September 01, 2014
Alienation
During a church visit I ran
into a familiar face with whom I’d fellowshipped with for many years. I was taken
aback because our past church and her current place of worship are at opposite
ends of the denominational scale. Her new place of worship practices infant
baptism, absolution of sins, closed communion, and liturgy. It was nice to
reconnect with her, but she was quick to say, “I left the other church because
of the music. The music here is a better fit for me.” I’m really glad that my
friend found a comfortable place to worship, but it does give me pause to think
of others who have been alienated from their home church. I realize I’ve been naïve
to assume that people who disassociate with one fellowship will always seek out
the same denominational bent elsewhere. I can’t help but wonder if many of the drastic
worship changes imposed in mainstream churches haven’t in fact sent believers
into the arms of cult religions.
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----Your fresh insight would be a good one for church leaders. Think of how many people throughout history have been mistreated, persecuted, and even killed over doctrinal differences spanning the scale of triviality. Certainly there are doctrines obviously out of line with clearly discernable Scripture, which also prescribes a treatment having nothing to do with mistreatment, persecution, or killing of the creators and caterers of such doctrines. But at soon as Constantine elevated Christianity to the religion of the Roman Empire, bishops around the Mediterranean began calling upon Rome to silence those who disagreed with them. It reminds me of Israel always readied to implore Egypt to her rescue rather than God.
-----The music tragedy is merely a different expression of the misunderstanding church leadership has had about its role. They think God selects them to make decisions for the people. Choose décor to inspire them. To what? Choose music to move them. To where? Choose attitudes to teach them. Of what? Throughout the church’s twenty centuries, leaders have abandoned the Pauline prescription of devotion to one another and edification of one another for the Jacobean practice of placing striped sticks at the waterholes to get striped flocks. Devotion and edification are just not enough about the leaders’ ideas. Authority and indoctrination serve their needs. Devotion and edification serve the flock’s needs.
-----Jesus was even more clear about the leader being the servant than Paul was about the heretic being thrust out. An unbiased reading of the Pastoral Epistles regarding leadership attributes reveals leaders to be men of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom in the Word as evidenced by how they treat people. Temperate, sensible, hospitable, and gentle are not trivial, ignorable traits. “Not quarrelsome” is every bit as important as being an apt teacher, serious, and managing the household well (dictating authoritatively to the wife and children, as it has been received.) The aspiration for bringing to life one’s vision into the practices of all one’s brothers and sisters somehow does not strike me as either edification nor service. Nor leading. But pushing. Butting. And eventually shoving sheep out of the pasture. (Ez 34:17-25) I’ve always found it very interesting that, although the Lord is expressly identified as the head of the church, the leaders think they have been given charge to tell everyone what to do, what to sing, what to think, how to look, and how to feel by placing their own striped sticks before the flock instead of bringing God’s Word to life in themselves amongst the flock. “ So I exhort the elders…tend the flock of God that is your charge…not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock.” (I Pet 5:1-3) “As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions…Let every one be fully convinced in his own mind…Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” (Romans 14:1,5b,19) Paul’s commands at Romans 14, and many, many more, are all constraints placed upon the authority of church leaders, who for two thousand years have ignored them for the prideful and glorious advantage of “Obey your leaders and submit to them,” (Heb 13:17a) the only scripture a church leader seems to know for sure.
-----Of course, I overstate the problem. Yet, the problem’s understatement has severed the flock into a thousand alienated branches in spite of Christ’s prayer and objective for us to be one. If church leaders had held Christ’s requirement of unity as an unbreakable criteria for solving THEIR differences, then it would be plainly obvious which doctrines matter, which do not, which leaders are servants, and which are wolves. Music and décor would just be music and décor from the flock‘s hearts to the flocks hearts, “…addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs…” (Eph 5:19a)
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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