Imitations

We are surrounded by varied models for institutions. We all know how to "do" a library, a gas station, a school, and so on. There are certain expected behaviors, certain patterns of interaction associated with each institution.

Church, on the other hand, is so fundamentally different from all other experiences. I wonder if it takes effort on our part to keep church different. I wonder if we sometimes slip into other more familiar earthly models -- accidentally, subliminally.

Church as a Bank -- the place where we keep our faith safe, stored away in a safety deposit box, where we can occasionally visit it, take it out, admire it, and then leave it inside the church walls where it will be uncorrupted by the world.

Church as a Convenience Store -- the place where we can zip in from time to time to replenish our supply of encouragement, fill up our tank of God's love so that we can function in the world for a few more days.

Church as a Theater -- a place to go for a good show, where we can see people who have their act together, who know God, leading a worship service, where spectators can draw near to a relationship that someone else has with God.

Church as a Country Club -- a place to meet good people, a safe place to enjoy social gatherings where they will accept and include anyone.

I'm not condemning anyone; I'm looking inward. I see these tendencies in myself, and I recognize that I need to discipline my thinking to keep my perspectives about church in line not with my daily earthly experiences and interactions, but in line with biblical descriptions.

Church is not just another institution vying for time on my calendar. I want to strip away my unconsciously formed definitions and thinking patterns to understand more clearly the wonder of the Body of Christ.