Thursday, December 06, 2007

Thoughts Arising From Joanne's 8 October Posting

Since Joanne’s posting of 8 October I have remained silent as I was unsure I have any words of wisdom to share on the matter. Standing at a distance I lack adequate competency to on the matter. Yet I find myself drawn to speak on broader issues of spirituality, worship and the church, all of which her posting touches upon.

Along with politics and family discipline, worship expression and religion are the most explosive issues we face within our families and circle of friends. Each of these three explosive areas is colored by our culture, personal experiences, values and intellectual assumptions.

There are times when I have had to stir myself Sundays to go to worship with the collective body of believers. In those moments I have to remind myself that there is something mystical that takes place in a collective worship experience that cannot take place in solitary worship. Many of those times I did not wish to go have been the moments I have found an element in the service or the whole service itself to move my heart. Scripture not only strongly encourages people of faith gathering together but the Word also says that our faith is defined and shaped by the corporate.

Though I have worshipped primarily within a Salvation Army context I recognized in ’96 that it could change one day. When we left Winnipeg we felt that being people of faith was primary, denominational affiliation was secondary.

Some congregations can be cold and others warm. Some are rigid and legalistic while others seek to have a dynamic expression of faith, while some seek to appeal to the mind, too many settle for the warm fuzzies. Worship styles vary just as personalities vary.

By their nature churches tend to be authoritarian structures that unintentionally foster judgmental dynamics. People are told what to believe. A resultant is that those who do not hold the same views are viewed as having defective faith or even lacking it. When a person thinks differently they are told that they are resisting the will of God. Too many define their faith by what they attack and view as being wrong rather than by the higher values that they hold. One only has to look at the Christian mass media to see regular examples of major leaders setting a judgmental pattern and thereby fostering spiritual abuse. Lacking love and a desire to find a meeting of the minds their unkind and judgmental harangues are colored more by control and political issues than by the love Christ taught. With such patterns established by the church leadership, including those most widely known, is it any wonder that those in the congregation do the same?

1 comment:

Barbara said...

Denominational issues are really secondary to ones spiritual health. Everyone needs to find the place that allows them to grow and feel comfortable.