BLOG. 5/4/14. ‘ECCLESIOCENTRIC’ – VS. – ‘CHRISTOCENTRIC’ CHURCHES.

It cannot be said too loudly, or too often, that those church communities, which may have begun well, easily, and all too soon forget their essence? Who they are, who called them into being? What is their mission? … and … Who is to be the object of their love and faith and worship—the One who deserves their adoration and obedience? Does that sound too obvious? It’s not. Many writers, especially in recent generations, have defined this forgetfulness as Christ-less Christianity, or maybe ecclesiocentric Christianity, where the focus is on the church itself as the good news, rather than on Christ, i.e. where the church community itself becomes its own gospel.

I became bewildered by this factor when I was quite young in church leadership, and at our (Presbyterian) presbytery meeting we were to receive by transfer of his ordination a very brilliant and distinguished American church historian, he having been called to the faculty of a prestigious local divinity school. He was charming, articulate, witty, and gave this colorful account of his whole fulfilled life in the confines of the Presbyterian church, and assuring us that he was looking forward to our company in his new passage.

Nothing wrong with that—or was there? What he had left out was any reference to his faith in Jesus Christ—Jesus who ostensibly was the Lord of the church about which he would be teaching. Nobody seemed to notice. All were quite proud to have such a person in our ranks. But as an impetuous young guy, I found myself on my feet reminding him of this oversight, and asking if he would mind telling us about his faith in Christ. He was genuinely embarrassed and thanked me for pointing this out, and so gave us a very convincing affirmation of his faith.

I have watched this happen a multitude of times over the past half-century. The church becomes a meaningful and essential part of the social fabric of persons’ lives, and they appreciate its company, and all of the significant roles it plays in their lives, … and yet so often—apart from expecting the normal celebrations of the liturgical year—seem to have no dynamic, personal, and transformation relationship to Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection makes it all possible, and to whom worship and obedience is due.

I often think of the ebullient and prominent lady leader, whom I met when I was the guest preacher at her Episcopal Church, and who, with a flourish (cocktail in hand), told me that she hadn’t believed in God in years, but that she loved the Episcopal Church. That may be extreme and humorous, but I find it is often difficult to elicit a convincing statement of faith out of church members. O yes, they have been part of the church all of their lives, and they find the church meaningful, and know that God is always near when the need him—but for all one knows they could be deists, or one of many expressions of religious community. Be it known also that ‘clergy’ can easily fall into this trap, and may even been a significant factor in its pervasiveness.

So, let me just remind the readers of this Blog that the Jesus of the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church” (of the church’s creeds), and of New Testament Christianity, is: “the pillar and ground of truth” (I Timothy 3:15). When this Jesus is subtly displaced in your life or your church community, then a huge systemic darkness pervades. After all, it is in and through Jesus that God has made himself known, and no one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ.

I am pursuing an alternative narrative for the church in these Blogs, in this liminal ‘whitewater’ between cultures, and I will be adamant in my assertion: “that there is salvation in no other, and there is no other name given under heaven and among men by which we must be saved” other than Jesus Christ. Whatever forms the church takes in these fascinating days; it will never be a Christ-less one if it is to have any authenticity. The alternative narrative will begin upon this foundation.