Wednesday, May 23, 2007

The Fourth Thing that's Wrong

Ken Eckerty has posted a website entitled "Why I left the Organized Church" (http://www.savior-of-all.com/organized.html). It gives 10 or more reasons, and I'd like to take them on. The fourth thing that's wrong:

Biblical illegitmacy of church membership that "divides the body of Christ."

Ah, the old church membership issue. It's easy to see why this one's a problem. Church membership makes me in and you out. Membership has its privileges. Here we have a system where it's not enough that you attend church. You have to join the church, if you qualify - evidence of conversion, good moral character, willingness to serve, and so on.

Isn't it enough simply to start attending a church and let it be known that you want to identify with the believers there? Can't we all just get along, without the need to sign up? All that official membership does is to tell certain attenders that they belong while others are on the outside.

I would tend to agree if it were not for a few problems that abandoning church membership would create:

1. We live in an era when we need to be careful of those who serve in our midst. Predators and pedophiles often target churches, looking for opportunities. Churches who simply let any volunteer teach a Sunday School class are opening the doors to being preyed upon.
2. Churches are legal societies (which is why you can get a tax refund for donating). As such, they need to follow the rules about decision making, ownership of property, and so on. Knowing who your members are is crucial to this responsibility.
3. Church membership is a way of identifying formally with a body of believers. We live in a fickle age, and churches really need to know who their loyal people are.

Which leads me to ask the church: Have we turned church membership into an exclusive club atmosphere? Do we treat our adherents differently from our members? Is church membership more important than broader fellowship?

Monday, May 21, 2007

The Third Thing that's Wrong

Ken Eckerty has posted a website entitled "Why I left the Organized Church" (http://www.savior-of-all.com/organized.html). It gives 10 or more reasons, and I'd like to take them on. The third thing that's wrong:

Denominationism that divides Christianity and breeds exclusivism.

"My church is better than your church." I grew up in this kind of idiotic environment, though my home church was probably less guilty of this than some others of my era. Strange: We serve the same God for the same goal, and then we turn it into a competition. We use the same Bible but turn small differences in theology or worship style into an opportunity to look down on those who aren't just like us. True, some issues, some theological statements, are hills to die on. No one wants a believe-anything lowest common denominator. But we should be cooperating instead of forming into exclusive camps.

So why not get rid of denominations altogether? Let's face it - a "Christianity Today" style generic evangelicalism is rapidly taking the place of many of the distinctives that once defined us. This means that there is little to define us as different from one another.

Yet denominations, especially if they cooperate with each other, still have a role to play. Denominations give churches a chance to work together on projects, find relationships with one another, and receive the benefits of support and encouragement. If we destroy denominations completely, we lose the opportunity to bind smaller groups of churches together in vital relationship. When everyone is my close friend, then no one is.

Which leads me to ask the church: Have we optimized the potential of our denominational ties or are we continuing to breed exclusivism? Have we seen the power of cooperation or are we telling people like Ken that we would rather show how good we are than do God's work?