June 29 Krum Star Article,
"The Church is an Organized Religion with a Political
Agenda"
Note: the audio recording of this message
is here.
This week, I’m tackling the second
objection to Christianity voiced by many who want a connection
with God but whose observations and experiences of church
have been unfavorable. The issue: the strong move of the
church in the last twenty to thirty years into the world
of politics. That move is then coupled with what has become
an accusatory description of the church of “organized
religion.”
As I think about the fact that those words,
“organized religion,” are indeed used so negatively
about the church, I have to wonder for a moment if the
church would work better as a “disorganized religion”?
As one who has spent many years serving in the church,
I can certainly testify that we are far more often disorganized
than organized. But I realize that is just a surface response.
Because this is what has really happened in many cases:
the church moved from being an alive, flexible and viable
organism whose intent is to pour itself out so others
can have life to being a rigid, rule-clogged organization
whose intent is institutional survival at great cost to
the possibility of life to others. It’s a sad trade-off,
and common to almost all entities. Receptiveness to the
fresh air of the Spirit of God and the ability to embrace
change as necessary help stop the process of institutionalization,
but such receptiveness must be a constant intentional
effort.
When the church has made that move to institutionalization,
then it begins to believe in its own power, rather than
being humbly dependent upon the power of the grace of
God working within it. And when the church believes in
its own power, there is an irresistible tendency to want
to use that power to coerce others into a pre-determined
mold.
As the British Lord Acton wrote in a letter
to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887: "Power tends
to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great
men are almost always bad men."
And I would add to that, “Great churches
are often bad churches.” It is not that the intent
is bad—generally there are pure motives underlying
the grab for more and more power—its more that the
use of such power almost always violates the basics of
ethical living, i.e., that we must treat others in the
way we ourselves with to be treated. Those who have great
power, or churches that have discovered they can exercise
great political influence, rarely are able to receive
such power or influence by others with much grace. And
that is a problem.
Jesus talked about building one’s
house on a rock, not on sandy or shifting ground. A church
built on a base of political power has indeed put its
foundation down on ground that excels in instability.
A foundation of political power rather than holy living
may bring immediate gratification, but ends up opening
the doors to huge destruction in the long run.
More on Sunday.
Christy
The Rev. Dr. Christy Thomas, Pastor, Krum
UMC
Questions or comments about this article?
Please contact me at christy@krumumc.org
or phone the church office at 940-482-3482.
