Ecclesiastical Meanderings

In a recent online discussion, I found myself surrounded by burned-out Christians with a languorous disposition toward church life.  The bludgeoning these fellow sojourners received from the local church had left them duct-taping chunks of their very own souls. I had to admit that the  tattered cordage of their wills made lean the joy I was experiencing from having had found an amalgamated forum of Christ-lovers and theological enthusiasts. Yet, their complaints were nothing new. Our world has been experiencing a seismic-shift of disillusionment with the local church for quite some time. 

Here is a snapshot of the flag of their disposition in regards to the local church:

Leadership is in disarray. The pomposity of pastoral staff is reeking at an all time high. Greed, self-preservation, secrecy, and manipulation, have left an ineffable imprint upon the very psyche of those who have become burned-out from the local church. The church either suffers from an inward-focused culture that cherishes sin-management programs coupled with a “wearing of masks”, that portray a feckless apparition of their true self, or they are so outward-focused that they forget the simple call to make disciples, not marketing and production crews spawned from a factory of over-hyped, media-driven automatons watermarked with depthless worship encounters. 

People, I believe, are hungering for spiritual change and thirsting for authentic community. The ostensible theater of playing Church has become a pharisaical vessel of squalor on a waveless future. Christians, finding their souls in a bivouac of despair, are desperately seeking, re-envisioning, and hoping for a new wave of churches to arise or, at least, for some healthy reform to ensue. 

In the quest of creating a new church adventure, there is the danger that they may become experimental theaters of emergent illuminations, or embittered reactions that flounce between unrealistic ideals and rainbows of pure spiritual nonsense. My prayer is that they will be birthed in the theological DNA that translates the hints of God into a Christ-centered community of faith, hope, and love. However, none of this will matter unless true leadership appears.