Churches seem to be in a sort of catch 22 situation. In today's world it seems the necessity is to become attractive enough to maintain a customer base in order to financially maintain it's current incarnation. This of course also goes way back but was once easier handled with fear and threats which encouraged attendance or support. The results of this was centuries of tradition (until mid last century) where it was just assumed everyone would attend church. It had lost it's original identity as a movement when it became a human institution.
Consider that in Jesus' day and beyond, the church was first a movement and not an established religion; a collection of like minded people seeking that which was not of this world nor followed the traditional ways of man, but rather the will of God. This made them outcasts, first in the Jewish community, then in the gentile outside world. What is interesting is a movement requires no prodding or recruitment of the people to participate unlike all human institutions would need, but rather it grows organically as people find something that is alien to everyday life and it attracts them for the hope it conveys. It grew like the counter-culture movement of the 60's (including the Jesus movement) which rebelled against the oppressive norms of the day. It was built upon a concept rather than strict adherence to societal rules, celebrity worship, and of course brainwashing ritual and politics.
This is where the catch 22 situation comes in today. How does a church attract people who are fully immersed in the world which man has made in our own image and teach this counter-culture without turning away the masses who cannot see past what the world has taught them since birth? Something needs watering down in order to keep the adversarial spirit of man alive and attentive, and that would be the Kingdom that runs contrary to the will of man that ultimately suffers. The institution cannot survive as a movement, but a movement is what is needed for people to be attracted to and live according to what Jesus taught. The Kingdom is simply a counter-culture movement contrary to the culture of this world and people need to learn to be in the world but not of it. The path is indeed narrow as it is needed for only a few that have the vision to move beyond the adversarial ways of man. Not rebelling against the system, but simply living a life that is non-threatening to anyone while also being capable of loving even an enemy in times of need. It represents an alternate world that is the Kingdom to come and the moment it is institutionalized, it transforms back into the world of man and the movement is no more. Institutions suppress while a movement of the heart will flourish. Perhaps Jesus was right in keeping things simple with pockets of the movement small but as an extended family.
© ...timothyu
Consider that in Jesus' day and beyond, the church was first a movement and not an established religion; a collection of like minded people seeking that which was not of this world nor followed the traditional ways of man, but rather the will of God. This made them outcasts, first in the Jewish community, then in the gentile outside world. What is interesting is a movement requires no prodding or recruitment of the people to participate unlike all human institutions would need, but rather it grows organically as people find something that is alien to everyday life and it attracts them for the hope it conveys. It grew like the counter-culture movement of the 60's (including the Jesus movement) which rebelled against the oppressive norms of the day. It was built upon a concept rather than strict adherence to societal rules, celebrity worship, and of course brainwashing ritual and politics.
This is where the catch 22 situation comes in today. How does a church attract people who are fully immersed in the world which man has made in our own image and teach this counter-culture without turning away the masses who cannot see past what the world has taught them since birth? Something needs watering down in order to keep the adversarial spirit of man alive and attentive, and that would be the Kingdom that runs contrary to the will of man that ultimately suffers. The institution cannot survive as a movement, but a movement is what is needed for people to be attracted to and live according to what Jesus taught. The Kingdom is simply a counter-culture movement contrary to the culture of this world and people need to learn to be in the world but not of it. The path is indeed narrow as it is needed for only a few that have the vision to move beyond the adversarial ways of man. Not rebelling against the system, but simply living a life that is non-threatening to anyone while also being capable of loving even an enemy in times of need. It represents an alternate world that is the Kingdom to come and the moment it is institutionalized, it transforms back into the world of man and the movement is no more. Institutions suppress while a movement of the heart will flourish. Perhaps Jesus was right in keeping things simple with pockets of the movement small but as an extended family.
© ...timothyu
