Deconstructing Church

When somebody wants to really understand something, often the best way to do that is to take it apart.  Mechanics will dismantle a motor to understand how they work.  Doctors  study anatomy including the dissection of cadavers to see the "big picture". Even high school students learn best by diagramming and breaking things into categories. (Remember diagramming sentences?)

So guess what I want to dismantle?

Habitual Traditional Church

I want to understand why it is *not working in most cases.  You might disagree with me but I say that most modern American churches appear to be little more than social clubs with righteous ambitions.  In some scenarios pastors and elders erroneously think that they are the "spiritual gate keepers" between God and people.

Most churches find themselves in a loop of self-admiration and self-promotion instead of something outward, open, linear, simple and direct.

Christian leaders are seduced to believe that they really know better (and it is true sometimes). However this really far from the model of the organic body of believers described in the New Testament. I could go on and on about how churches target Christians instead of outsiders.   When outsiders are targeted it is usually not very appetizing to the so called "lost".  They have known the old "bait and switch" methods and are aware that the free pizza party is usually accompanied by the salvation sales pitch... its old news.

By becoming an organization with an underlying business model for growth, each church is  forced to think about numbers and pleasing the members instead of something more truly life-altering and messy--familial-style, gut-honest relationships and discipleship.

This "new" way of gathering would do away with paid pastoral roles which is why it is not promoted by those making a living via Christianity.

In fact, pastors have anonymously admitted in secret interviews, that they feel pressured to curb their words to keep from offending the faithful tythes contributors and committee members.   Who can blame them?   Their livelihood is dependent on keeping members happy and doing what they want.  This dynamic forces pastors to be people-pleasers instead of doing what they really feel lead to do.

I don't have time to do an exhaustive analysis of this topic. Besides, there are SO MANY books about this that I don't need to write too much.  AND, most of these books end with a few chapters that detail "how to grow your church" or "how to attract new members" which is the opposite of what I think.

To be fair, I am not asking for the abolishment of "people steeples" or mega churches.  I just think that we can do better IF we DARE discard some traditions that are not at all necessary for a gathering of believers.  It would mean taking our faith down to the bottom-line basics.

I just want an assembly of believers that looks a little more like an AA meeting... and I can tell you that it is what many many many people, believers and non-believers are starving for... a place to come, connect, be real, and ask God to come in.

Take the whole thing apart and put it back together in its purest form.

That's all I'm asking for.


Go check out this old poem that will get you thinking about how we got here with our traditions.

* do I really need to prove this point?  everyone knows it.