{"id":11,"date":"2008-05-19T08:51:00","date_gmt":"2008-05-19T15:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25551729.post-6846867698147535792"},"modified":"2009-07-07T08:39:07","modified_gmt":"2009-07-07T15:39:07","slug":"got-potential-2008-05-19-155100","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/gods-purpose\/got-potential-2008-05-19-155100","title":{"rendered":"Is ‘Church’ a Dirty Word?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Purpose<\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/strong>
\nVol. 2 Issue 20 <\/span><\/strong>
\nMay 19, 2008<\/span><\/strong>
\nThe Weekly Newsletter of True Potential Publishing<\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/strong>
\n<\/em>
\n<\/em>
\n“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”<\/em> (Hebrews 10:25)<\/p>\n

Is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a Dirty Word?<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always felt a little guilty over church. I felt guilty when I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t attend; felt guilty when I did attend; felt guilty if I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t become a member; felt guilty after I became a member; felt guilty when I stayed at a certain church; and felt guilty when I left that church. Then the cycle would begin all over again.<\/p>\n

What is wrong with me? Can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t I just be satisfied with church<\/em> like other Christians? Isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it our duty to go to church; to join the church? Doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the Bible tell us that we must go to church if we are truly Christians?<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had pastors tell me that my salvation was in jeopardy if I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t attend church regularly (in my last episode, the pastor was referring to Sunday night<\/em> and Wednesday services, seeing as I was already there to get yelled at on Sunday morning).<\/p>\n

If the Bible and the pastor tell me that attending church is an integral part of my Christianity, that my Christianity isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really Christianity at all without regular church attendance, then why do I feel so lousy when I do attend church? Do I possess some basic fault, which apparently doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exist in other Christians, to make me feel this way?<\/p>\n

I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t developed this aversion to church overnight. And, to be fair, when I do go to church, I enjoy a good bit of it. Of course, I do my best to avoid any church that I may not enjoy a good bit of.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m conflicted and here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the conflict.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a born-again Christian. I write on born-again Christian topics \u00e2\u20ac\u201c like telling other born-again Christians how to behave. I publish books by born-again Christian authors who write about how born-again Christians ought to behave. I ought to have come to terms with this whole church <\/em>thing a long time ago \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 but I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t.<\/p>\n

And since I just turned fifty, I figure its time to deal with any basic incongruities still hanging around in my life.<\/p>\n

Does this mean I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to take my place in the pew, keep my mouth shut and join the ecclesiastically satisfied masses?<\/p>\n

Nah.<\/p>\n

Does it mean I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m all of a sudden going to start feeling good about going church, Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesdays?<\/p>\n

Probably not.<\/p>\n

(By the way. If you feel great about church and have no idea what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m talking about, consider yourself blessed and take a few weeks off. There are a lot of your brothers and sisters in Christ out there, in church and out of church, who are miserable about the whole situation and want an honest answer – just like me.) <\/em><\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily buy what a lot of church leaders are telling me about how I should feel about church. On the other hand, as Dad would say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t throw the baby out with the bath water.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> Church, whether you like it or not, is a big part of the Christian life and if you call yourself a Christian and want Him<\/em> to believe it, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d better deal with church<\/em>.<\/p>\n

*****<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n

A little personal history.<\/p>\n

My father was in full-time ministry since before I was born. I was raised in the church and Dad represented the leadership of the church. As a pastor and a minister, I considered my dad head and shoulders above his peers. Some of that admiration may have been prejudiced by the fact he was my dad, but looking back on his life from my current perspective I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll stick with my story. He really was head and shoulders above a lot of his peers.<\/p>\n

The point is that my problem with church doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stem from some latent hostility toward my father as an authority figure. I liked and admired the guy when I was a kid and I admire and empathize with him more now that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had the opportunity to walk a few more miles in his moccasins.<\/p>\n

And I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe my general dissatisfaction with church comes my from lack of trying. Dad was saved, educated and ordained a Baptist. His search for a more complete relationship with God, led him into baptism of the Holy Spirit (more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Pentecost<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d than \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Pentecostalism<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d). Where he went, we followed. As a result, I have experienced a wide swath of churches, denominations and doctrines; most of them spending more time and effort assailing each other than winning the world.<\/p>\n

Again, my point is that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe the answer to my dissatisfaction with church is that I just haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tried the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153right one.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to be too hard on churches though. The world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a better place with churches than without them.
\nThe problem, I believe, is in what we think church is, the definition it has become, as opposed to what God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s desire for what the church ought to be. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d according to Webster is defined as:<\/p>\n

1. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a building for public and especially Christian worship\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/em><\/p>\n

2. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the clergy or officialdom of a religious body\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/em><\/p>\n

3. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153often capitalized : a body or organization of religious believers: as <\/em>
\n<\/em>
\n a) the whole body of Christians <\/em>
\n<\/em>
\n b) DENOMINATION <\/em>
\n<\/em>
\n c) CONGREGATION\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/em><\/p>\n

4. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a public divine worship \u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/em><\/p>\n

5. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the clerical profession \u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n

According to Webster the primary definition of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a building<\/em><\/span>; a place<\/em><\/span> where people, especially Christians, come to worship. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on every street corner, in every city or town. It can be a magnificent edifice with soaring spires that reach into the heavens or a metal building with a neon sign. The church, according to Webster is primarily a structure<\/em><\/span>, sometimes magnificent, sometimes humble; built by men from wood and stone.<\/p>\n

Secondly, Webster defines \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the clergy or officialdom<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – the guys in charge. If we search beyond the bricks and mortar of the structure that is the church to a deeper, other<\/em><\/span> meaning we discover that the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is not built just of wood and stone, but also of men; a hierarchy, a government, an elite leadership that represents the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153officialdom<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of the structure. Be it sticks and stones or flesh and bone, that, according to Webster 1 and 2, is the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

To understand the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d according to Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s second meaning, I had to return to the dictionary for a definition of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153officialdom\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/span><\/em> <\/span>answer was short and sweet \u00e2\u20ac\u201c \u00e2\u20ac\u0153officials as a class.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> A class<\/em> of what? The definition seemed a little lacking, so I dug deeper; this time into the Encarta English Dictionary of North America.<\/span><\/em> According to Encarta<\/span><\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153officialdom<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a word which encompasses bureaucrats<\/em> and bureaucracy<\/em>; specifically, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bureaucracy and those who work within it, especially when viewed as inefficient or pompous.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/em><\/p>\n

Youch!<\/p>\n

Studying \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was really beginning to depress me. I was discovering that I had spent my whole life, as my father had spent his, serving and supporting either a building<\/em> or a bureaucracy<\/em>; or perhaps some combination of the two. No wonder I felt so guilty and dissatisfied.<\/p>\n

I had to push on. Maybe there was some light at the end of this. Surely there was more to church<\/em> than bricks and bureaucrats. I continued my study.<\/p>\n

Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s third definition capitalized \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and divided its meaning into three sub-categories: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a) the<\/em> whole<\/em> body<\/em> of Christians<\/em>; b) DENOMINATION<\/em>; c) CONGREGATION<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sure why Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s listed DENOMINATION<\/em> and CONGREGATION<\/em> in capital letters. Maybe \u00e2\u20ac\u0153DENOMINATION\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153CONGREGATION\u00e2\u20ac\u009d took some sort of precedence over \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Christian\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

Despite my confusion of capitals<\/em> I was encouraged. At least we were talking about people! Not just the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153officialdom<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but those who occupied the pews.<\/p>\n

That was me! If church<\/em> could be defined as people like me I might find a solution to my problem. If the church<\/em> was me and people like me, how could I feel guilty and dissatisfied? If I was part of the definition, couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t I be part of the solution? I may have found a bit of the light for which I was searching.<\/p>\n

Encouraged as I was with this third definition, I still had to deal with why Webster divided its meaning into three distinct sub-categories.<\/p>\n

a) \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the whole body of Christians\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> – This definition I could understand. I was part of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the whole body of Christians.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> I took this to mean people who belonged to – gave their hearts to – Christ. That was me! People who, just like me, recognized Jesus as the Son of God and personal savior and put the trust of their eternal future in His hands.<\/p>\n

b) \u00e2\u20ac\u0153DENOMINATION<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Or as Dad used to say \u00e2\u20ac\u201c abominations<\/em>. Personally, I figure that any label beyond Christian<\/em> (literally \u00e2\u20ac\u0153slave of Christ\u00e2\u20ac\u009d)<\/em> puts me one step further away from the One I serve. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got no use for DENOMINATIONS \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 probably never will.<\/p>\n

c) \u00e2\u20ac\u0153CONGREGATION<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still in caps \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 that bothers me. Like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153CONGREGATION<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d still outranks \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the whole body of Christians.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll have to deal with that one \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 next week.<\/p>\n

The Bible talks about church<\/em>. The New Testament mentions the word 108 times, so you know we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to deal with it, conflicted or not. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a little hope though, you may be surprised about what the Bible actually does <\/em>say about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably not what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re thinking.<\/p>\n

Next week we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get into a little etymology. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s word study (not bug study).<\/p>\n

Until then.<\/p>\n

In Christ,<\/p>\n

Steve Spillman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Purpose Vol. 2 Issue 20 May 19, 2008 The Weekly Newsletter of True Potential Publishing “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) Is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Church\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a Dirty Word? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[634,438,6,131,16,334,276,7,540],"tags":[661,288,659,658,648,646,328,882,650,654,652,644,653,657,130,135,660,651,108,649,656,647,655,643],"class_list":["post-11","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church","category-community","category-gods-purpose","category-justice","category-love","category-obedience","category-prayer","category-purpose","category-trust","tag-abomination","tag-born-again","tag-bureaucracy","tag-bureaucrats","tag-christ","tag-christianity","tag-christians","tag-church","tag-clergy","tag-clerical-profession","tag-congregation","tag-denomination","tag-divine-worship","tag-encarta-english-dictionary-of-north-america","tag-god","tag-guilty","tag-officialdom","tag-organizations","tag-pentecost","tag-pentecostalism","tag-structure","tag-sunday","tag-webster","tag-worship"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}