"The Church"

I have a problem with how some people use the phrase "The Church." I mean that not just in the sense that the church is not a building. I think that idea has mostly sunk in for most people. When I talk about "The Church", I mean this group of people that call themselves followers of Jesus. Not any one denomination. I don't mean the "authorities" in the church. I mean the people that make up the Body of Christ. Most Christians know this but I still read and hear the phrase "The Church" getting abused on a regular basis and it really sits crooked with me. Like a big crooked, rickety rockety Crookedy Thing.

I've avoided blogging about this for a long time because I don't usually care to get all controversial and stuff on here. I started in on this topic one time on someone's blog comments in response to something they had written and their immediate response was very indignant. It was clear she misunderstood me until we went back and forth a few times... So before I go further, I would like to attempt to head off those same misunderstandings with a disclaimer:

I am not absolving churches or christians who abuse their power or positions. I am not making light of many people's horrible experiences in churches.

Religious abuse is real, and there are instances of it in all religions and mystical traditions. This is a fact, and it has damaged people's spirits in unspeakable ways.

Organizations are capable of abuse on many different levels: Microsoft, Kraft, The United States, GM, Burger King, Enron - all bad? All Good? Before we go heaping judgement it is usually a good thing to take a few steps back and remember that as a human race, we are all part of this. We cannot escape ourselves.

Most seasoned, spiritually evolved folks will tell you that It is hardly possible to return completely unscathed from attempting to be vulnerable in any kind of community. Hardly anyone can have gone to "church" and come away with no scars. It doesn't seem like it should be so, but it is true. I've even heard of people going to AA and getting hurt. People who group together in community hurt each other and entangle ourselves in dysfunctional relationships often without even recognizing it. We should know better, but we can't help it. However, that doesn't necessarily make "The Church" bad, or AA bad, or any other group inherently evil. It just means these groups of people consist of, well, people.

Groups of people - christian or not - can also heal, and help, and love, and play a role in the redemptive process.
This is also true.
And very important to remember.

But I digress... I mean mostly to talk about Christians here.
Using the phrase "The Church".
In a floppy manner.

The problem I have is when people say "The Church" did this and "The Church" does that. In conversation people sometimes say "The Church" isn't saying this or talking about thus and so. "The Church" never preaches about certain issues.....

"The Church" is not just some nebulous entity floating around out there in the ionosphere. Contrary to what we see on TV, "The Church" is made up of a tattered, motley bunch of people either trying or claiming to try to follow Jesus. Just like any other group of people, there are smart ones and, um, not-so-smart ones, and good ones and bad ones, and short ones and tall ones and sex addicts and alchoholics and nail biters and theologans and drug users and social workers and social climbers and tree huggers and kind people and mean people..... the list goes on and on. Give yourself a label, stick it in there, and you'll get my point very quickly. Who are you? Whom have you stepped on, ignored, offended, or otherwise damaged while participating in a church? It's humbling when we think of it that way.

Not all fellowships abuse. Not all groups of christians ignore women's issues. Not all churches neglect environmental issues. Women are respected, hold positions of authority, and people are shown Jesus' love (as well as is possible for humans) in thousands of churches around the world. Many churches corporately defend the helpless, do their best to feed the hungry and be a voice for those who have no voice. Many of them are doing a really good job. Many of them even evangelize in spiritually creative, natural, culturally relavent ways. They're out there... and most of them probably never even heard the word "emergent", by the way.

It might be a little like trying to imagine a totally loving, fully functional family. For some this is easy, for others it is hard. Some families get it about as right as humanly possible. Many don't. Some groups of christians get it "right" about as much as humanly possible. Many miss the mark by a long shot. "But," people say to me, "I've never experienced that kind of church." Logically, aren't there about a gazillion groups of christians meeting together in the world? Have you been to all of their meetings? Have you been to even 1/10th of them? Probably not. Even if a person were to think of themselves as an expert, it's very likely their experience is still limited simply because no one can get a lasso around this incredibly diverse organism called "The Church". Therefore, there may be a good deal of wisdom in keeping in mind how notably limited our individual experience truly is when it comes to this topic, and in using this phrase "The Church" in a more responsible manner.