The Church Comes Home

A Facebook friend recently shared a discussion provoking article called I Wonder If Sunday School is Destroying Our Kids?

While the article's main point was how our Sunday School curriculum teaches us the unrealistic doctrine of 'be faithful, be good and God will love you,' and needs to be more realistic about the faults of OT characters, it was with some comments made by other readers of the article with which I most agreed.

In my undying attempt to challenge the culture of Institutional Christianity, I was encouraged to see that many others also plainly see what is a possible, and most likely cause, of us losing our children in the church: the business nature of the American Church.

As Richard Hanson puts it: "When the Greeks got the gospel, they turned it into a philosophy; when the Romans got it, they turned it into a government; when the Europeans got it, they turned it into a culture; and when the Americans got it, they turned it into a business."

This quote summarizes what many agreed with, and that is that the American Church has become too "business like." Is it possible that those who are telling us that "we are losing our children in the church" are somehow part of the problem? Is our view of monologue, lecture-style "preaching" and "teaching" to a passive, docile 'obedient' assembly part of the problem?

When I was a "gospel preacher" in the institutional system, fellow Christians, who would not consider me "faithful" now, and I would joke about elders "being about the Father's business" meaning that they made decisions as a board of directors, etc. and did not do more of what we preachers were doing. This was typical church politics, I guess, that comes with a dysfunctional system of passing the buck back and forth from elders to preacher in a system where some Christians are "over" others.

But the sad truth is, that when church is "done" with public buildings, church treasuries, and employees, then business practices will consume major portions of time. A place to meet, stewardship of large amounts of money, and separating some Christians from others in a hierarchy needs constant attention if it is to be maintained. 

When the church is viewed as the "place where people are saved" (institutionally) rather than as "people" then time-wasting 'necessities' such as these for 'expediency' consume large portions of the church's work.

As the article above states, "There's got to be a better way."

And there is.

Bring the church back home where it belongs. Steward your own private treasury weekly for supporting others, and bring discussion back to the Lord's Table with singing and joyous fellowship. That is appealing--family--not organization.

Sometimes "institutional" is a valid choice with parents and grandparents or special needs, sometimes it's not--it becomes a hindrance to the majority that is designed to serve the 'special needs' of a few 'at the top' who attempt to rule others for 'their own good.' 

Why choose to be institutional when we all have homes?

Attempting to chip away at the established, clerical dominance is formidable, but I become increasingly encouraged when I read the comments made by others who are not afraid to face an uncertain future that comes with giving up institutional delusions.

The public school system in the US was created to make 'obedient' workers. Here is an excellent TEDx Talk on it:

What Is School For?

It was a way for those at the top to have a more 'efficient' workforce.

Sunday School serves the same purpose. Those at the 'top' have an obedient, conformed majority for the purpose of 'efficiency.'

You come and you are expected to obey and conform or you can leave.

The people who run institutions only see through this lens (worldview), they do not have a separate lens through which to look--they cannot see anything different than how they do things as 'right.'

The cold, institutional nature of the church is not appealing. The conformity to those 'at the top' is not appealing.

The school house-nature of church designed to serve the elite is not appealing.

Marriage is not an 'institution,' it is alive!

Home is not an 'institution' it is alive!

Church is not an 'institution'...