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Loving the Church Enough to Get Upset

The following is most of something I posted to a group that I am a part of in which we have been discussing Jason Zahariades' article Detoxing from Church:

"That said, I'm not trying to be controversial for controversy's sake. The article touched on things that Doris and I have experienced in the last year or two... it is very personal and real for us. Doris and I were pretty happy with the "Church" and then one day it was like someone dumped a bucket of cold water on us and we were like, "Oh, my God! What is wrong with this? With us?" Something didn't feel right and try as we might, we just couldn't put our finger on it. It wasn't until we "checked out" of the church for a season that we experienced what Jason described as "withdrawals" in the article and we realized just how dependent we had allowed ourselves to become on church for our spirituality; our connection with God.

We realize that everyone is ultimately responsible for the state of their "walk" with God, but I guess we've just been trying to figure out: what's the bottom line? Why church? What's it for? What's it supposed to do (as opposed to what it's doing)? How do we get there from here?

Sad to say, but I am basically still the same person I was in 1991 when I got saved (worse in some ways, to tell you the truth, because by now I feel I should know better!). Where's the growth? The transformation? The "being conformed into His image"? Either it's all a crock or it's true. If it's a crock, then "we are of all men most to be pitied"... If it's true, I must be doing something wrong.

I guess that's really my bottom line... my purpose for starting this group and dragging you all along for the ride... I want to know what I'm doing wrong so that I can change it, be transformed, and be an agent of transformation for others. I mean, isn't that the reason we're all still here and not riding clouds and playing harps in heaven? I want to make a difference, here and now, and not "eat my pie in the sky in the sweet bye and bye".

These are some of the "themes" the "emergent church" movement is exploring. I'm not completely sold on the concept. Sometimes it seems like just another model, but I think that it is a valid attempt to explore some of the stuff that we are wrestling with.

Reimagining the Church is going to require taking a long, hard look first of all at what Jesus meant it to be and then at what it is, warts and all. There's a lot of "good" in the Church, but not enough, particularly in the Western Church. Are we fulfilling the Great Commission? Are we making disciples who will be able to stand "in that day"? Will Jesus find faith on the earth when He returns?

Will Jesus finds me faithful? God, I hope so..."