I attended a wedding last weekend. It was a typical, in-a-church, down-the-aisle, light-the-candles, kiss-the-bride, very-nice wedding. But for me it was much more than that. I was stepping back into a church culture that I had been part of for many years. I’m not talking about one specific church. In fact, there were people from several different churches present. But it was the town that I formerly pastored in, people that I knew, and an overall culture that, I believe, is very representative of the culture that makes up most of our church world.
I felt very much like an outsider. Of that I was I very glad.
Before I offer my reflections on this church culture I want to qualify my critique with a couple of important comments:
- All cultures are made up of human characteristics and are therefore, by nature, imperfect. Let me say it more clearly: there is no such thing, this side of heaven, as a perfect culture.
- The typical american church culture, which I am reflecting on here, has many good attributes: there is generally a sound understanding of Christ and his work, good truths are taught, families are supported, and people find Christ through them.
One last qualifying comment is that I critique this culture not to put others down, which serves no purpose, rather to challenge myself and others to grow, strive for something more, and to do my part to walk in greater repentance and, if possible, to be part of a healthier church culture because of the lessons learned.
Okay, I know, I know, enough qualifiers. Having said all of that, I want to explore some of the more negative aspects of this culture. In fact, I was so overwhelmed by my past memories of total involvement with this culture that it was all I could do to sit in my seat and not flee.
Marks of the American culture that I want to be free of:
1. There is a religious arrogance that permeates much of our church culture. It is very subtle and hard to pick up on since the words spoken are always so "loving" and "sweet." But everyone knows that there are rules followed to be part of the church culture and that those that fit the mold are "in." And it is an "in" thing and an "out" thing. By that I mean we have a quiet smugness about having found our way "in." We are, in fact, just a little better, thank God, and the only way others can be "in" like we are "in" is to find their way, first to Christ and then into the cultural rules that declare one to be "wholly in" (or is it "holy in").
What is even more distressing to me is that within this religious culture there are those who are slightly more "in" and those who are slightly less "in" creating a certain caste system that keeps everyone in place and knowing who is who.
2. Related to this religious pride is an exlusivity about the church culture. It is not a culture that is seeking, generally speaking, to incarnate the message of life to others. In fact those who are "radical" in an outreach sort-of way are often labelled as those "missions-minded" folks and, incredibly unless they are a key leader or pastor, often seen as not quite as "in" as others. In any case, the culture has an air of exclusivity that is quite contrary to the apostolic life lived by Jesus.
3. This culture is mired in spiritual passivity. I walked into the "church" box building. I sat in one of several hundred seats facing forward. I faced a platform with microphones and special lights shining on the stage area. Once the "service" began there were perhaps three people who contributed out of that group of several hundred. Now, I understand that this was a wedding, afterall, but it was still reflective of the way we do church. We train people in passivity. We teach people that observing others and nodding heads in agreement is a top-notch spiritual experience.
4. The culture is dependent upon its superstars and is slightly condescending toward those who are not. While the average Christian has learned to be passive, we find those with the flavor-of-the-year spiritual gifts (music, teaching, prophesying, etc) and ask them to be our representative superstars. We sometimes take people with little proven character and ascribe status to them because of their abilities. In so doing, we teach people that character is not as important as giftedness and that those without flavor-of-the-year gifts are slightly less valuable and important as others. This is not a culture of equal value, regardless of the sermons preached on the subject.
I suppose I could go on. I am not interested in bashing but learning. But I do want to look critically at the cultures I am a part of and have been a part of. I don’t want to just blindly follow those around me because it’s "the way we do it." I do not wish, in any way, to be a subversive or a difficult person, but I do want to attempt to be part of Christian cultures that truly value one another, that call for responsible spiritual involvement of every person, that are apostolic, and that are more relational and authentic than religious. May we continue to learn and grow.
Comments
9 responses to “Reflections on the American Church Culture”
Amazing. Great insight! How much of our spiritual tradition is actually cultural tradition? How much of what we do is actually Jesus? I am in the process of “breaking out.” I have sensed that God wants me to do something closer to home instead of driving an hour to church, two hours round trip on Sundays. It is a good church and they are doing good things but I am not really relying on Jesus and the Spirit of God to assist me. It is sort of a happy meal place, it is easy,convenient and doesnt cost a lot and at the same time you sense that it is not 100% nutritious. I also am troubled by the comment………follow me and I will make you fishers of men. You cant really go into the deep if you are hanging out in the shallows. Great post thanks.
Roger, I had a recent experience with this as well. You have (once again) put into words the feelings of many of us along this journey. Thanks for letting me know that I am not alone…and also for not “bashing” the church, but trying to help those in that culture see the true freedom of life in Christ…not life in religion.
Lest I forget…those types of environments are where I found those “living” ones who introduced me to THE LIVING ONE! For that I am grateful and never do I want to throw the baby out with the bathwater…however, the bathwater is in big time need of throwing out!
May God continue to give you insights and allow you to share them with us.
Thanks!
Hi Roger! Thanks so much. You have no idea how timely this was for me. We are struggling out here on the East Coast where convention is mantra. It’s a very Christian club orientation here and I’m having difficulty with getting through to people about simple church. I’ve been experiencing this issue with some loved ones who think we’re out of fellowship because we don’t attend a traditional church. I guess our frequent visits don’t count as “fellowship” but fellowship only counts when the pastor is present, the choir sings and sound teaching by a qualified teacher is taught. Is that what Jesus really had in mind? Of course these folks have rarely desired to pray, read scripture or otherwise enter into Christian ‘oneness’ with us on their own. It’s hard not to get cynical toward the traditional church mentality. (Yes, I have been there too. I was a hard-core when I went through my indoctrination into church. But after so many years, don’t we run out of excuses?)
4. “The culture is dependent upon its superstars….. While the average Christian has learned to be passive, we find those with the flavor-of-the-year spiritual gifts (music, teaching, prophesying, etc) and ask them to be our representative superstars.”
Well put. Even if a pastor in this type of a church culture is well-intentioned and desires 1 Corinthians 14:26 to be the norm for the flock, the flock may have been so programmed in the past to what you speak of here that they will shy away from stepping forward, and – well – we’re right back to congregational passivisity and one-man / woman shows.
It’s like our local buffet. If we all decided to go to the buffet, paid our money, grabbed our plate and went up to the buffet only to find that every container there was filled with corn, what a disappointment that would be. Corn is nutritious. We could live on it and water if we needed to. But if the buffet only had corn, as well-intentioned and nutritious as it might be, most people would eventually stop coming or start looking for another place to eat. When we look at 1 Corinthians 14:26, it seems as though our Father has purposed a spiritual buffet when we come together as believers, provided by His one body of many members, through the Holy Spirit.
I am praying for God’s guidance for me and for us all, as those who serve Christ’s Body seek to step back to their proper place, and those who are served seek to step forward to theirs. We must go “there” together.
Roger, I’m fairly certain you hit it on the head! My wife and I were “superstars”. I played lead guitar on the praise team…she sang. We did hours upon hours of youth work. I led worship for our “post-modern” worship service. Do you know what I got out of it? I was tired and I was dying inside. The abundant life that Christ had promised was nowhere to be found. True fellowship was out of the question.
I have come to believe that because of the “Religious Spirit—the incredible spiritual stronghold that has many churches, though they don’t know it.” as John Elderedge wrote me recently that most churches are hindering the body of Christ (the true church) and turning people away from it. Turning away believers and unbelievers alike I might add.
We need something deeper and the book of Acts reveals the secret to that mystery that has left us out in the cold in the Constantinian model of the church. So, I am starting my journey now and expect a huge fight with you know who….lucky for me I know he is trying beat me down and expect God to reveal the abundant life that he promised us.
Thanks for the post, I enjoyed it very much!
Hi Roger,
Great site you have here! I believe all that you encounter is the reason why 86% of society has been to church at some time in their life but was turned off by them or hurt by them. What a statistic when the church is suppose to be love. That is the only ingredient you have to look for. Love, for God is love.
I had a vision just 3 weeks ago as I was driving down the road on I-70 in Columbus, OH and I seen hundreds of people dressed in black cloaks and they were lining up in 2’s to go inside a building, it then switched to the inside of this buidling and it was a big church with chairs and a platform, I was standing in the midst of the people walking in and it was creepy as each and every one of them had the same mask on. They sat down in order as in a trance. Before I knew it the place was full of all these people that looked the same. They acted the same, talked the same, walked the same, they were people being who man wanted them to be.
I then began seeking the Lord over the next few days as to why He gave me the vision and what I was suppose to do with it. It is significant of the American church in it’s religiosity of man’s traditions. The church has tranformed men to be what they expect them to be and have taken away what God has created them to be. Man now walks into church trying to be what man expects of them. There is no hand in hand teaching, no relationships, no love and no power.
It’s time for the underground ministries to come forth with the love of God in their hearts pouring out to one another showing His true love.
This subject could carry on for a while so I’ll stop with that 🙂 Anyways, great site! May God bless you in your efforts.
CJ Gaul
Hi Roger,
I appreciated your insightful post and I resonate with this post as well as most of your other posts. Sometimes I feel so alone in my views on church life, but I’m glad that in cyberspace I have some kindred spirits!
Blessings,
Paul
This blog and the discussion on it are so timely for me and my wife. I am and have been an elder in a large traditional pentecostal church in south Mississippi for almost 15 years. My wife and I have lead and ministered in marriage ministries for almost 25 years. We opened our house to some youth and our children to play poker for fun and friendly competition, no gambling. Someone objected to our pastor and it became an issue of great contention with the board. Another issue which runs contrary with their traditional view of what is right and wrong is the drinking (in moderation) of alcohol, specifically wine. Neither card playing or wine drinking are forbidden by scripture however their contention is that to be “culturally sensitive” we must cease. We are now in a position of either yielding to their opinions or being disqualified from ministry. ( I have done extensive research on the subject of wine in the Bible and the Church so I am not digging in my heels for personal reasons but it is a subject that is too big to cover here.) After 25 years of ministry and service with no evidence that our lifestyle has produced any bad fruit or influence in others we are now left feeling swept aside by the traditions of man and an authoritarian pastor. I have been looking into the home church movement and I am encouraged by what I see. I have ordered alot of books and will study this for a while, pray and seek counsel before we move forward. Please mention us in your prayers. Thank you for keeping this discussion alive and accessible.
In His Love,
John
“WOW” is all I can say to this article! It is so true! I am an African American who has been apart of several church settings (all black…primarliy white…intergrated settings, etc…) and they all fit the mode you describe in this writing….exactly why I left. As I grew in my relationship to the Father, the attributes you list regarding the members and the leadership, is exactly what I experienced. I simply could not remain in those settings. I was seeking people who “loved” the Father and Jesus Christ as ONE. I was also very close to my last Pastor and served him more than I did Jesus. I couldn’t remain in that situation. I repented and left. My walk with Jesus has become more vibrant and alive: more real and personal. It was the best move I could have ever made. Please keep up the post. They are encouraging. I am meeting so many believers who are actively seeking a personal walk with Christ. I find it easier to share my faith and I have a liberty in Christ that I was not experiencing in the non-organic church. I suffered a great deal of spiritual abuse under those ministries. I cannot even began to explain, but reading you piece was life experiencing a refreshing of the Lord. What powerful information you’ve provided. I understood it clearly. I certaintly could relate to it.