Unchurched but Faithful

The title was taken from an article which I read on line. I once had this question in my mind. Can one be faithful yet not want to have anything to do with any church? I have met people like that and I have known people to be like that. And at one point of my life, I wanted to de-church.

The author defined the church to mean “to be with Christ is to be related to His people. The first relationship defines the second relationship” I quite agree with the definition. This was also evident in the Bible where Jesus was in constant fellowship with His disciples even until the night before His arrest.

The author raised an issue…is the relationship with one another (not with God) healthy? People do not want to de-church because they do not need God but because their needs are not met. But I would like to side track this article a little.

I have been to church as long as I can remember. My mother took me to Sunday School even before I started schooling. As I got older, I graduated from class to class in Sunday School and later joined the youth group and then now the young young adults group (YYA). The church was trying to segregate us from the slightly ‘older’ young adults, hence the name YYA.

During those ‘growing’ days, I have served the church in few different ministries from youth coordinator to the church board. And during those times, I have experienced (I still do now) different emotions with the church and the people. And one thing about being among people, your emotions can never stop running, no matter how you would like to ‘run away’.

In a church, among the people, I will find these:-

1. people who does nothing but gossip;
2. people who like to be in control;
3. people who are hurt by other members of the church;
4. people who will support you in your ministry so long as you don’t ask them to contribute (in other words they have no commitment)
5. people who does too much and get burned out;
6. people who are like wall flowers;
7. people who are judgmental and thinks that you need God or when you are not supportive of the church programmes (even if you attend church regularly?! Huh?);
8. people who recognizes you only if you have something to contribute;
9. people who are proud of themselves because they are Christian?!;
10. AND most of all people who are hurt and think that the church is trapped in a *dysfunctional paradigm* so therefore they do not want to be part of the church.

The list of course is not exhaustive and it could go on and on. No wonder there are so many people who wants to change church, look for a better one or stopped coming to church all together.

A church consists of nothing but people with different walk of like and background. There is no doubt that there will be clash of the ‘titans’ so to speak. If we can have so much differences in our family, what more in a community. But what is the focus of a church today or rather what’s our focus going to church?

I have always remembered those times I had with my college Christian fellowship. I grew in my journey with God in the fellowship of my CF’ers even after all those years I have been to church. We were just a simple bunch of students with no pastor or reverend or any church elders leading us, no powerful worship leaders or musicians (well actually there are a few of them) or powerful sermons. There were no protocols, rules and regulations to abide and follow (these may help a church to run but sometimes it’s so rigid). Our focus was just to be in fellowship with one another, cry with each other and pray with one another.

When someone in church goes on a mission trip, they returned with testimonies of experiencing God in ways they have never experience God before. There were God’s presence and miracles happening, and I mean daily, while we city folks could not at times see the flicker of God’s presence in our worship. The natives never asked for better equipments to be installed, or better building to worship God, they just want to worship God no matter where or how. And the strange thing is, these natives live among community just like us.

What happened to churches today? Was it us who demands too much or have too high expectation from a church that we sometimes could not fit in? Or were we thought or influence to be that way? Or are we just so selfish that we put our needs ahead before God’s? Why is there so much conflict in church that we forgot why have we first become Christian (Note: When I Say)? And why have we met in a place called ‘the church’?

Perhaps these are questions only we ourselves can answer.

* adapted from the article*