Evangelism Bulletin 243 – Spiritually Alert, Institutionally Allergic

You may have heard people say when asked about church or faith that they are ‘spiritual but not religious’. Some may say this out of a genuine understanding of what spirituality is, whilst others may use this as a smokescreen for a dislike of anything to do with church or organised religion. But, are the two not the same? How can you be spiritual without being religious?

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.