ANGRY ABOUT CHURCH 0.5

I know why I generally avoid church services. They bore me and make me angry - usually in this sequence.
I had such an experience again this morning in the service concluding the annual "Evangelical Alliance Week of Prayer" here in our city. This is the only event where about 600 evangelically minded Christians gather in a whole year. There is a 20 minutes sermon - quite a unique opportunity, I would say, to give an essential message to that part of the local Body of Christ.
What I heard the preacher say, though, in terms of "strategic direction" (ok. there was none. but trying to read in between the lines for that little grain...) was that basically "everything is alright, how great it was that we were all here in this room, and that, yes, we should go ahead along this road and just improve a bit on some minor aspects like prayer, evangelism and bible reading - for example by reading the same prayer notes as other gatherings throughout the year..."

... and such a stupid waste of time should NOT make me ANGRY???

(ah. btw. the service was not bad at all. in fact, it was very nice.)

Comments

[andiwolf]

Hi Mary-Anne. Thanks for comment. To be honest i try to refrain from church-bashing as good as i can. MY post was a reflection of one of those incidents where i felt that a sufficient degree of "holy wrath" was mingled with my less godly feelings to allow me to openly express it. Let us be wary with our words not to imply that only "we" are a small chosen select group of faithful ones while most of Christianity is "apostate". I for my part are rejoicing about the innumerable - and immensely growing! - number of great sisters and brother around the world for whom the established church scene of all kinds of traditions still holds value and they for it. I have come to believe that the system is not important. Nor is it important or better to be outside of the system. Not per se. Biographies differ here. What counts is the obedience to our One Head. I try to learn that and i fear i am not really good in it yet. I know we are one in this, just felt a need to add this balance to it. Blessings to you and Steve!

[Mary-Anne]

Hi Andreas welcom in the club of the sufferers. I thought I was the only one who feels this way. But "God has 7000 left, who have not bowed before Baal". There is the question, who is Baal? - Is it not a system who functions without the power of the living God? A system that looks nice, friendly, religious and godly but in nature it is fueled by the forces of religion powers, because it has its mandate from men and not from God. The ones who have tastet the living waters of the kingdom, never want to go back tho the old cisterns of tradition.

[Romanós]

I don't know what you mean by Church 0.5 and the other numbers, but what you write about avoiding church services is right on.
Orthodox Christian worship almost never falls to the level of "let's play church" that seems to be endemic currently in evangelical Christianity. But even Orthodoxy seems to want to cultivate "nice" sheep. C.S. Lewis affirms in "Mere Christianity" that what God wants is not "nice" people but "new" ones. This doesn't apply only to the Christian youth, but to all Christians without exception.

Not being "nice" doesn't mean being mean, argumentative, rude, hateful or anything like that. Not being "nice" means being real, honest, genuine, and (dangerously) uncompromising in one's following the call of Jesus Christ.

My friend Brock has stopped "going to church", but that is not a problem, because his faith is real, orthodox in the only sense that matters. He studies the Word of God constantly, prays alone and with me every day, fellowships with me every day, and worships spiritually by preaching the good news by demonstration whenever possible. We break bread (share food) with each other almost every day, and in this way are in the communion with Jesus in our midst. I still worship at the Orthodox church, and I carry my friend with me there, as everywhere, in my spiritual pocket, for love. So, "going to church" for us has been swallowed up by a greater thing, "being the church." And that's as it should be.

Church can be very, very dumb. But when it is, it's not being the Church.

http://cost-of-discipleship.blogspot.com/2006/12/church-visible-and-invisible.html

[andiwolf]

thanks folks for all your moral support. indeed it feels weird "confessing" your anger about what you love most dearest... i am sure you know what i mean. so - thanks for not letting me alone here ;)

[Petra]

i know so well what you mean.. no better here in Finland either...

[Mike]

Your right. These things drive me nuts.

[Marc]

Compliments for sitting this one out. Don't think I could have resisted the temptation to walk out half-way.

[scott]

...and you should be angry. People who waste the precious resources of the kingdom (time and money) while many go spiritually and physically hungry... well, I think the gospel calls them goats.