10 Things THE CHURCH Can't Do While Following Jesus
by Mark Sandlin 07-03-2013 | 3:52pm
The Christian church is full of Christians, right?
Depiction of Jesus with arms raised, WELBURNSTUART / Shutterstock.com
Sadly, the answer you'll get to that question is heavily dependent on whom you are asking. Certainly, the church should
be full seeking to follow Christ, seeking to follow the teachings of
Jesus. However, increasingly, there are those who claim the church is
full of hypocrites. They are not saying the church only has hypocrites.
That's clearly not true. They are simply pointing out there are
surprisingly high numbers of people going to church, calling themselves
Christians but whose actions run counter to what Jesus taught. I believe
we can do better.
Which brings us to the first thing on my list of the “10 Things THE CHURCH Can't Do While Following Jesus.”
10) Be hypocritical.
This
isn't about making mistakes. People who follow Jesus mess up all the
time. I try to follow Jesus and I mess up every day – probably more like
every hour. This is about saying one thing and then actively doing
another. In many ways, this list is a study in hypocrisy in the church.
Like my first two “10 Things”
lists, it isn't a complete list but it is a good place to start. Sure,
Christians do these things but they can't claim they are following Jesus
when they do.
9) Let “how we've always done it” rule the day.
One
of things you should pick up in reading the stories about Jesus is that
he wasn't afraid of doing a new thing, even when it went against what
his religion had always done. Here's the thing: we are not all that we
are called to be. Like I said, I mess up at least every hour. Also, our
relationship with God isn't everything it could be. In order to improve
ourselves in those areas, we must change. No change? No improvement.
“We've never done it that way” is code language for “I'm not changing.”
Not only is avoiding change a surefire way of getting stuck in your
spiritual journey, but it's also a pretty clear indication that you've
stopped following the one who said, “You've heard it said ... but I
say.” Change is a Christian value.
8) Worship the Bible.
It
will never happen but I want Jeff Foxworthy to add a new bit to his
comedy routine. It won't happen, in part, because it's not funny — but
it sure is true. “If you think you are going to hell because you used
the Bible as a coaster, you might worship the Bible. If you think God
speaks in King James English, you might worship the Bible. If you think
reading Scripture from an iPad rather than a printed Bible makes it lose
its magical mojo, you might worship the Bible.”
7) Gossip.
Even
though there are some places I'd like to see the new pope be more
inclusive, I like Pope Francis quite a bit. When it comes to his
thoughts on gossip, I'm a big fan. Gossip is like slapping Jesus.
Every time you talk poorly of someone else, you are talking about a
child of God. As Pope Francis says, it brings “to the Church a spirit of
destruction.” That's not what Jesus would do.
6) Enable a consumer Christianity.
At
some point, some churches became more about the services they offer
members than about the services their members offer to the world. When
church becomes about “what's in it for me?” it loses focus on serving
the least of these. Jesus didn't say, “when inasmuch you have done it
unto yourself, so too you have done it unto me.”
5) Let polity be more important than people.
Jesus
frequently found himself being questioned for doing the right thing
rather than following the letter of the religious law. Churches? Too
frequently, not so much. We've elevated our rules and regulations, our
polity, to the point of it making them next in line to the Bible (see
#8). When we choose to follow our rules rather than to do the right
thing by temporarily setting them aside to show compassion and care for a
person, it could be argued that we are lifting them above the biblical
text that not only show Jesus setting religious rules aside to do the
right thing, but also tells us that more than anything else we are
supposed to love one another – which brings us to the next item on the
list.
4) Exclude people.
I pointed out in the first article in this series
on “10 Things” that Jesus had a rebel streak in him that actually
sought out folks who didn't “fit in.” Too frequently, modern-day
churches are in the habit of defining who doesn't fit in and then
excluding them. That behavior not only stands over and against Jesus'
examples and teachings on reaching out to the outsiders, but it is also
counter to his core message. It's a little thing he called love. It was
so important he told us loving other people and caring for them is the
same as loving and caring for God.
3) Think of outreach only as giving money to help those in need.
I
realize I'm dating myself a bit here but sometimes the church reminds
me of a Paul McCartney song. The specific song is “Band on the Run.” The
reason is the opening line: “Stuck inside these four walls, sent inside
forever.” Outreach needs to actually include reaching out. Not
figuratively, but literally – flesh-on-flesh, eye-to-eye ministry.
Giving money to help those in need is a beautiful thing to do, but it's
only a first step in helping. The next step is developing real
relationships of love with the community and world around you. To do it,
the walls of the church must come a tumblin' down – figuratively –
mostly.
2) Refuse to advocate for “the least of these” because it seems political.
Giving
money and developing relationships are beautiful and loving ways to
practice your faith, but if they don't move you to work, they are but a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. Hiding behind the need to not be
political is tantamount to saying you weren't paying attention when you
read the Bible. The prophets of God are decidedly political. They are
constantly calling the leaders of nations on their less-than-godly
actions. For that matter, Jesus was crucified, in part, because of the
political nature of his statements. It is impossible to advocate for
those in need and not be political. It is impossible to follow Jesus and
not advocate for those in need.
1) Hate a person or group of people.
I'm
looking at you, Westboro Baptist Church. To be fair, they are far from
the only church that practices religion by talking about the things they
hate. But they just make it so easy to focus on them. If you want to
follow Jesus, let love be your guiding thought. After all, God is love.
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Mark Sandlin currently serves as the minister at Vandalia Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, N.C. He received his M. Div. from Wake Forest University's School of Divinity and
has undergraduate degrees in Business Administration and English with a
minor in Computer Science. He's an ordained minister in the PC(USA) and
a self-described progressive.
Image: Depiction of Jesus with arms raised, WELBURNSTUART / Shutterstock.com
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