In what way are our Christian Churches like the "Emperor's new clothes"?
I went to an Anglican service in the city of Brisbane for Ash Wednesday. I hate that people sometimes text and check their phones when at a church service... I think it is rude, but this time it was me who wanted to text. I was going to text our north Queensland Bishop and ask him to let his buddies in South Queensland know that God understands modern English language. You see, the whole service was in old English.... and they wonder why our churches are empty.......!!!!
I have driven past a number of beautiful church buildings in Brisbane. The ones that stand out are those that have be sold into the marketplace and are operating as restaurants and night clubs.
Only in the Christian church is there an ignorance of the charm and beauty of these structures. The world outside recognises, not just the structural beauty but the essence of something spiritual and even mystical which gives them even greater charm. This element is brought about by years of prayers, tears and laughter, love and communion with God in all the various experiences. Some how these soak into the very structure and make the building "holy". The church may have a ceremony to decommission it and secularize it, but it has been made holy by the years of faithful people and this doesn't go away.... just as a Bible or structure, only really becomes "holy" or "Sacred" when it is combined with the human element and there is some kind of union which changes both. Without this union, the building is no more than a structure and the Holy Bible is simply words on a page.
In the church over the last few years there is a catch phrase bandied around.... "New Expressions". It can take any form, but lately I hear it referred to as "House church" - a way of having and being church in people's houses. NEWS FLASH.... this is not something new - generally people call it a Bible Study!!!!
New expressions is meant to be a way of evangelising the modern people. The reason for the "House church" is that there is this crazy idea that people are not comfortable in a church building..... Hmmmm.... I observe that the secular masses are actually acting in contrary to this belief. The old churches (operating as secular businesses) are busier than their non "church building" counterparts, due to the X factor, (spiritual element) which actually draws the people to them.
HOW STUPID AND IGNORANT are we that we think we can make a business decision about a church and decommission it because of lack of attendees.... and instead promote "House Church"? If we can't draw people to the church building, which has proven to hold incredible charm and drawing power, what makes us think we can draw people into a "House Church", where the only thing we are depending on is our own charm......???? It would seem to me, the church building is not the problem and reason that people are not attending..... the problem is us!
The Emperor was told of a "New" fabric.... he was convinced of its worth and neglected to see the truth. In his stupidity he paraded naked in front of the masses.
There are churches that take on new ideas.... It may be the latest sound gear... the latest style of music. This may seem to work. But there is a saying, "There was a lion in the jungle roaring and a rabbit who heard him enquired why. The Lion explained that he is king of the jungle because he advertises. So the rabbit gave it a try, but his roar was just a squeak. A hungry wolf heard the squeak and ate him. The moral to the story is that it doesn't pay to advertise unless you've got the goods."
The same goes for these delightful city churches that hire musicians who are not even Christians to perform exquisite choral works. How belittling to the "ministry" of music to think that someone who is not Christian - no matter how good, can possibly minister the spirit of God.
We can take on any church pattern or plan, but unless we have the "goods", it will all lead to nothing.
What is the "goods"? The "goods" is the Spirit of God.
Jesus didn't choose perfect disciples to be his apostles. Many think that people in the church are not to be in leadership until they've proven themselves perfect. This is the first thread in the Emperor's new clothes. A perfect and indefinable characteristic that draws a crowd. Con men do that!
We are not to be con men and do not have to be anything that we are not.
Do we speak Old English? No we don't. So to do so would be one of the threads of that ridiculous Emperor's outfit.
The main requirement is the Spirit of God. The secondary requirement is the calling of God to that purpose.
We need to be genuine and we need to be real.
It is true that we are a diverse people, but we can easily discern what is real and relatable. Firstly we need to relax and be assured by the words of scripture which reassure us that we have been given every necessary gift by God to achieve His purpose.
What language should we use and what style of music..... Surely it should be the same that we genuinely use when not at church. If in doubt - watch television - listen to advertisements and you will realise that there are no pipe organs and no "thees" and "thous".
A church that uses any "fabulous" new idea or "fabulous" old idea simply because they've been told that it is THE way to do things is a foolish Emperor parading naked. Not only will that church be laughed at, but ridiculed and scoffed for their hypocrisy.
OK, the church you were speaking of uses old English not modern language. So? If that is their tradition, why not stick to it and be consistent? Would you, as a long standing member of that congregation, trust your church if they changed every time there was a new trend? Is not the very essence of your faith embedded in tradition?
ReplyDeleteThe folks who attend worship at this church attend because it is these traditions which they hold as important in part of their act of worshipping. There are already plenty of evangelical churches which use “modern language” to try to connect with “modern people”. If they don’t like the old English, they can quite simply go to another church! But they do not choose to go to another church, they choose this church. No matter how small the congregation may be, the people attending come because this is what they expect and feel that they need from their church. Should they change their ways to suit a wider “audience” and alienate the people for whom these traditions are important?
You also object to a non-Christian person’s ability to communicate the Spirit of God. Hang on... aren’t all men created equal in God’s eyes? Or is it that the gifts they have been given (perhaps in their ability to sing) are gifts that have been directly given by God? So how can you object to hearing voices which are gifts given directly by the one whom you worship? Perhaps through the act of regular attendance and contribution these non-Christian folks may be touched by God at some point. Wouldn’t this be a wonderful thing? If you believe it is belittling to pay non-Christian choristers, then perhaps you should ask the regular congregation members if they would be happy to sacrifice the quality of music making in order to ensure that their choir were selected in a discriminatory way by insisting that only Christian people can participate in the choir. I think you will find that the quality of music is quite an important part of their worship, and they might be a little uneasy with the discrimination.
I would love to set up a blind audition for you, in which you are asked to identify a non-Christian singer from a Christian singer. If you can pick the difference then I will eat my words, but I seriously doubt you could tell who has “the Spirit” and who does not.
Personally, I think your views are quite un-Christian, un-inclusive and bigotry. I suggest that you go back to the Bible and read the passages which refer to the acceptance of others. There are MANY. In essence, I (a non-Christian singer) ask you to be more like Jesus.