience, which can hardly be blamed on the church. The truth of the matter is that they as individuals really don’t have a clue about reasonable personal boundaries and where they cross the line. The sad fact of life is that people from all walks of life will try crossing your lines. All the time.
Same way some try crossing lines with bogus information.
Karen,
I found this absolutely fascinating, as I do with all of your work. This article hit me in the right spot. Thank you for this.
Curtis
Great article Karen!
Keep up the good work!
Karen, you said it all, there nothing to add. great article.
You put over some very good points there, karen. Food for thought. Well done.
Christine
Clearly and correctly stated Karen. The church is God’s people, the body of Christ. Your description of “d” was excellent. Functioning as a body, everybody wants to be part of the fist that punches Satan in the nose. But not all are called for that. Some are more akin to the liver, isolated and unseen in their prayer closets, standing against the poisons that would destroy the body if not removed. If a body loses a fist, it still has another and can survive with only one. If it loses the liver, however, the whole body dies. The only thing I would add to “d” is that, although gifted differently, all members are important, regardless of where God placed them. Men may be respecters of persons, but God is not.
Well done.
Nicely said, Karen. I think most folks that answer A or B are really answering E: Excuse.
Excellent presentation of an oh so preplexing topic for those who do not understand the bondage of sin and the freedom we have found in Christ. True there are “churches” that get caught up in legalism and money seeking. This is not the way Christ presented His Church to be. C and D are what people need to look for when choosing a church to attend, along with the strong spirit of love included because If you have not love, you have not God.