Had a few conversations with some old friends lately, and the topic
invariably drifted to the state of the church, and why we are no longer so
keen. Aside from what happened to me, the fact remained that I was already terribly
jaded and disillusioned with so much that was going on in church. The disconnectedness
I feel towards the church isn’t something purely caused by my being
excommunicated. I feel that the church is increasingly becoming detached from
the “real world” out there. And that’s really sad.
I recall once lamenting how the institutionalization of the church
seemed to have robbed it of its most essential purpose, which was what the
believers in the Bible did. They fed the poor, helped the needy, and let
everyone know they were Christian by their love.
Today, Christians seem to be defined by their theology instead. Say
something theologically if-ish and everyone starts to get uncomfortable. But if
someone shares that they’ve never tried their hand at any community
volunteering in their whole life, people tend to give a wryly indulgent nod
instead. I look at the way the church service is structured, and it seems to
revolve around the “experiential” worship, and then the “academic” sermon. Both
elements combined take up 90% of the church service time. And both are
incredibly inward looking.
The story was once told of a missionary who sailed past a small island,
where he spotted a native fisherman. He stopped and shared the gospel with the
fisherman. Seeing that he was uneducated and unable to read the Bible, he
simply taught the fisherman the Lord’s prayer and told him to pray that every
day. Months go by, and when the missionary sailed past the same island, he saw
to his astonishment the same fisherman walking on water towards him. When he
reached the missionary’s boat, the fisherman said “Father, forgive me for I am
a sinner. I forgot the Lord’s Prayer, and could only pray to God using my own
words. Can you please teach me the prayer again?” The missionary told him he
should just carry on praying in his own words, for God is surely pleased with
his prayers.
It’s a really cute story full of clichés, but it does bring up a very
real question I’ve always had: If theology is so central to our beliefs, what
of the uneducated? Will they never know God? Are they forever deemed as being
less spiritual than the theological giants we so revere?
Nietzsche said “they must act more redeemed before I believe in their
Redeemer”. Ghandi said “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians”. So
it seems like a community of theologically sound believers are not likely to
sway these 2 historical giants much. You know who might?
Mother Teresa.
I remember reading an article from Time Magazine that said for nearly 50
years, she felt abandoned by God, unable to feel His presence. While in no way
equating myself with her, I do confess that I can immediately identify with
what she felt. She obviously took the nobler road, whereas I sunk deeper into
the abyss of despair. Surely if she was honest with herself, someone who felt
so abandoned and rejected by God could not have poured herself into theological
diligence with any real conviction. Instead, she devoted her life to doing what
Christ commanded. She served the needy, fed the poor, and let the people know
she was a believer by her love.
I have no simple solution for the church. But if we started to put less
emphasis on bible study and spent more time caring about the state of the people
around us, we might finally grasp the heart of God better. And armed with that
same heart of God, we might actually be ready to know more about God through
the study of His Word. By inverting the order, we seem to have encouraged the
Holy Huddle that leaves the whole church increasingly disconnected from the
non-believers.
The saddest irony is that when we find evangelism tough, we end up
digging deeper into the Word for answers, hoping to be even more “equipped” to
share. The solution was actually to stop digging into the Word, and start going
out more into the world just to care for the people around us.
I wonder if CS Lewis had written Screwtape Letters today, would he have
made the same point as me, or is it just more twisted thoughts on my part.
