There's no perfect church...

My generation hungers for "real" church. (See what my sister-in-law writes about that here.) We are frustrated with church as we see it, often admitting that we go more out of habit than conviction. Just last Sunday I had a friend tell me that he feels more like he is at church when he's playing in his band (a group of believers) at a bar in Vancouver than he does when he sits in church on Sunday morning. I understand where he is coming from. We want to "be" the church instead of just "going to" the church. It's easy to go without being.

The temptation, however, is to throw away the "going". To make bold statements about "being the church" and to lower the importance of coming together as a community. I realize that 11:00 am Sunday morning often leaves a lot to be desired. But realize for a moment what is happening. A group of extremely diverse people (different histories, different income levels, different spiritual heritages, different relational baggage) all come together to formally "be" the body of Christ. And it's not always a thing of beauty. We often see more of the sludge of our own selfishness than of the beauty of Jesus. But we need to be together. It forces us into relationships that we would not choose to enter otherwise. If we run off on our own to "be" the church we miss all the things that we need to learn about ourselves that come from living as a "body" - as a community of faith.

Just one example. One of my daughters suffers from an anxiety disorder. She can dream up more things to worry about and be afraid of than any person I've ever known. This has been a tremendous struggle for our family at times. All our decisions are to some degree shaped by how this daughter will respond.

In the past few weeks we have seen some progress in this area, especially in regards to her own spiritual development. And let me tell you why. People in our church are praying for her. People very different from myself, who have different thoughts and ideas than I have, who hold to different theological positions than I do, and who, if they read this blog, would wonder why I spend so much time writing about things that they would see as unimportant. But because we are a body - they pray for my daughter. And God hears.

Yes, there are times that I am frustrated with church. But there are also times that I know that without it I'm dead in the water. If you want to "be" the church then I encourage you to do that. Feed the hungry, give to the poor, share the truth with those who will never enter the doors, but don't neglect to "be the church" with your brothers and sisters in Christ. It is often there that "being the church" can be the most challenging. Let "church" force you into relationships and situations that, if left to your own devices, you would choose to avoid. We need each other. Let's not forget that.

"Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body...If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." (I Corinthians 12:14-20,27)