Monday, July 27, 2015

Maybe Church Isn't For You

"I just feel free now."

Maybe Church Isn't For You -- Church is for recharging your spiritual batteries, but that's only half of it. Maybe it's about more than just you.  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}"How's that?" My husband asked. He was visiting a casual acquaintance we'll call Brian. Brian used to go to our church, but we hadn't seen him there for a long time.

"Let me tell you a story," Brian said, leaning forward in his seat. "You know where I was last Sunday? I was out canoeing on the lake with my girlfriend. The sun was sparkling off the water and then this big heron just flew right over us. I've never felt so peaceful and happy in my life. Church isn't for me."

He's not alone.

More than a third of Americans describe themselves as spiritual, but not religious. Their churches aren't brick-and-mortar structures, but the world God created.

They worship on the hiking trail and on the golf course, in the yoga studio and volunteering at the soup kitchen. They believe in fostering a personal relationship with God, and don't see how stepping inside a church would help them do that.

I respect that way of thinking, except... maybe belonging to a church is about more than just what you get out of it.

A long time ago, Moses and the Israelites were attacked while wandering around in the wilderness outside the Promised Land. Moses chose some men to defend them, and said he'd stand at the top of the hill holding up his arms during the battle.

As long as he held his hands up, the Israelites prevailed.

But when he put them down, they started to lose.

So Moses held his arms up for as long as he could, but after a while the inevitable happened: it was a long day, and they grew too heavy. That's when two other men who were there with him stepped in.
Luckily for Moses and the Israelites, churches are communities of people. They're more than buildings, they're networks for giving help and receiving it. 

Sometimes you'll be Moses, overwhelmed and shaking as you try to hold up a burden that's too heavy. Sometimes you'll be the able-bodied friends at his side. Whoever you are at any given moment, you're always needed.

Can you worship God out on the lake as well as you can in a pew at church? Can you still feel His presence in the waves and the wind if you're not in a Sunday service? Absolutely. But it's also missing a big part of what it means to be a believer.

There are people in your religious community right now struggling with illness, exhaustion, depression, or crises of faith who need you. And even if you don't know it, you probably need them, too.

So is church for you? Well, it is, and it isn't.

Church is a place you can go to get strength, but it's also a place to give it. Moses was part of a community of believers who (literally) supported him when things got too hard, and that's not so different from the way things are  or at least the way things should be  in our churches today.

Whether you're more like Moses or more like his friends, one thing is clear: if you're not there, it's everyone's loss.

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Anonymous said...

Thanks Jenni, perfect explanation!

Jennifer Humphries said...

This is fabulous! I love the connection with the Moses story. Thank you. I needed to read this.

Unknown said...

This is what it is all about. We don't always appreciate all that there is in the Old Testament.

Jenny Evans said...

If you can slog through all the "so-and-so begat so-and-so" and reading about how many cubits all the elements of the tabernacle are supposed to be, there's so much really good stuff in there!

JMC_today said...

Thank you!

Jenny Ripatti-Taylor said...

So true and lovely post. Thank you ever so much for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme

Mrs Tubbs said...

Excellent post, Rev T says stuff like this all the time.

Jenny Evans said...

He has to! Many people just don't think like this anymore. Your personal relationship with God is an important part of why we go to church, but it's not the whole reason!

Unknown said...

Thank you. Always a good reminder that we all need each other, sometimes you need me, sometimes I need you.

Anonymous said...

Good point! We have just moved towns and have been very focused on finding a new church to suit our family (which is important too, I guess). But our focus has been on what the church can do for us, rather than what we can do for the church community. Thank you for you perspective :)

Jenny Evans said...

Best of luck in your search!