This
past Sunday morning I was part of one of the most important discussions I have
experienced in my five-plus years at First Christian Church. It was a discussion about why we go to
church. It’s my job to inspire people to
come not to a building but together as a community in order to grow in their
faith and worship God, but I have to confess that it’s often a mystery to me why
people come or don’t come—especially here at FCC. Some people come every Sunday, but others come
once a month or once a year. Some whom I
had expected to get involved and become committed have not done so; others who
were involved and committed have stopped coming. Sometimes people stop participating in the
life of the church due to a dispute with another member or a disagreement over
theology or practice, but more often something undefined (at least to me) occurs
in their life and church does not hold the same priority for them. Others whom I was sure would never truly
commit to a church like ours have done so despite my expectations. Maybe I’m just really lousy at determining
who will be involved and stay involved.
In any case, I was very interested in what people would say about why
they come to church.
Before I share the answers of the 20
or so people present, I should explain the context of our discussion. We are using a study by the religion writer
Phylis Tickle called The GreatEmergence. Tickle’s thesis is that
every 500 years the church goes through a dramatic change in terms of authority. 500 years ago it was the Protestant
Reformation which was, among other things, a debate about whether authority for
the church should be found in church tradition or in scripture alone. 1000 years ago was the Great Schism between
the Eastern and Western churches. 1500
years ago was the fall of the Roman Empire and its enforcement of the state
church. She argues that now we face
another such radical shift, but now the shift in authority is moving (or maybe already has moved) to the
individual’s experience and choice.
In
other words, now when it comes to Christianity people are in general no longer
concerned with what a particular denomination says (they will either go to a
different church or just do what they think is right anyway—think of American
Roman Catholics and birth control). They no longer subscribe to the idea that
the Bible is their sole authority (if they care about the Bible at all, they
shop for a church that interprets the Bible in a way that suits them). They may not even care about a traditional
understanding of church at all (they may patch together their own religious
practices). Technology, especially the
internet, has made it possible for people to connect with others outside their
own community who share their beliefs—even people on the other side of the
world. (Tickle is not alone in pointing
out these changes. For example, Diana
Butler Bass’ new book Christianity AfterReligion says much the same thing.)
Folks
in our Sunday morning study all pretty much admitted that their religious
authority was their own experience. No
one claimed that they held to a particular belief because the Bible or a
religious official said so. All said
that their life experience including their individual experience of God was
their ultimate authority. Granted they
made these honest admissions with humility; no one claimed to have a monopoly
on truth to the exclusion of others.
Frankly, I wasn’t surprised to hear people at FCC St. Joseph express
such a point of view. When it comes down
to it, I would say that more or less I feel the same way.
So,
I asked, if you do not believe you are going to hell for missing church on
Sundays and if you do not believe attending church is the only way to know God’s truth,
why come at all? Here are some of the
answers they shared:
· “The
relationships at church matter to me.”
· “We
can hold each other accountable so we’re not off on our own believing something
crazy.”
· “I
find support for difficult times.”
· “We
can learn from each other and grow.”
· “It
pleases God when we come to God’s house.”
· “We
are all so busy that it’s nice to just come and make time for God.”
· “I
experience an intimacy here that I haven’t found at other churches.”
· “Meeting
with others face-to-face is more meaningful than e-mail or social networking.”
· “It’s
an essential part of my week. When I
can’t come, something is missing.”
· “We
experience God through our relationship with one another.”
· “God
is everywhere, but I experience God in a special way at church.”
Given
that you can choose to be elsewhere on Sunday mornings (plenty of folks make
that choice) and given that at FCC we do not declare “You must come to church
or else!” why do you come to church? (A
more appropriate question for some may be “Why don’t you come to church?”) I, as your minister, would love to know.
Grace
and Peace,
Chase
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