Homeless: An Essay on the Ecclesial Lives of Young Adults from the Churches of Christ
June 27, 2012 36 Comments
I have met dozens of young adults (20-35 years old) over the last several years who grew up in the churches of Christ but no longer attend one. I’ve met dozens of others who still attend a church of Christ, at least somewhat regularly, who feel that such a church is no longer the ideal place for them but know of nowhere else to go. I am primarily concerned in this essay with the latter though I will make some reference to the former. These still-attending-but-uncomfortable CoCers are uncomfortable in the churches of their youth for a variety of reasons, the most common of which are:
1. A rejection of the teaching that the only Christians can be found in “the one true Church,” namely the churches of Christ. These young adults, either through their own theological reflection or interaction with Christians not in the CoC, have come to discern that God’s work and people is much bigger than the few million people who attend CoCs around the world. Thus, hearing sermons and attending Bible studies where their friends, who often display the spirit of Christ in ways they haven’t experienced in their own church, are condemned to hell are moments that scream to them “you and those like you aren’t welcome here.”
2. A rejection of what they interpret as an overbearing legalism in the CoC. For example, they find the arguments about the use of instruments in worship, or more recently “praise teams,” to be narrow-minded and intended to exclude people from God’s church more than to be faithful to God’s will.
3. A dissatisfaction with the teaching and ministries in many CoCs. These young adults feel that church curriculum is either geared toward youth, married couples with children, or the elderly, and that they are, therefore, implicitly excluded from the work of the church. In addition, they find the focus of CoC ministries so overwhelmingly centered around Bible study that they feel the CoC is all “talk” and no “walk.” They often yearn to find a CoC with thriving service and justice ministries that engage their community in an intimate and helpful way.
4. A discomfort or rejection of the ways that many CoCs are explicitly or implicitly aligned with the conservative political movement in the United States. These young adults are either politically progressive or liberal or are simply uncomfortable with the political zealousness of the leaders in many congregations. They don’t recognize an easy alliance between the Christian faith and conservative politics (or any political parties/ideologies at all). If they don’t identify as conservative but believe the ethos of the church is one where faithfulness = conservativeness they intuit that they are unwelcome.
5. A desire for racial and cultural diversity that is sorely lacking in the CoCs they know. CoCs tend to be rather homogenous and segregated. Young adults today, especially those who grew up in/live in metro areas, experience diversity at school, work, and at play. They simply don’t understand how the church can still be so segregated and, quite frankly, feel uncomfortable about it and feel that it is a sign that something must be wrong.
However, these young adults also love the CoC. No, they really do. They appreciate the ways they were taught the Bible as a child (and know it much better than their friends who grew up in a different church tradition). They have fond memories of church potlucks, retreats, and camps (especially in youth group). They actually prefer acappella worship to singing with a praise band. They love the relationships they have forged with fellow CoC members. These young adults are CoC through-and-through and don’t want to be any other way.
Except they feel as if they have no other choice, but they don’t know which choice of other church to make. And so they remain. Uncomfortable. Unfulfilled. And gradually losing the vitality of their faith.
Often young adults who feel this way make their way to an American evangelical-type church. This makes sense for a lot of reasons. The main ones being their congregational nature and their emphasis on individual reading of scripture, without the same ethos of exclusion and legalism. (There’s also the distance from the rest of the Christian tradition that CoCs and evangelicals share.) Such young adults often make their way to some local megachurch or community church and feel like they’ve found a place familiar enough to be comfortable but different enough to have made a real change.
“Homeless” young adults haven’t made such a drastic move, or are uncomfortable with having done so, and still feel some sense of loyalty to the CoC. However, they often know that if they don’t live in a select few major cities (Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, etc.) or near a flagship CoC university (Pepperdine, ACU, Lipscomb) they won’t ever find a CoC in which they can feel comfortable.
And so they float from church to church never making a deep commitment to a place. Clearly, this is problematic for a number of reasons. As much as Americans want to think otherwise, the vast majority people cannot have a thriving and healthy spiritual life outside the regular fellowship with and deep commitment to a community of believers.
Some of these young adults are lost to the CoC; our churches failed them. They found another home. However, many are still “homeless.” And if you, ________ Church of Christ, hope to keep them off the spiritual streets you must address the concerns listed above or a significant portion of an entire generation will be lost to you. You must move beyond exclusion, legalism, the religious right, and the cultural homogeneity of your congregational life.
And to the homeless CoC young adults I’ve been writing about, I encourage you not to give up on those people who loved you, formed you, and introduced you to Christ (at least not with haste). No, they are not perfect, but neither is any other church. And please think long and hard before becoming an evangelical. Believe it or not, they can be just as legalistic and exclusionary; they have often acquiesced even more to the not-so-laudable aspects of American culture than the American-bred CoCs you know; they are just as committed to right-wing politics; and they can be just as racially and culturally homogenous. On top of that, they have often abandoned those things the CoC got right; namely, a love of and commitment to baptism and the Lord’s Supper, a desire to read scripture as more than just a feel-good devotional book, and a robust commitment to and theology of “the Church.” If you have made the decision to “go evangelical” I do not begrudge you, but if you haven’t yet and are considering it I encourage you to do so only with deep discernment. [And believe it or not (and I know we were taught not to), going to one of the "denominations" rather than an evangelical church might feel more like home (once you get used to the liturgy). Most of them do practice baptism and the Lord's Supper, after all.]
Finally, if you are “homeless” and can’t find a home in a CoC don’t give up on church altogether. Go somewhere else. God will meet you there even if those you love in the CoC of your youth won’t. And it may be home.
So, I’m a CoC young adult (age 26; grew up CoC and went to CoC colleges) who was “homeless” for some time, but no longer. I never floated, but I was deeply dissatisfied for several years. The turning point for me in moving from homeless to committed, though, wasn’t finding a church that didn’t have these problems–in fact, the church that dealt best with the problems you outline here was the one in which I felt most alienated–it was finding a church where I was quickly embraced by a wide variety of people. Some of those people share my less-conventional views more than others, but it’s more important that they all welcome and love me.
This isn’t to minimize the theological issues. (Though I think that few CoCs outside of very small Bible Belt towns are now as legalistic as they once were.) I’m a PhD student in English and good theology matters a great deal to me as an intellectual. But it has become clear to me that much of the resentment I felt toward previous churches had more to do with a lack of relationships than with true theological discomfort–though I cloaked that frustration in terms of theological disagreement at the time. Now when members of my current church express views that I find narrowminded or even offensive, I’m able to respond in love and unity rather than by distancing myself. One of the great strengths of the CoC in my view is its allowance for theological diversity, and that diversity has to include the conservative/legalistic among us. So it befits those of us who feel homeless to examine whether there are emotional issues at work–whether by the church’s fault or our own–which we can cloak in theological critique.
I love your final appeal for patience, and description of the CoC’s strengths. If I were to leave a “denomination” would probably be my landing place, for precisely the reasons you outline–the Lord’s Supper weekly is such a blessing, in particular.
Hi Matthew,
Thanks for the response. I really appreciate your willingness to open up and be honest about your experience. And I think you’re 100% correct about the importance in relationship in overcoming some of these hurdles and differences. I really believe that committed relationship to a community is often more important than agreement on theology, especially certain nuances.
Since I posted this entry last night I’ve had several people ask me on facebook why I didn’t include the CoC’s stance on women and LGBT issues as reasons many young adults don’t feel at home in the CoC. Based on the reaction I’ve received, that was a mistake. (I had my reasons but in retrospect they don’t seem adequate based on people’s responses to the piece.) Count those as numbers six and seven on the list. Specifically, those women who feel called to ministry and those young parents who don’t want their daughters to grow up in a church environment that inhibits their children’s spiritual growth don’t quite feel at home in many of our churches. And those LGBT brothers and sisters we have, and those deeply committed to them and don’t believe it’s sinful to have such an orientation, have found the CoC a very uncomfortable place.
Speaking of which: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thepangeablog/2012/06/28/when-women-are-called/
Excellent book!
Very well stated. Thank you for sharing your insight. This is a wonderful article that I enjoyed reading.
I grew up in the ICoC. My parents were in the ministry for 14 years, and it was my only consistant experience concerning church until a couple of years ago when my wife and I stopped attending any church. We now meet with a handful of people on Sunday mornings.
With that said, I feel that the first reason you stated is the one that has caused the most trouble for me. The exclusiveness of my church experience did not seem to match my interpretation of God.
What I am still working through, and looking for any advice or insight, is how to view the church. I have reflected on this a lot lately and I have a hard time seeing myself return to any church. This is not because I don’t appreciate them, or that I think they are all wrong. It was once said to me that if you find the perfect church, don’t join or you’ll mess it up. I love those that I know from the CoC or ICoC or any other denomination. However, since we stopped attending the Wednesday night meetings, and Friday night devotionals, and Sunday services, it has freed me up to many others, some who have many issues with church, that I would have never known on a spiritual level. This has become my church.
I suppose what I am trying to figure out is whether or not having this loose view of church is beneficial or if it is wrong.
Again, thank you for your thoughts. It is nice to see others who recognize and speak up about these issues.
Dan
Hi Dan,
Thanks for the response and your transparency. As to your struggle over a “loose church,” it sounds to me like you’ve got a good church going for yourself with the group of people you meet with. I’ve considered doing something similar on multiple occasions. I do think there’s plenty of space in one’s spiritual journey for different periods, stages, or phases, and one of those can definitely be one of separation from any institutional church. Who knows what will happen in the future though? I’ve been to many places and done many things I once thought I’d never do in the pursuit of God…
Dan, the question you asked is the bigger issue – how do we define church? Thanks James for sharing your thoughts on this and the conversation it has sparked.
This is a great piece Jimmy, too true and to the point. I also appreciated your adding women and LGBT to the list. This is the second time this year that I have heard the term “homelessness” used in reference to one’s spirituality. The first time was in Hauerwas’ memoir Hannah’s Child. Which I would recommend to anyone feeling church homelessness, but it was a particularly good read for me being trained in theology and feeling caught between a CoC/evangelical and Catholic communities. (Also, I agree, those “denominations” can feel far more theologically comfortable with communion and baptism, while evangelicals feel more relationally and culturally comfortable.) I haven’t attended a CoC regularly for four years now (living in Boston and Ireland), but I still consider myself CoC, and feel as though, if there was a CoC around that I felt comfortable in, then I would probably attend. Aaaaand I would attend Mass… And/or maybe an evangelical small group… Or maybe I’m just your case and point.
But I have to say, as one of the “homeless,” while not easy, it has been good. You don’t have to be inactive or jaded in your homelessness. A lot of us feel like “If I cant commit to the coc then I can’t commit anywhere”. Perhaps that is also a part of the problem, fear of commitment to any church. Maybe we just need to think outside our sad angry righteous homeless box. If you’re already a die hard church attender (as CoCers are) one of the easiest ways to get to know another community or culture (and your own) is to go to a different church [regularly]. As cocers with our ridiculous amount of church attendance and amalgamation of theology, we’re primed and ready to attend and get along with multiple church communities. (Not breaking up as our history attests to.) Not to get them to become coc, but to become friends without fear. Unfortunately there is a lot of fear instilled in the coc, and its sometimes hard to remember that God can and will meet you wherever you’re at. I’m a witness to God at to Tobar Mhuire Mass, at Trinity Episcopal, at Community of Faith Christian Fellowship, at Lissara Presbyterian, at Cafe Church, at Theology on Tap, at Cairns Hill Methodist, and at Green Valley church of Christ. Or maybe God in me is a witness to them? Or as the Jesuits taught me, maybe it’s both/and.
Just my two cents, and something to think about… I’m still literally and figuratively kinda homeless. Trying to live out what a professor once told me, “Just be God’s.”
Thank you so much for your comment, Paige. (And it’s good to hear from you!) While you weren’t one of the people I had in mind when writing it, you truly do embody what I’m trying to get at. Godspeed on your journey!
Jimmy, thank you for these reflections. As a woman with ministry training from a CoC college, I quickly realized that I was being trained to work for churches that do not exist. I left the CoC world and then returned recently after finding a church that is fully egalitarian and a wonderful mix of authentic people (unfortunately, they’re not hiring). Recently, I acknowledged that I am still very much called to church ministry. I am embarking on a journey with the Disciples of Christ now, and while I grieve my leaving the Churches of Christ, I simply cannot wait any longer for change to happen.
Thanks for sharing, TKP. I wish you Godspeed on your ministry.
Hi, there!
I am not a young adult, but a mid-fifties woman who simply couldn’t take the legalism any longer in the CoC. My husband and I came to parenting late in life, and took as much as we could before leaving the church almost four years ago. We do not want our children to be raised with the narrow-mindset that we were. Yes, we have been basically (church) homeless for much of that time, but have found ourselves to feel liberated. It’s not that we have become “bad” people since leaving the church, but are learning to extend grace to so many where we wouldn’t have even considered it before leaving. Yes, we long for a church family…but are reluctant to “join” a church. I really like what Paige says about “just being God’s,” but I know that we need the fellowship of a group of like-minded brothers and sisters who are extend grace and love like Jesus to our entire family.
Thank you!
LM
I also am not a young adult. But I resonate with what was said here to a large extent. I think you have uncovered some things that need analyzed and dealt with, but I also think there are other elements and directions to go with this stuff too. So, allow me to add a two bits.
I have a strong sense that the whole of Christendom is breaking down. There is a real sense in which the CoC (RM) is suffering it right along with all the others. And now that we are post -Biker Church, Trucker Church, Cowboy Church, Indian Church etc, and are more and more into the realm of Give-me-Jesus-keep-your-church-thankyou…, that we are talking about a consumerist spirit as much as anything else. We were not satisfied because … ________ (fill in the blank), and so we left for greener pastures…. It’s the same as shopping at Target instead of Walmart, only dressed up as theological reasons.
Homelessness is a tricky word too. I use it liberally as well, but lets keep in mind that metaphorical uses lend themselves to a belittling of the problem of physical rooflessness that so many people on the streets suffer today. Still, I am from a broken home. I lost my first marriage to divorce. My current wife (cant believe that is a useful designation- but it fits!) has the same story. So do so many of my friends, neighbors and family both within and without the CoC. And I see a direct causal factor (among others to be sure) relating to the break up of the church. And I see this whole phenomenon as one end of the spectrum of “homelessness” that stretches out to the roofless as well.
There… that is two bits. Not to take away from what has already been said which is deeply insightful. Just a way of expanding the concept….
Thanks
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I’m 33 years old and stopped attending Icoc or coc about 7 years ago. I first started attending as a teenager, so you could I grew up in “the church”. I lived and socialized with influential leaders and members of the church and did get a pretty clear look behind the curtains of the workings of this church. What I learned three thing: 1- leaders can say and do anything, 2-rich are given free passes, 3- pretty /thin means you get you on the fast track to marriage/ leadership roles.
1- leaders love to gossip like a bunch of teenage girls. It is all masked as “seeking advise” but everythIng you talk about is shared from one leader to another until almost everyone in your area knows your deepest and darkest secret. I know about sexual habits, financial issues, and sexual orientations of people I hardly know. 2- I saw some of the most humble and poor give their hearts to the people in their community/ bible talk but weren’t ever treated with the same respect as those that were rich. Think about it, who really “served” in your church and who received the honors. Was it the single mom that worked three jobs or the doctor? 3-dating in the church was no different than dating else where. If you are pretty and thin you get to go on plenty of dates with a range of single men. If you are not you get the “charity date” or nothing at all. I could list hundred more things that are done wrong but it isn’t important cause it really isn’t about if you go to the “one true church” nor about making disciples it is about living a life that is worth something. Being kind to an orphan that has no direction, about being merciful to a young woman that been used by an older man, about having compassion for a person that doesn’t know how to read. Saving the world from hell is a grand goal but what about being present in the life of the people that need you the most.
All that is great and wonderful about God I learned from all the single moms, grandmothers, poor, and meek. They showed me true love, grace, and kindness. They taught me that no matter what has happened and why that God is merciful and above our understanding.
I appreciate and agree with most of your post, except I feel the warnings about evangelicals and such veers into the same stereotypical and judgmental attitudes which you mention abound in the CofC (and from which I ran!). I’ve met non CofC’ers across every spectrum- evangelicals and non-denominationals- who understood grace and the Spirit’s work and were really living it out.
The main thing I wanted to mention: those ‘homeless’ ones who leave also sometimes end up in non-affiliated, non-denominational home churches, as we have.
I completely agree Sue!!
Excellent article except for the judgmental attitude and warnings of evangelical churches. Made me twinge and cringe with flashbacks of my many many years in the cofc church.
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This is a great statement of what many young people are experiencing. Agree or disagree, I think you’ve done a fair job explaining what is happening. I would add that much of the discontent is connected to urbanization. Rural young people do not, in my experience, feel these issues as keenly as those in urban centers. When rural young adults are discontent, it is often combined with a discontent with their ruralness as well.
Thanks for this helpful insight, Mark.
This was very interesting for me to read as a young adult in the CofC. Great post!
Thanks!
I believe one of the big reasons for the “homelessness”, as you have put it, of this generation is fear due to the false teaching that the coc is the church, the only place truth is taught. This teaching is the very teaching that is telltale of a cult. The truth of what scripture says it not that there is one church that saves but one Christ that saves. “I am THE way, THE truth, THE life.” Not the coc is the way, but Christ is the way. There IS something missing and their own spirits testify to it but often because of the lies of the enemy, and the fear that brings, they continually choose to live trapped in that lie. Fear of what others (parents or whomever) think (which boils down to pride and people pleasing – both completely opposed to the mind of Christ) and/or fear of the fact that maybe that is true, what if coc is only right place and they attend another church. I know of these battles first hand as I have fought them myself and see others in my family still trapped in the lies.
I know that there are many ranges of teaching in the coc. While there may be some who teach the truth of scripture, I have yet to ever attend one that does. Nor have I ever meet a person who attends a coc and doesn’t believe things that scripture clearly does NOT teach. I see in your article more of the mind of Christ than in anyone I have ever met who attends a coc. This is not the norm in my experience. Rather than see the fruit of the Spirit and the image of Christ, in most of the people I know who attend a coc and claim to be saved what I see is a living representation of the Pharisees of Jesus time. They are white washed tombs, all clean and shiny on the outside but dead and stinking on the inside. They have a form of godliness yet deny its power. They are hopeless, bitter, angry, unbelieving. Now didn’t miss understand, contrary to what I grew up understanding, I realize no one in this life is perfect nor will EVER be until Christ returns and we receive our glorified bodies. However I see NO change in the people of coc who claim to be saved. There is not a growing or maturing into the image of Christ. Scripture clearly tells us that those of faith will be OBVIOUS by their fruits. (which is why confusion of youth who see this true in believers who attend other churches while being told they are teaching lies and meanwhile not seeing this truth lived out in those who claim to be in the only church that teaches truth) While I do not have an expectation to see perfection, there should be evidence of direction … this is not the case. I know of VERY few in the coc who have ANY evidence of the Spirit of God in them. In the few that show any evidence it is small and that small evidence has been years in the making. Scripture tells us upon accepting Christ as savior and LORD we become a new creation the old is gone the new has come. I see no new life only the same old sin patterns; unrecognized, unconfessed and most certainly unchanged. They may not be the glaring ones (drunkenness, adultery etc) but they are there, glaringly evident to those of the world (pride, hypocrisy, idolatry, people-pleasing), ALL equal in God’s eyes.
I grew up in coc attending from the time I was only a few days old. My father is, and has been all of my life, a coc preacher. As an adult I only attended when my parents came to visit. I lived a worldly life as an adult because I had tried to hold to the standards I had been taught, those that other coc goers around me said that they lived up to, and I could not do it. I tried, I failed. Maybe they could but I could not so why bother trying. Not only this but I received no peace, joy or hope trying to live as I was taught, and neither did anyone of those coc attenders. Scripture and God just did not prove to be true in “real life.” As is always the case, the consequences of the sin I chose were harvested in my life and I needed someone who could save me. I reached out to Christ to pull me from the pit, I sought Him and true to His word, He saved me. I did commit to a body of believers, a church that is healthy and teaches unapologetically the truth of God’s word. It has been many years of God undoing the lies that were sown in my youth but He by the truth of His word has set me free. I am so very far from perfect but Christ has transformed me and set me free from many of the sin patterns in my life and those that were passed down as a legacy from my family. I am now choosing, by the grace of my good God, to leave my children a new legacy. There is clearly a difference in me, in my kids. My own sister has said that she can see the difference in us from others and knows we have a relationship with God even though family continues to say we are in a place teaching lies. Yet those who claim to be under the teaching of truth do not look different, do not stand out as a light in this dark world, no hope is seen in them that would cause anyone to ask the reason for their hope. I still can not live up to the standards of God’s word but what I now know is that it God’s own Spirit alive in me that lives them through me.
I too love the people who attend the coc and this is the reason I have responded. My heart greatly grieves for those I know in coc who’s trust is not in Christ but in baptism and blind loyally to a church. Who have no personal relationship with The Living God but instead dead religion. I fear for them; that they will be among the very ones Christ said to whom He would say “Depart from me I never knew you.”(matt 7:23) Nothing grieves my heart more.
It is not to the attenders of the coc we are to be loyal, as you say not to give up on those who love you, it is faith in and obedience to Christ, who loves us and gave Himself for us, we should not forsake. He is to be our first love and the one to whom we are loyal. We are to be a part of a body of believers. Scripture calls for it (Heb. 10:25) it is the command of Christ. Without doing so we are disobedient. And we are all a vital part of the body, whether it be a hand or foot, important to the growth of each other (1 cor 12 & Rom 12). The body needs the members and the members need the body. The issue is finding a body of Christ that is healthy. They are few and far between, and once again I have yet to see any coc that is. Rather each one I have attended teaches, as part of its foundation, lies. There may be some but I have yet to know of any.
We must be like the Bereans of Acts, testing every word against scripture. All of it new and old testaments as all of it is God breathed and profitable for our instruction.(2 tim 3:16) We must not check our minds at the door of any meeting place proclaiming God’s Word (or anywhere for that matter) but be knowledgeable in the Word and check all things against the FULL counsel of God’s word. There are healthy churchs who are growing deep, committed disciples of Christ, if there is even one coc that is among them I do not know but pray so.
Interesting thoughts. I do think relationships with the brethren is important and lack of those relationships can lead to falling away. I feel a very strong bond for my brothers & sisters in Christ. It is just there, and is strong. The fact that Christ is the head of the body is very important. The body is important to Him, and I can’t imagine leaving the body. I do believe that we must teach the truth, but teach it in love. I know that those who Obey the father (Matt. 7:21-23) are the ones going to heaven, and only a few will find the way (Matt. 7:13-14). I don’t like the thought of good people missing heaven. So love should motivate us to evangelism, along with love and thankfulness for God and for His mercy. There is room for differing opinions, but if we honestly seek the truth, we will find it (Mt. 7:8). The body is the bride of Christ and he will return and take her to heaven.
As someone who fits the demographic group you’re writing about, I’ve certainly seen ample evidence of everything you talked about as to why young Christians became “homeless.” This issue tears at me all the time, and I appreciate your thoughts on it. I wish I knew better how to keep my peers from leaving home.
I think one simple way is to avoid cynically speaking of “COC preachers” or making statements like, “I’m Church of Christ.” Rather, we should try to simply be members of the body of Jesus, which he loved so much that he purchased it with his own blood. “Church of Christ” should be a description of who we are, not the name of a denomination.
I believe that if we will obey from the heart the form of doctrine that’s been delivered to us (Rom. 6:17), many of our problems will be solved. That verse implies that A. There is a particular form of doctrine that must be obeyed (We had that down in the past, but I think it’s slipping away). and B. That our obedience must be “from the heart” or it’s not worth anything (Perhaps some of us missed that in the past and are trying to move closer to it now).
Charlie Smith
Greenwood, Miss.
At 36 years old as of the 27th and a “CoC minister” I resonate deeply with this article. In many ways I feel stuck and stifled. The sectarianism that has defined our “movement” has no place here or in any body of believers. I still hold on to the “restoration plea” — at least the idea of seeking unity among all believers. What we have achieved is anything but unity. I frequently find myself deeply discontent. Not discouraged necessarily, mind you, just that sense of holy discontent that comes from witnessing something that you know cannot be pleasing to God.
I can’t seem to figure out how to navigate these waters. At least I know there are others in the same boat! Ha!
Hi Jerrad,
Thanks for your openness and honesty. Believe me – you are not alone!
James,
I posted some thoughts here – http://mattdabbs.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/james-mccartys-thoughts-on-why-young-people-are-leaving-churches-of-christ/
I have written about this problem and offered up some solutions we have implemented with success. You can find that material here – http://mattdabbs.wordpress.com/ministry-tools/20s-30s-ministry/
I really appreciate hearing the stories of people in these comments. That is so helpful. Thanks again for starting the conversation.
Thanks for taking the time to comment here and on your own blog, Matt. I found your post helpful in getting to “the heart of the matter.” Whereas you’ve identified that heart, at least partially (and I think correctly), in how different generations understand what it means to “do church,” I’ve identified it in, again at least partially, in different approaches to interpreting scripture. I don’t know if you saw my follow up posts, but here they are: http://jamesmccarty.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/on-reading-scripture-a-question-of-how-not-what/ and http://jamesmccarty.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/an-exercise-in-getting-it-wrong-its-about-justice-not-worship/.
As to your first suggestion that we bring people “to Christ” rather than “to the Church,” I’m a little less convinced. One reason is because that phrase is so vague I’m not sure what you really mean by it. A more important reason, for me, is that it seems that it’s an easy way to dismiss what earlier generations have done while truly believing they were taking the best route to bring people “to Christ.” It is true that someone’s Sunday morning and Wednesday evening attendance record is not always a good indicator of the health and vibrancy of one’s spiritual life. And it is true that folks who are converted to Christ will likely be quite invested in a local church. I just worry that the way you frame it in your post paints a “straw man” that doesn’t actually exist. The vast majority of folks trying to bring people to/keep people in “Church” think it’s the best way to bring them “to Christ.”
Oh, and I think you’re absolutely right that we have often lost sight of what it means to be the 20th/21st century church in our tremendous efforts to be the first century church in the 20th/21st centuries.
Like you…I posted this comment over on my blog as well…
Let me clarify what I mean by bringing people to Jesus over bringing people to church. I know that sounds very individualistic because i do believe faith needs a community to participate in. The church is a community of the faithful who are reaching out into the world to save lost people. So outreach starts with the church. Where we run into problems is understanding the difference between the means and the goal. The problem is people have made the goal “get them to church” (thinking somehow the Jesus thing would just rub off on them). What is more people have made getting them to “church” about a time and a place on Sunday rather than understanding church biblically – the gathering of God’s people. The means is the church. The goal is to get them to Jesus. I hope that brings some clarity to what I am trying to say here.
Like 3DM’s Mike Breen says. Make disciples and you get the church. But by building the church you don’t necessarily get disciples. We often approach the whole thing backwards in that respect.
Don Haymes wrote something a long time ago essentially saying that he would not pretend he was a mainstream representative of the CoC, because he was not, but he could not abandon them, either, because he was could not be other than what he was, and part what he was was a member of the CoC. That has always resonated with me–I often feel very out of place, sometimes even unwelcome. But I don’t know how to be anything else. I think that dissonance is at the core of this homelessness you describe.
I identify with a lot of those reasons for feeling uncomfortable joining a CoC in my area. I’m curious what churches in Austin you feel would fit in the group with those in Dallas, Atlanta or at ACU, Pepperdine and Lipscomb. I went to The Branch in Carrolton and now live in Austin and haven’t found a church here that I feel has come close to thinking through some of these questions like The Branch, The Hills or Highland have. I also think that you leave out a large group of “homeless” (which accurately describes how I feel!) who love our heritage of acappella singing, but also love instrumental worship. Right or not, that is a significant part of why I’m not attending a CoC here in Austin. Great thoughts on this issue.
I really appreciate you reflections on this subject. Though I am 32 and have been raised in the CofC and remain pretty active in a conservative congregation, I very much share the same experiences that you describe above. I relate mostly to numbers 1 & 2 and feel that many congregations have sought to identify/define themselves more in terms of the differences with other denominations than who it is we follow. I think this is a symptom of a spiritual arrogance that believes restoration is not an on-going process but an acheived goal. Coupled with this, my own experience has shown me that many are more interested in defending the ‘organization’ than seeking truth. Many times I have to use ‘denominational’ sources in secret because what is being said isn’t as important who is saying it. This isolationism and fear of ‘false teachers’ leads many people I love to never or rarely seek the counsel of commentaries or scholarship. Sloppy and misguided hermeneutics mixed with a quazi-political type of apologetic (in that the primary focus is on defending the tradition rather than answering questions or searching for truth) makes it very difficult for me and others I know to tolerate the CofC.
I have stayed, however, because in part because I value tolerance, even tolerance of the intolerant, but mostly because of the relationships I have formed over my life. The people, the ‘real church’ if you will, are some of the best, most generous and helpful people I have ever known. Sure my church family worries a great deal about ‘liberalism’ and ‘denominationalism’ but should I, or even a friend of mine who they don’t know, need something, they are always quick to respond to see the need met. For me, though theologically isolated and likely would be considered heretical, my congregation is as close to me as my family. There is a constant, frustrating tension in my life: horrifically misguided theology meets abounding love and fruits of the Spirit to show, thankfully, that God can work through us regardless of how much we inadvertantly try to stop him.
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