Low Threat Church Part Two (Or: No Threat Church)
I received an email (reprinted with permission) from my friend Jamie who had some comments about the Low Threat Church post:
There are lots of reasons why someone would be nervous as they entered a church building, maybe even before that, on Sunday morning when they woke up and felt the tug, and thereby began to contemplate the notion of actually going to church.
I believe it is often one of the things you have mentioned: “Maybe you’re afraid of the way the church people will think about you.” I would agree. I might word it differently, as in: Fearing being judged and in some way ostracized by the ‘church’ people. I see it in believing church-goers, too, come to think of it. This is one reason why many of them never show themselves as they truly are, which of course results in a lot of phony-baloney crap…
There are other factors to consider as well.
Maybe a person loves God deeply and profoundly, and with a bottomless gratitude. And that person gave and trusted and believed in a church they were attending. And then that person witnessed cruelty, lies, judgment, and evil actions from that church; to children and people they had brought into the church, to their family members and children, to themselves. It happens.
The fear sets in. And it’s hard for the person to get rid of that fear, in particular, when your most precious treasures are what you hold out in your palm for that institution to gobble up: your faith, loved ones, time, and that tender heart still raw with wounds.
For the church to be able to be what Jesus intended it to be, things have to change. Low threat would be great. No threat would be better. Yes we are all people who fall short and churches are made up of people… it’s not that I am surprised anymore… just leery.
That there is a threat at all is a problem. I have several friends who have been in this sort of situation, feeling as though they can’t be their real selves in their church, fearing judgment from everyone else who “has it together”. Someone spoke about a pastor’s wife who was told not to confide in anyone but those in leadership so as not to give the impression of weakness. In doing church this way we create “Super Christians” like the young man in the “Edge TV” movies we used to watch in high school who received phone calls from Billy Graham asking for prayer.
Turns out he was just like you and me.
We end up giving the temporal act of the Sunday Service more priority than the life of the community Monday through Saturday. We play dress-up, and discuss attendance records as if they were going on our Jesus Transcripts. We prevent ourselves from being who we really are, and from receiving the healing we need, and the real fellowship we desire.
I know it’s not like this everywhere. I know there are good things happening. Let’s do more good things.
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