A variety of thoughts from chad loftis

17.12.05

I have several friends who are making a very conscious and decided move to abandon - not their Christian faith - but the church as we know it, in favor of ad hoc Christian gatherings and fellowship.
Apparently the "movement" is very widespread.
If you're interested in hearing more about it, check out The God Journey.com (I'm not endorsing the site, only mentioning it).

The church has become, I think, far too wrapped up in a kind of "show" mentality where it is possible to "go to church" and to "not like the worship at my church" or even to "do church 24/7".
It's maddening to realize how far we have come from seeing ourselves as Christ's body - and the Church, which we are inherently a part of, as his constant temple - to see how little we care about engaging each other in potent ways and how wrapped up we are in our own "relationship with God" - too much so to serve each other as priests, anyway.

Because of all this, I understand why it is that so many people are moving out of the traditional church structure and seeking something more spontaneous and connective.

But aren't they, ultimately, feeding into exactly the thing that is decaying the traditional church? Isn't it really just more of the same inwardness and self-seeking that believes its own connection with God is more important than - and can be achieved without - a connection with God's body on every level? Isn't this a way of ignoring a whole section of God's historical and spiritual community? If anything, it is those that are most different from us - in this case, those that cling so doggedly to the "old ways" of the church - that we need most if we are to be ushered constantly into God's presence.

This movement is attractive because it emphasizes the priest-hood of the believer and the idea that "hanging out" with other believers is more productive than "being in the audience" at "church". I'm beginning to wonder, though, if the priesthood of the believer doesn't really imply that we are all each other's priests rather than that I am my own priest. I'm beginning to wonder if boycotting the traditional church is really a way to experience God through his body.