The Body and the Bride

The church is an amazing entity, in it's uniqueness, it's value, and it's obligations. It's a worldwide organization that shouldn't seek to make a dime, that's singular purpose to work tirelessly for a goal that won't even be realized on this earth. The scriptures describe the church as the bride of Christ, a  picture of this divine romance between the Creator and the created. The church is also described as a family, as brethern, and here folks is where it get messy. All families have their moments, the days when our sanity hangs by a thread, contrasted by the times when were are so enamoured with each other that we would overlook all wrongs.

Ray and I have been blessed to be part of some great churches as we have been transferred all around the U.S., I have to say we have probably experienced the cream of the crop for the most part, especially in recent years. However we have still had our moments of disillusion with the family. There is an old saying "if you find a perfect church, don't join it, you'll ruin it" and that is so true. Much like the fact that even the best marriages are made of two depraved sinners attempting to live together to the glory of God, the church is comprised of many families from different backgrounds and convictions. In this line of thinking every Sunday is more like an extended family reunion, with all the relatives gathering at a potluck buffet, no wonder it can get stressful.

There are also cultural issues, especially in the American church, so much of what we call "traditional" in the American church are really unbiblical innovations that have only been around for less than a century. So what do we do? Do we continue to splinter off into our own groups, based on our comfort and sometimes our convictions? Are house churches the answer? Many of the problems facing the modern church never existed in scripture, it's hard to find time to squabble over ideology and social posturing when your brethren are being martyred all around you. Maybe that's our issue, we don't understand the severity of the christian life, the sacredness of our duty.

The second problem is the human condition, we tend to surround ourselves with people who makes us feel good, not necessarily what's good for us. For those who suffered through "normal" high school remember cliques? Well unfortunately the same ideology has invaded the church, we have bible studies by age segregation, by occupation, and so forth. Why should I participate in a bible study for homeschooling moms? If all the ladies of the church were part of one study, perhaps some might be encouraged that they could take on that challenge. I might also develop more compassion for moms who are single and have to work outside the home.What good comes of these divisions?  If we live and work as a whole unit we understand each other's weaknesses and strengths, we are able to love one another in unity and encourage each other toward godliness. Would my son not learn more about what it means to be a man by being his father's disciple and spending time with the men of the church? If my son is surrounded by godly men he sees godly manhood modeled around him. In even the best youth groups a young man sees immature youths still trying to grow themselves, not mature examples of believers. Age segregation and occupational groupings, in my opinion are some of the greatest tools of division and destruction in the modern church.

The American church has sliced and diced itself into all these sub-units that make us feel comfortable, and because of the prevalence of segregation in the school system we have come to know over the last 100 years, we have come to accept it in the church. Separating into groups makes life easy, and just like high school, it provides us with the cool crowd. We have the jocks, we just call them by a different name, we have the pretty girls, the wallflowers, the nerds, and so on. The reason we have these problems is because we are no longer viewing the church as a family, we have institutionalized the bride of Christ. So when trouble comes, we have an attitude of "privatizing" or we'll just find another church! The same thought process pervades our homes, my marriage isn't serving my needs, so I'll just find another wife! This ideology of "jumping ship" is nowhere in scripture, the bible tell us to learn, to train, to forgive, to disciple, to persevere. If our children are acting unbiblically do we trade them in? No we circle the wagons, look at the situation, and say this child needs training. Sometimes in my family an older child will encourage a younger child to be diligent or obedient, and as a parent this makes my heart warm, that is exactly how brethren should act. Other times my older child will jump in the muck of sin and whack that younger sibling, and that's how the church acts sometimes too. Only by the church working together has a family unit can it even identify the challenges it faces and overcome them, just like a family. The church should act like a family, but it doesn't take the place of the family, but that's another post altogether.

I have had my moments of severe disillusionment with the church, but I am the bride, I am part of the problem and if I submit myself to the Lord I can be part of the solution. I'm not talking about the "machine" that we have come to know as church, constantly churning out entertainment to satisfy our carnal wants. I'm talking about the true bride, who is fervently and passionately in love with the Savior. We are one body, there's no getting out of this, we cannot severe a human body in half and hope to survive, and we cannot severe the church into messy bits and hope to thrive. We have a choice, we can be the whiny child that fusses for their way or we can be part of the solution. We can be the ear that listens, the heart that cares, the eyes that weep for the body, and most important the knees that ache from hours in prayer for our church. As Americans we have a hard time with commitment, we can return just about anything or get out of almost any obligation. However the church of scripture is an eternal membership, if you don't like the product ask God to show you your part in improving it. I don't know about you, but I'm in this for the long haul...