“What I Love About the Church” – John Alan Turner
“I like Jesus, but I don’t like the Church.”
I’ve heard people say that. Heck, I’ve heard preachers say that! And maybe they’ve got good reasons. Honesty forces me to admit that The Church hasn’t always looked a lot like Jesus. We bicker and brawl. We split theological hairs and exclude people who don’t agree with us. We divide over dumb things like which songs to sing and what color to paint the foyer. Oh, and there were the Crusades. And that whole Spanish Inquisition thing. That was us, too. Sorry.
There are lots of reasons why a person might say they don’t like The Church.
But I can’t say it.
See…I have this thing for The Church.
I have a love/hate relationship with churches. They provoke disappointment and anger — sometimes bordering on rage — in me. I sometimes wish I could just stop going to church altogether, stop the whole corrupt enterprise.
But, when it comes to The Church, I can’t seem to help myself.
I have a love/hate relationship with churches, but The Church — capital T; capital C — that’s another story. The Church is the hope of the world.
Maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement. Jesus himself is the hope of the world, but The Church is supposed to be the physical manifestation of Jesus in our day and age.
I grieve over churches that fail and church leaders who allow fear and anxiety to rule the roost. I cannot abide churches that play games and engage in petty politics. I have a low threshold for manipulation and triangulation. I can spot an ego problem a mile away (probably because that’s something I personally struggle with — it always seems easier to point out flaws in someone else that you recognize in yourself).
The biggest problem I have with churches is that so many of them lack integrity. They say they’re committed to one thing, but their actions betray them.
And yet….
I can’t quit. I can’t help myself. I cannot stop thinking about and working with The Church — made up of all these mad local congregations. I love these churches that drive me absolutely crazy. I root for these churches and constantly look for things in them to celebrate. I long for them to gather together and recognize that it’s only as they work together that they actually do become The Church — the Body of Christ — God’s plan to save the world.
Because I knew I would be writing this for you, I sent a little tweet out the other day asking folks what they love about The Church. Everybody who responded sent me a list of what they love about Their Church.
I don’t know about you, but I think that’s interesting.
Are we so myopic that we can only see what’s happening at our local church? Are we even aware that our union with Christ mystically joins us to a much larger body than just the folks I can pick out of the church directory?
I’m rambling a little. Maybe I’m stalling.
Here’s my bottom line — what I love about The Church: It’s big. It’s way bigger than I can get my arms around. I don’t know everybody and they don’t all know me — even though we’re all family. Most importantly, The Church isn’t my church, and it isn’t your church. It’s not even our church. It’s God’s Church, and it’s too big to be controlled by any one person or any one group of people.
And this great, gigantic Church — this Body of Christ — is, without a doubt, the single most powerful force of good in the world — when it comes together and flexes its ![clip_image002[6]](http://preacherspen.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/clip_image0026.jpg "clip_image002[6]")
muscles. The Church is responsible for educating children, liberating women, overturning slavery, caring for the sick, clothing the naked and feeding the hungry. You remove The Church and the lights will literally go out in some places.
We banished the Gladiatorial Games. We outlasted the Roman Empire. When China outlawed The Church, it started spreading like the kiddie crud in your local elementary school! There’s more drinkable water in Africa now than there was a generation ago. And there’s a lower infant mortality rate, too.
Why? Because The Church does that. The Church does what Jesus did and gets results. The Church doesn’t just exist for its own sake. It exists for the good of the whole world — regardless of whether that world ever joins or not.
This world still remains upside-down. That may be more obvious in some places than others, but all you have to do is watch CNN for a few minutes to figure out it’s true. God’s plan is to turn it all rightside-up again, and the way he’s going to accomplish that is through The Church — not your church, not my church, The Church, his Church.
And that’s what I love about it.
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About John Alan Turner
I am a husband, a father, a son, a brother and a friend. I work as a writer, a theologian, a consultant and a teacher. I have one wife, four books, three daughters and a dog, and we all live in a great house about an hour outside of Dallas, TX. I like jazz, baseball and reading — though not necessarily in that order.
I believe Jesus was the most brilliant man to ever walk on the earth, and I also believe he was God incarnate who lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death and rose victorious from the dead.
I believe the message of the Bible is the most life-changing message of all time, and I believe God has called us to share that message with others in a way that makes sense to them.
I believe people would live much better lives if they would periodically take the time to re-examine what they really believe. That’s what my Faith 2.0 is all about.
John’s website is http://faith20.org
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Personal Note:
I thank John for writing and challenging our thinking. I believe it is the challenges that make us stronger. may we, as members of the Church, strive to take an upside-down world and turn it right-side up!
Thanks John for taking time out of your busy schedule and writing for the Preacher’s Pen!
Just my thoughts…
Chris
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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” |
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