Hey, if musicians can have self-titled debut CDs, then my blog can be self-titled as well. Anyhow...
They don’t tell you in orientation or in any of the enrollment garbage you have to wade through when you start school, but there is a great occupational hazard related to being a religion major—you start to have serious issues with organized religion. While I’m not convinced that any of the issues I’m about to enumerate are exclusive to religion majors, they really became striking to me both in my own attitude toward religion and in the attitudes of my classmates while I was working on my M.A. in religion at Wake Forest. Some of these ideas were germinating in my overworked little brain long before Wake, but it was not until then did all of this crystallize into well…this.
Problem #1—There is an overabundance of churches who will tell you what you think and a gross shortage of churches that cater to seekers.
I have a lot of questions—some about the very core of the doctrines of the Baptist church. Why do we do such and such like that? Is there any valid reason for it or is it just because that’s how things have always been done? It’s even worse when you start asking the same questions about other denominations. They get a little mad. This is, of course, an even more dangerous path to tread when dealing with the Southern Baptist Convention because asking such questions can get you labeled a Satan-loving liberal. C’est la vie, I suppose.
Seekers are problematic for churches. I recognize and even appreciate this fact. People who question everything, including the elemental doctrines of a faith, have the potential to throw a local church and, if they’re REALLY good at it, an entire denomination into chaos. Those common beliefs are what bind a church together, so it’s only natural that churches might be a bit scared of people who ask too many questions.
But churches should also recognize that seekers are important, if for no other reason that for accountability. Without those individuals who question everything and hold on to what’s good, as Paul advised the Thessalonians in his second letter to them, denominations can drift toward un-Christ-like behaviors, become to legalistic or exclusive, and lose the very essence of their character (yes, Southern Baptist Convention, I’m talking to you). Seekers don’t ask questions just for the sake of asking questions…much. They want answers. They want to learn. And in so doing, they can also enlighten the rest of the congregation. Seekers are looking for a place where they feel they can safely explore and question and investigate, and churches drop the ball when they do no accommodate such individuals.
Problem #2—Churches that primarily function as a social club wildly miss the point, or: Why Stephanie is not a Calvinist.
The church was never intended to be a social club, yet that’s what it has become and that sickens me. Let me be very clear here: Churches that primarily focus inward are not doing the work of the Lord. One’s congregation is important. People with shared beliefs and experiences are necessary to doing the work of the Lord. But churches that focus inward at the expense of the unchurched, the poor, the downtrodden just don’t get it.
The disciples were not by any stretch of the imagination a social club. They were a support system for each other. They were traveling companions, both of each other and of Jesus. And yes, they gossiped and they competed with one another, but they were Jesus’ helpers first and foremost. I don’t want to say that the church’s focus outside of it’s four walls ought to be to save the world because that’s both far overreaching its grasp and quite maudlin. And I certainly don’t want to say that the church’s focus ought to be winning souls to Christ, anti-evangelical that I am. I find this notion the height of arrogance. Only God can do that. God can harden hearts and he can soften hearts. That’s not my responsibility. My only duty is to behave in a way that reflects Christ, whether with the Word or in my actions.
And that’s really what the church ought to do. If the church is not feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, sheltering the homeless, serving the community, then it’s not doing what Jesus commanded. Perhaps this is why the times that I have really felt as though I was in church lately have been Thursday nights at FCA in Stillwater, OK, where John Talley frequently reminds us all that FCA is a service organization. People who show up to FCA for the fellowship alone miss the point. Fellowship is important, and good churches have it in spades, but it’s not the end all and be all of church, nor should it be. To serve the community is to serve God. That should be the foundation of any church’s mission. It’s just that simple.
Problem #3—There is a large class of women being overlooked, not just by their churches, but by the rest of society and it’s time for that to stop.
I have a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and I’m currently working on my PhD. And I don’t intend for any of those degrees or the hard work I put in to earning them to be only pretty wall decoration. We’ve heard all of the talk about stay at home versus working mothers. There’s been condemnation of those women who wish to work outside the home. This debate has been going on for several years now. It’s time to stop. Argue all you want about whether women in the workplace is a good idea, but it won’t change the fact that it’s a reality, and one that our society at large has not been confronting as it should.
I have questions about my ability to be both a professional woman and a mother. I recognize that it’s a delicate balancing act, and I want to do both to the best of my ability. But our churches, our schools, our universities have yet to open a dialogue about what women need to be put in a position to succeed in both roles. In discussing this with some of my friends—strong, career minded women all, we have all reached the same conclusion: churches either implicitly or explicitly avoid dealing with these issues, the implication being, or so it seems to us, that we should choose one or the other, because they won’t help us try to figure out how to do both.
I don’t believe that God gave me my intellect and drive and passion for the Middle East and human rights and ethics just so I could sit around coffee shops and discuss these things on weekends. I want to do something about injustices in the world. I want to affect policy and change people’s outlook on issues. I want to use the education I have received. I want that hard work to lead to good things. And yes, at the same time, I want to have kids and be involved in their lives and support their dreams and their ambitions and encourage them in the same way that my parents encouraged and pushed and prodded me to do my best. But I can’t do both by myself. I need a support system, help, advise, and one of the places I will turn for such things is the church. I can only hope the church is equal to the task.
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