Hey everyone, I've had trouble deciding when to do these blog posts, so I think I'll just stick with Sundays because why not.
There was some really great discussion last week. One of the things that I realized was the difference between a religion and a moral code, and there was a lot of other really great discussion.
Disclaimer: this week's topic is going to be fairly Christian-centric, but please feel free to refer to all kinds of belief systems in our discussions.
So today's topic is going to start with the 500 year rule. Perhaps you've heard of it, it's the concept that most major empires in the world last for around 500 years before they fall. Give and take some years, the Roman empire, Ottoman empire, and British empire all fall into this rule.
There's another version of it though, the one that applies to Christianity. Basically it says that for the past 2000 years, there's been a major change in the way the church operates about every 500 years. Let's make a brief timeline.
~0 CE- Birth/death of Christ, major change in the way God interacts with his followers
~500 CE- Council of Nicaea- Resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine
~1000 CE- East/West split, church splits into Orthodox and Catholic churches
~1500- Martin Luther publishes his 95 Theses
~2000- ????
There could be many arguments about what could be the next big change in the Christian church. Perhaps it's rooted in all of the civil rights movements that have happened/are happening in the past 100 years.
I personally predict that is will be a huge change in the way that the churchgoers participate in this whole "church" thing.
Currently, for the most part, "church" means a place where people go once a week to sing some songs and listen to a sermon that's too long, then go home and take a nap and forget about it until the following Sunday. And yes, I know that not every Christian goes through this type of pattern, but I would argue that the "average" Christian would behave this way. I think part of this issue is that in many places, America probably most of all, it's not that difficult to be a Christian.
And I think that a big change in the way that Christians interact with the rest of the world is on its way, or perhaps it already has and it's just a little hush-hush.
So here's my question for you all.
Christians: What kind of major change do you think will/should happen to the church?
And non-Christians: What kind of major change would have to occur in the Church to make you become interested in it?
Matt, I really like this question.
ReplyDeleteThe change I would most like to see in the church is a push toward more genuine leadership. I've been lucky to have an intelligent, down-to-earth priest in my hometown. That's the biggest reason I've been able to hold on to my faith, and something I've really struggled to find elsewhere. The pattern that you described is inadvertently enforced by ministers who make themselves difficult to relate to and largely inaccessible. In my experience, these ministers come primarily two varieties: those who refuse to accept any change, and those who try too hard to become what they think the young people want. Neither type seems to be great at answering questions, and that's what I'd like to talk about right now.
Good church leaders need to answer questions. They also need to ask questions, put in some real thought rather than regurgitate age-old answers. A minister who will honestly and intelligently discuss matters of faith with me will bring me back to their church. Don't quote scripture at me with no context, don't change the subject, don't thoughtlessly dismiss my questions altogether. Talk to me as one human to another. Questioning isn't bad. People who question things are thinking about them, and those are the kinds of people Christianity needs. Ministers who discourage thoughtful questions push away open-hearted people.
Certainly there are many other changes to be made in the church, not the least of which are tied to the civil rights movements of the 20th and 21st centuries, but I believe that thoughtful questions and answers can lead to them. If the leadership of the church can change the way it interacts with its members, not only can the church grow, but become more human. More accepting, more accessible, less pushy, less condescending, less forced, more welcome. Then we can begin to change the way Christianity (as we know it in the west) interacts with other religions and parts of the world.
What do you think?
I grew up going to church, but as I got older, I'd say around the teen years, both my parents and I stopped going. Only on the occasion in high school did I go (the typical holiday-only goer, or the random weekend), and now it's very rare. Because I haven't been to church in awhile, what I'm about to say might not hold true anymore, but basically the change that would make me more interested is if the church acknowledged more of the world outside of Christianity. I understand that the church is actually for Christians, a place where those who believe learn more about God and His teachings and for others who are curious to learn more about Christianity. I'm not trying to say that the church should have all secular music and not focus on God or Scripture. I suppose I just mean that I wouldn't want an atmosphere that felt like talking about anything not strictly Christian would be taboo. Sure, I suppose part of this is the congregation itself, but part of it I feel falls on those who lead in the church. I would want the pastors or others in charge at a church to present their lessons or sermons in a way that doesn't seem judgmental. I once went to a church service where the pastor basically bashed Gandhi a majority of the time, which really turned me off. Sure, in a sense he did acknowledge the world outside of the church, but why so negatively? I understood why he chose to build his sermon this way, but to me it sounded a bit pretentious.
ReplyDeleteAll people, especially kids and teens, I think should be able to go up to their pastors and church leaders and just not feel intimidated or hesitant if they happen to listen to non-Christian music or read non-Christian books. While there are plenty of Christian-based things out there, there are many that aren't, and I don't think something as simple as listening to a non-Christian band (I suppose within reason, like something that's not obviously offensive) should feel taboo. As I was growing up, the main thing I grasped from my Bible School sessions and any sermons I went to was to have a fear of Hell and that anything outside of the church, whether it be music, the books I read, or the movies I watched needed to be Christian based. But unless you're in a closed bubble, it's not always going to be Christian-based music, or books, or movies, etc.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that churches should acknowledge this fact more, that everything outside the church isn't going to be Christian and that some of it is actually okay, not everything needs to be viewed with trepidation. I suppose this is also a bit of common sense, but if a person looks to their church for guidelines, how else are they going to feel normal and relaxed about it?
If this type of change happened, I suppose it might be very subtle in some churches but more drastic in others. Either way, it would catch my interest, and I think it might help others feel normal about their non-Christian interests instead of like outsiders.