Why Church Doesn't Work

I've been thinking about this topic for quite some time.

Maybe all my life.

I knew when I was younger, living in a rural OK town, that the church that I went to wasn't really "working". About 250 people went, we listened to a sermon, we left, that was about it.

The poorest people in the church -- my family -- were not in any way ministered to. In fact, they weren't even really welcome. Tolerated is a good word...maybe we were tolerated.

The people that "ran" the church -- the doctors, lawyers and elders of the congegation seemed to think that as long as we had running water in the bathrooms, carpet on the floors, then church was OK.

Today, after a lifetime of seeing all kinds of programs and ideas and thoughts and plans presented..I still have the same sense -- church doesn't work.

It doesn't work because it is based primarily on a faulty premise -- that humans can come together and be a surrogate kind of family.

But that imagery is loaded with all kinds of negative things for most of us. Family? Visions of horrible thanksgivings and wierd relatives are what most people think of when they think of "family".

Even those with good families know that things are better when distance is kept.

So why then would the founder of christian faith use the idea of "family" as a way to connect his legacy?

Families 2000 years ago were different, of course. But I see infighting within families -- lies, bickering, all the works...much like today.

So, why then this fascination with the idea of "family"?

Trouble is, church is just like family for most of us...riddled with strange people, funny behaviours, people that you'd just as soon not be around.

Still, that illusion that we're all happy and content seems to be what we are searching for. As the character in Garden State (movie) stated, "Maybe the definition of family is just a lot people home sick for the same imaginary place."

Yep. I'll go with that.

Church doesn't work and won't work until we get real clear on the idea of family being a messy thing...something that I'd just as soon avoid. Go, check my box, be on my way to the more meaningful parts of life.

Unless...unless a new dimension is allowed into the equation.

Compassion, forgiveness, patience.

The kind of qualities that most of us are in too-short supply and guess what? We can't manufacture these qualities on our own. These are just not "human" qualities.

We're in need of some kind of high power frontal labotomy..some kind of mind blowing madness that let's us look at family -- and at church -- and say, "my response to this will be a thougthful response of mercy, compassion, love."

I dare not hope for this...it is not something that can be preached to make happen. It has to be something far greater than that...something far more impactful than what a few broken people joining together in song can do.

Church doesn't work because we don't...and we won't...or we can't...or something.