Who Needs the Church?
Even the briefest exposure to life in the church can lead
you to believe that life in the church is not all that it is cracked up to be.
Many of us bear scars from our encounters - the times when we were
misunderstood or ignored, or - even worse - ridiculed and put down, even
humiliated by supposedly devout church leaders. We remember simplistic answers
and boring ritual from our childhood, hypocritical decisions and vicious
arguments, the list goes on and on. These experiences are real, and
unfortunately the sad stories are many. Add to our personal experience some of
what we have learned from history, and the question becomes very real: Given
the Church's track record, do we really need this institution in our lives?
The Church, flawed as it has always been, is the Community of the
Holy Spirit. It is the last act in the story of salvation, the heir to Jesus'
command to his apostles: Go and tell all that you have seen. Thousands of years
separate us from the stories of our faith. If it were not for faithful members
of the Church, passing the faith down from one generation to the next, we would
know nothing of the story of Jesus and our salvation. At its best, the Church
throughout the ages has worked to bring the light of salvation: giving the Good
News of freedom and hope to all people. Much of what we would call progress in
thought and civilization we owe to that message.
Still, you may say, what do I need with that institution? Here are
some of the gifts found in this human, but inspired, entity.
- Membership in the church connects us with other believers, for support and growth. Jesus observed that a branch cut off from the vine soon withers and dies. Christians cut off from one another do the same. Alone, it is easy to be discouraged, thinking that God has abandoned you, that you and you alone are suffering undeserved and unexplained hardships. Alone it is also easy to become complacent, looking for the easiest and most comfortable way to live. Forgetting that the spiritual journey is never just "God and me" alone, gradually we begin to mistake our desires and needs for God's desires. Alone, we become our own God. We need the balance and challenge of others, to help us see the bigger picture.
- Membership in the church connects us with a bigger picture. Alone, we can do little. Even the great heroes we admire are heroes not because of what they did alone, but for what they inspired and led others to do. Connected with the worldwide body of believers, we can make a difference in places we will never go, and for people we will never meet. United in worship with this whole body, we gain confidence in our faith and hope as we catch a glimpse the enormous span of God's plan of salvation and the great depth of his love.
- Membership in the church has been commanded by Jesus. Love one another, he told his disciples. No doubt he recognized how difficult that command could be, but how great the rewards. It is in learning to love those who are so different from ourselves, with different opinions and styles, and yet sharing the same common faith, that the rubber hits the road in Christian living.
- Membership in the church gets us ready for our future. In the Bible, Heaven is envisioned as a city, as a party and banquet, as a wedding feast. We are meant for eternal community. We might as well start meeting some of the folks we might spend eternity with!
- Trinity does not promise to be a perfect community. We are growing in our understanding of the Gospel and all its implications, in loving one another, in worshipping together, in spreading the Good News of salvation. No doubt we have made mistakes, and will make them again. We know that our faith does not depend on our own perfection, but on God's perfect love and mercy. In the same way, the mission that we are on, of becoming the people of God, does not depend on our perfection, but on our acceptance of God's love and his inspiration. There is room here for forgiveness and fresh starts because we depend on God's grace to make us whole.
Who Needs the Church?
We all do!
And the church needs you!
Be part of the adventure of salvation!
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