Roots

(My wife and I, along with many of our friends, have been in conversation in recent months about what the Church should look like [as opposed to the church].  This blog is my way of trying to flesh out those thoughts and maybe get some conversation going that leads to action.  Some posts will be theological or philosophical in nature, some will be personal, and some will be reviews of books or music that can help us as we journey towards re-discovering the authentic Church).

Six years and $30,000 later, I still sometimes ask myself---why did I ever decide to pursue a master's degree in Church history?!?  Talk about your impractical degrees.  Not "pragmatic" enough for pastoral ministry, not "secular" enough for teaching in a public school, and not "advanced" enough for instructing in higher education.  Sure, those two letters---MA---look nice on a resume, but resumes don't pay the bills.  Yet, God has still always had an answer for meeting my needs and jobs have surfaced in some remarkable, eerie ways.  I've come to accept that education does not always need to match vocation and vice versa.  However, the question of "Why did I do that?" has still bugged me from time to time (especially at the end of each month when we pay on our outrageous student loan debt...but that's a topic for another post).  This last year or so, through the circumstances life has thrown my direction, I've started to get a handle on the "why" and maybe even on the "what" of those questions.

After five years teaching in Tennessee, I uprooted my life and moved back to the Region (Northwest Indiana for those of you not from "the Region").  I grew up here, so I didn't have to put down new roots; I just needed to re-root myself in familiar soil.  Easier said than done.  I started asking myself, "What was really important to me here?  What priorities define life here these days?" As I was looking to rediscover my roots in the Region, I started thinking about some of those same questions as they pertained to the Church.  "What's the Church all about?  What should it's priorities be?  What qualities should define the Church?" Over a couple of months, I visited a lot of churches and got the impression that most of them were badly missing the mark of what was intended initially by God.   For years, I have felt twinges of guilt as I fancied myself as a bit of a church critic.  However, it doesn't take a cynic to recognize emptiness or that something is a mere shadow of reality.  Then it dawned on me.  I didn't have a moment of great inspiration and there were no flashes of light, but it finally occurred to me that maybe that Church history degree could be valuable after all---if I know anything, I know the roots of the Church.  Rather than hoping the Church would change as I sat back at a safe distance, maybe it was time to be a voice for change.  Further, maybe I could start to BE the Church without waiting to catch the wave of the next big movement.  So started my search for the authentic Church, and it started with Acts.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-46)

The early Church of Acts 2 was known for their devotion---a word that is foreign to a flighty culture of consumers who have forfeited commitment for utility.  Devotion is a noun that can never be separated from the adjectives that define it---zealous, earnest, amorous.  How many people or causes can carry the tag of devotion in the 21st century?  In a society that rises and falls on trends, the fine art of devotion is not only no longer cultivated, it isn't appreciated either.  Certainly, there are examples among us of wonderful relationships that are marked by devotion, although these become increasingly rare in a day and age in which divorce is more common than marriage.  Devotion to a cause, much less the study of Scripture, seems to be nearly obsolete.  Unfortunately, apathy has become a trademark of our culture.  The early Church was devoted to the teachings of the apostles, instruction that is conveniently located in the last 27 books of our Bible.  They were zealous to be taught, enamored with the very words of God.  I'm not talking about commitment---regimented time spent in the Bible, reading plans, devotional books, etc.  Commitment is wonderful, but it is not devotion.  Devotion to the Bible means we ache for it.  We can't get enough of it.  We truly adore the Bible when we are devoted to it.  I know I need to get on board here.  I have spent countless hours poring over books at Barnes and Noble or at half.com, hoping to find the perfect book that will rock my perspective when, ironically, I own a book that has been pretty good at doing that for a couple thousand years.  If we want a truly authentic Church that has legitimate relevance, we can't stand idly by while the Body becomes increasingly biblically illiterate.  We can no longer settle for seeker sensitive messages that unpack only God's grace and love and leave his judgement, wrath, and discipline in the shadows.  Devotion to the apostle's teachings means all of it---just ask your wife if she wants you to be partly devoted to her.  The Church (not the church), is made up of individuals (not buildings and programs), and this is an individual problem (not an institutional problem).

There is more to that passage in Acts and I plan to write on those soon...however, this concept of a Church who is passionately devoted to the Scripture is a starting point for developing the authentic community that I know we all are desperate for.  May we rediscover true passion for God's Word.