Why go to Church?

So, it's been a while since I've posted. I've quit feeling guilty about it honestly; I've come to realize that it's just part of life.

I do, however, endeavor to be more active on here because as of late I've found I have ideas I'd like to flesh out. So here's the topic of the day and it's a big one that I've been kicking around for some 9 months, give or take.

Why go to church?

Before diving in, I'd like to remind the reader that this blog is specifically my open letter to the Christian church, so I'm not going to be discussing arguments for or against Christianity or religion per se. Instead my question is looking more at why a believer should go to a formal church at all. To begin, let me display some of the basic arguments/counter-arguments that many bring to the conversation. I'm going to give these in the form of affirmative statement (AS) - rebuttal (R):

AS1: Christians need community with other believers in order to reaffirm their faith and gain encouragement, correction, growth, etc. in the Christian life

R1: As a believer, one can find community with other believers in ones life without going to a formal church institution. This can be done through social groups, both formal and informal and not always in the same physical location, thanks to technology.

AS2: Christians need a church to help them learn more about the Christian life and how to live out Christ's message, usually via sermons, Sunday school classes, etc.

R2: There is nothing that a church/pastor can teach you that can't be learned by studying on your own, either at a library or online. The church doesn't hold special knowledge that can't be learned elsewhere, though to learn it elsewhere requires a certain level of self-motivation.

AS3: Believers need a place to worship God, both corporately and individually.

R3: One doesn't need to attend a formal church gathering to worship individually OR corporately. Several world religions (including Christianity) have long-standing traditions of worshiping solo and informally with other believers. The institution is simply not necessary.

So where does this leave us? 

Well I'm not certain, to be honest. I for one love going to church because I see a lot of value in the liturgy and tradition of being anchored to the catholic (little "c") church; of course this is an insufficient reason in and of itself, but it's one of my main reasons. Others are because I feel I have something to offer other congregants in the way of instruction and wisdom due to my years of study in theology and the church, but those are of course not all of the reasons.

Mainly, I wanted to point out with this brief article that there is a slew of arguments for and against being a part of or even just casually attending a formal church. I think this topic does take on new impetus for re-visitation in the current religious environment in the west as denominations are dying out and Christians of a new generation are exploring new ways to embody Christ in the world.

I'd love to hear the readers thoughts on the topic; if you are a member or even a regular attendee of a church, why do YOU go? or if you've left the formal institution that is Christianity, why did you leave?

pax,
CM

Don't Build Communities

Have you ever had one of those days where you think that you'd be just absolutely happy with life if you were locked away in a log cabin somewhere in the back mountains of Canada or something? No? oh, well, I have those moments.

Truth be told, despite being a very outspoken and out-going person and despite having been exposed to stages and performance of one type or another since toddler-dom, I am a very introverted and private person; that is, I am refreshed by solitude and quiet. The level of quiet that I enjoy can drive some people batty; but it works for me. I think that this is partially why I have a natural affinity for the mystic corners of my Christian faith and find asceticism very attractive; namely, because I like to sit, think, be out in nature and embrace solitude. While there is great benefit to being able to stop, think, meditate, work through, feel and meet with the divine, I think that there is also a greater calling on the life of a Christian.

We are to love

Simple, right? Well, yes and no. If we're to love like Christ did and be known by our love...furthermore, if God is love....then one thing is certain: we must be with people. For some, like my brilliant wife, people are where it's at. She thrives off of hosting gatherings and going out to do things for people; it's one of her most beautiful qualities; this is not so with me. In fact, sometimes after being in large crowds for a long time, I feel drained and empty. What does this mean? well, what it doesn't mean is that I have a free pass to disconnect with people - even for "holy" reasons.

Love, you see, is intrinsically social - you need people in order to do it. Sure, there's self-love or a certain love for inanimate objects, but the deepest and most meaningful types of love are reciprocal.

As a member of the millennial generation, I know all too well how easy it is to disconnect because we're so "connected". Call me old fashioned, but it makes me sad to be in a room of people and observe all of them staring at little plastic boxes of wires, circuits and electricity in the palm of their hands. What happened to conversation? What happened to meeting new people? My dad is a master at the art of befriending strangers...rather, he has his Doctorate degree in spending hours in the aisle at the store talking to a person he just met....if there's a degree for that.

The Church today - the people of Christ - need to be intentional about building connections; if we do this, community necessarily follows. Sometimes we try to build communities through programs and schemes like small groups or Sunday school classes or church outings or "coffee hours" and some of this works but if we're looking for real relationships - something deep and lasting - the kind Jesus built with his followers, we need to focus on simply connecting with individuals, individually. By setting out to build a community instead of setting out to get to know the smelly kid at the end of the pew (no pun intended), we're essentially trying to become an Olympic level athlete in a week after being a couch potato for 20+ years or (to use the old saying) we're trying to eat a whole elephant at once. Attacking the big picture in one shot is self-defeating because we forget that communities are intrinsically built on a base of individualism - no one wants to just be a face in a crowed, so why do we approach Christian community this way?

Instead of communities, we should try to build connections.

So, while I might love to be alone and while we might keep an eye on the "big picture" in terms of building Christian communities, we must also realize that not only do we need people, but we need individual connective relationships. These have longevity and show the glory of the Kingdom of God just a little more clearly than otherwise.

Things to think about:
How do you build community?
How do you build connections?
Are you one who likes to hide from people or go out?
Could you or your church be better at connecting people?

Peace,
C.M.