Culture Clash
This Sunday I went to a church in my own town because I was going to be late to the church I've been going to all year. This local church is one my sister-in-law attends and she has wanted to go there with my mom and I for quite some time. She couldn't go today, so mom and I decided to check it out.
I attended a franchised church by this name in my college town about twenty years ago. It was the last Christian church I attended before I slipped away from my beliefs. As we walked into the foyer we were greeted by a member who handed me a program and carefully avoided looking directly into my eyes. I felt a wave of memories begin to wash over me. To my relief, the church building itself was simple and austere with a small, inconspicuous video screen. A band comprised of a modest collection of church members was already playing. After looking in the program, I noticed one has to audition to sing with the band. All the musicians projected a sincere and humble desire to worship God through song. I was unfamiliar with most of the relatively complex contemporary Christian songs they sang but the lyrics were meaningful.
I realized, as I sat there waiting for the pastor to commence, that I was emotionally guarded and automatically critical. I did not feel comfortable even though the diverse collection of people in the congregation all seemed genuinely nice and happy to be there. I find this is often how I feel when I walk into church...guarded...wishing our country's Christian culture were different than much of it now is...full to the gills with the pressures and disappointments of the week. I REALLY need to go to church. As I sit in the church I normally attend each Sunday, I begin to relax into contemplation. I decompress and acclimate. There is always something in the message, or in a song, that eventually gently pry my hands off my heart and remind me to be grateful for the abundance of mysterious known and unknown gifts I've been given that week and throughout my life. I feel my mind open to God's teaching. I feel compelled to love. This is the blessing taking time to go to church each Sunday gives me. What was God now trying to teach me by allowing me to come to another church today...a church with a culture that immediately rubbed me the wrong way?
When the pastor began to pray I was once again pulled back in time to the energetic and forceful pacing of another pastor long ago. This fellow was also a strong charismatic and I could see how he might lead others merely by the force of his personality and the unrelenting confidence of his personal beliefs. While he seemed spiritually fervent, I was immediately turned off by his intense speaking style and rapid fire prayers. He started the service out by featuring a young man who was a member of the church's SWAT team...a group of kids who proselytize in local malls. The pleasant young man seemed very sincere and showed an impressive command of Christian terminology. As the sermon on the subject "What it means to worship God" continued, I became increasing discouraged by a series of statements I felt demonstrated a basic lack of education and personal awareness. Many of these statements seemed either historically and/or biblically incorrect. Then with a smirk, this forty something pastor belittled ancient religions, calling their beliefs and practices "gross". In his defense, he overemphasized the "grossness" of certain ancient practices to make a point about the American cultures unique forms of idolatry. However, if I had been an East Indian or a Muslim, I would have immediately left the sanctuary. I almost got up and left at that point but, unfortunately, I suspected I probably knew several people in the congregation and that constrained me.
About 40 minutes into the service, I began to try to keep track of the points this guy was trying to make. I also realized I was becoming really cynical and felt compelled to pray for him. It seemed like he kept dancing around what it means to have a personal relationship with Christ without really saying what that meant in reality and how one can actually have such a relationship. He would almost get there and then he'd suddenly go off on a tangent. As a result, the sermon degenerated into a string of Christian cliches and double speak. The audience could finally only respond with a few feeble Amens and then the service crashed into a quick communion and awkward invitation to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior that included promised receipt of a form outlining a step by step process for "achieving a new personal relationship with Christ". After the service, I ran into several people I knew. They commented on how great the sermon was.
Was I disappointed? Yes! I had hoped this would be a great church for my brother's family to attend. I hope and pray this sermon was an anomaly and the generous spirit I saw manifested in many of the congregation is an indication the Holy Spirit is at work there.
What I walked away with was a growing fear that pastors like this one are leading people astray. Is it merely this man's fervor and conviction that mollifies his congregation into believing they are saved? Are the excellent Bible studies, the young people's courageous journeys to the mall to help fulfill "The Great Commission" and the loving social services this church provides good and socially correct actions that distract people from the real issue: Do these people really have a personal relationship with Christ? Do they understand the need to surrender their will to God? Have they experienced the transforming power of the Holy Spirit?
I went to a church like this twenty years ago. Each Sunday I delighted in the intense euphoria of the Holy Spirit, yet I didn't understand the need to surrender to Christ in order for the Holy Spirit to transform my life. I thought I was a Christian, yet I doubted my belief and feared death because I hadn't truly accepted God's grace and salvation. Is my story unique?
I attended a franchised church by this name in my college town about twenty years ago. It was the last Christian church I attended before I slipped away from my beliefs. As we walked into the foyer we were greeted by a member who handed me a program and carefully avoided looking directly into my eyes. I felt a wave of memories begin to wash over me. To my relief, the church building itself was simple and austere with a small, inconspicuous video screen. A band comprised of a modest collection of church members was already playing. After looking in the program, I noticed one has to audition to sing with the band. All the musicians projected a sincere and humble desire to worship God through song. I was unfamiliar with most of the relatively complex contemporary Christian songs they sang but the lyrics were meaningful.
I realized, as I sat there waiting for the pastor to commence, that I was emotionally guarded and automatically critical. I did not feel comfortable even though the diverse collection of people in the congregation all seemed genuinely nice and happy to be there. I find this is often how I feel when I walk into church...guarded...wishing our country's Christian culture were different than much of it now is...full to the gills with the pressures and disappointments of the week. I REALLY need to go to church. As I sit in the church I normally attend each Sunday, I begin to relax into contemplation. I decompress and acclimate. There is always something in the message, or in a song, that eventually gently pry my hands off my heart and remind me to be grateful for the abundance of mysterious known and unknown gifts I've been given that week and throughout my life. I feel my mind open to God's teaching. I feel compelled to love. This is the blessing taking time to go to church each Sunday gives me. What was God now trying to teach me by allowing me to come to another church today...a church with a culture that immediately rubbed me the wrong way?
When the pastor began to pray I was once again pulled back in time to the energetic and forceful pacing of another pastor long ago. This fellow was also a strong charismatic and I could see how he might lead others merely by the force of his personality and the unrelenting confidence of his personal beliefs. While he seemed spiritually fervent, I was immediately turned off by his intense speaking style and rapid fire prayers. He started the service out by featuring a young man who was a member of the church's SWAT team...a group of kids who proselytize in local malls. The pleasant young man seemed very sincere and showed an impressive command of Christian terminology. As the sermon on the subject "What it means to worship God" continued, I became increasing discouraged by a series of statements I felt demonstrated a basic lack of education and personal awareness. Many of these statements seemed either historically and/or biblically incorrect. Then with a smirk, this forty something pastor belittled ancient religions, calling their beliefs and practices "gross". In his defense, he overemphasized the "grossness" of certain ancient practices to make a point about the American cultures unique forms of idolatry. However, if I had been an East Indian or a Muslim, I would have immediately left the sanctuary. I almost got up and left at that point but, unfortunately, I suspected I probably knew several people in the congregation and that constrained me.
About 40 minutes into the service, I began to try to keep track of the points this guy was trying to make. I also realized I was becoming really cynical and felt compelled to pray for him. It seemed like he kept dancing around what it means to have a personal relationship with Christ without really saying what that meant in reality and how one can actually have such a relationship. He would almost get there and then he'd suddenly go off on a tangent. As a result, the sermon degenerated into a string of Christian cliches and double speak. The audience could finally only respond with a few feeble Amens and then the service crashed into a quick communion and awkward invitation to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior that included promised receipt of a form outlining a step by step process for "achieving a new personal relationship with Christ". After the service, I ran into several people I knew. They commented on how great the sermon was.
Was I disappointed? Yes! I had hoped this would be a great church for my brother's family to attend. I hope and pray this sermon was an anomaly and the generous spirit I saw manifested in many of the congregation is an indication the Holy Spirit is at work there.
What I walked away with was a growing fear that pastors like this one are leading people astray. Is it merely this man's fervor and conviction that mollifies his congregation into believing they are saved? Are the excellent Bible studies, the young people's courageous journeys to the mall to help fulfill "The Great Commission" and the loving social services this church provides good and socially correct actions that distract people from the real issue: Do these people really have a personal relationship with Christ? Do they understand the need to surrender their will to God? Have they experienced the transforming power of the Holy Spirit?
I went to a church like this twenty years ago. Each Sunday I delighted in the intense euphoria of the Holy Spirit, yet I didn't understand the need to surrender to Christ in order for the Holy Spirit to transform my life. I thought I was a Christian, yet I doubted my belief and feared death because I hadn't truly accepted God's grace and salvation. Is my story unique?
posted by Michelle Coder | 9:07 PM
1 Comments:
The truth in a vision is not "relative". The distance,perspective and clarity of a vision are subject to the gravity and strength of your compassion. Use his teachings to ajust your focus. You define yourself by the scope of your understanding.....there is only one.
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