It seems to me that there is a
class of people who we might call ‘spiritually alert but institutionally
allergic’. In other words they are hungry for things spiritual but don’t wish
to be part of an institution like the church or to be labelled as a Methodist,
Anglican, Baptist etc. They are self-styled spiritual people who do not wish to
be shoe-horned into a mould. Now while I think it is vitally important for each
one of us to arrive at our own views on matters of faith, there is a danger
that people might float between different views simply to avoid being
‘defined’. If you don’t believe in something, you might well believe in
anything.
Over a decade ago, in a book
entitled ‘Gone but not forgotten’, Philip Richter and Leslie Francis gave an
overview of English society and showed that 40% of people come into the
category of being de-churched – people who have had some connection with church
in their lives but have now stopped coming. It is a worryingly high percentage
when you think that 4 out of ten people you pass in the street could come into
this category. What is also concerning is that nearly half of this group had made
a conscious decision not to come back to church. Something in their experience
of church or its people had created within them a resistance to belonging once
more. We live in a society which shuns all things religious and we hear stories
week after week of how people are being censored for expressing their Christian
beliefs publicly in their place of work.
As I watch the situation unfolding
in the Euro Zone with France and Greece moving away from the austerity measures
agreed to a few months ago, I wonder whether this is simply a ‘protest vote’ or
a genuine attempt to espouse a credible alternative policy. It has certainly
sent shock waves through the money markets but where will it all lead? It seems
that there’s a strong body of opinion emerging which says ‘the institution has
got it wrong’ – the institution being countries like Germany who are imposing
stringent conditions on other countries within the Euro Zone who have notched
up huge debts. The problem here is that if signed-up members of the Euro Zone
decide not to accept the disciplines of membership, the whole thing falls
apart. There is also a fierce political debate in this country about the wisdom
of the austerity measures being exercised by the coalition government.
It
is often said that there’s no such thing as a solitary Christian - in other
words, you can’t be a Christian and not be part of a church. The picture is
sometimes painted of a burning piece of coal taken out of the fire and placed
on the hearth. Soon it loses its glow and it simply becomes a cold and charred
piece of coal. To be part of the church is an essential discipline for all
Christians, even though they may not always agree with all that is said or
taught within the institution. It is by being part of a faith community that
spirituality becomes a meaningful reality. I see a number of people at our
local drop-in centre for the homeless who have cut all ties with their families
– some of their own choice and others through no fault of their own. What is
clear is that they have lost the sense of identity and self-worth which
belonging affords. The same is true in the church.
Belonging
is so important for all of us. The model of evangelism which is favoured in
this day and age is the model of ‘belong, believe, behave’. In other words we
create churches which are welcoming of all people, irrespective of their
beliefs, life-style and background and let God do within them what only he can
do as they journey with us towards Christ.
But
one of the most important things about belonging is that we are supported –
often more than we recognise. It is at times of severe illness or hardship that
people realise just how much the body of Christ cares for them and longs to
help them through it. It is when we see people suffer that God triggers within
us a deep desire to stand alongside the sufferer. So perhaps we need to lay
aside our dislike of institutions in order to be part of the miraculous body
which God has initiated in Jesus Christ – the Church.
