The Church Building, pt. 2: Suffer the Chairs

http://www.persecution.org/Countries/afghanistan.html

http://magicstatistics.com/2006/03/22/more-afghan-christians-suffering-persecution/

I’ve been on a roll. I confess. I’m expecting visits any moment from clergy wearing dark sunglasses, leather gloves, and tiny curly-wired ear pieces they keep touching as if they are receiving information from some one I cannot see. It’s not likely to happen, but it might.

I’ve listed a couple of web-links here. I hope they work when you click them. They discuss, in part, the trials and travails of the church as it exists in Afghanistan. I don’t suspect these are complete views and, to be sure, some of the information at persecution.org appears a bit dated. Still, they are a place to start. Do your own search and see what comes up. Go to google.com. Type in these words: Afghanistan, Christian, suffering. See what turns up. Fact is, the church in the greater part of the world is not living life nearly as close to heaven as we in the United States are. Although, if I may, I would suggest that most of the church in the world is closer to the Throne that is in heaven (Revelation 4 & 5).

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/03/21/afghan-christian060321.html

This might be old news, this story of Abdul Rahman. He was sentenced to die because he became a Christian. But his story, just this year, highlights the way Christians live in places where Christ is hated. Rahman, as if this writing, did not die. The stories of Christians being persecuted in other places are numerous—too numerous for me to document here. I have heard it said, seen it written, more than once that the 1900’s were one of the bloodiest centuries ever when it comes to Christians being persecuted. More Christian deaths in the 1900’s than in the previous 1800 combined! I’m blogging.

I received a magazine in the mail today. I did not order it or subscribe to it and, frankly, I have no idea to this day why I receive it in the mail. I usually flip through the pages and look at the pictures and scan for something interesting, but in all the time I have been receiving this magazine I have read maybe 1 article. It’s called Your Church and declares on the cover that it is ‘Helping you with the business of ministry.’ Inside are all sorts of helpful hints about sound equipment, musical instruments, lighting, stages, buildings, construction, and more. The back page advertisement declares: “Ready for a quality sign? How one church grew from 200 to 800 in just 16 months.” There is an interview with the pastor of the church. Here is what he says, “And how has the ****** sign done so far?” His answer, “To date, we’re up over 300 percent. The ****** sign by far is the number one reason. I’m really happy.” Isn’t that special?

I’m sure the sign had a lot to do with the church growing. It doesn’t matter that Scripture says the Lord adds to His church daily those being saved, or that Jesus would build his church, or that faith comes by hearing the Word or any of that sort of nonsense. It's the sign. Don't you get it? We will never attract the right people, let alone the right sort of people until we get the right sort of sign; a sign that speaks their language; a sign that announces exactly who we are and what we are about. Heaven forbid people see these things in the people who bought the sign. As long as the sign says it, I don't have to.

Here’s the reason I bring up Your Church: The front cover. There is a picture of a chair skeleton. There is a nicely dressed man, staring at this chair skeleton as it hovers in front of him like the Spirit hovering over the waters of creation, or Jesus as His baptism. His hand is placed carefully on his chin like Rodan’s Thinker. The cover announces, “Anatomy of a Chair: Our Guide for Diagnosing Quality. Plus: Chair Choices.” As I was saying, Abdul Rahman is living, I think in Italy, after the Italian government offered him asylum.

You know, I really wish that signs and chairs were all it took to grow a heaping helping of committed Christian disciples of Jesus Christ. I really wish the right architecture could develop the sort of people who would take up their cross, deny themselves and follow Him. I really wish the sound system mattered in the Kingdom of God. And these things do matter, we are told, because we should want to do our best for God, be excellent in all we do, and do something here that speaks of His Majesty there; give people a little taste of heaven right here on earth. I’m serious. All the good books say it. All the key speakers preach it. All the statisticians prove it. And all the popular musicians endorse it. It must be true because no church has ever grown without these things.

And to what end? So more people can join the church, so that we can have more money, so that we need to build bigger campuses to accommodate the crowds? We need our own bookstores, restaurants, and barber shops. I’d rather go to Barnes & Nobles and hang out in a bookstore where I might see a book I shouldn’t read but where I might also meet a person I would never have met if I had bought the same book from the bookstore in my church building.

Rant. Rant. Rant. What I don’t understand is why these things matter. I’m trying to figure out if these things (Billion dollar buildings, perfect chairs, and amazing sound systems) are God’s blessing or man’s hubris. I honestly do not know. I do know this: While Abdul Rahman was on trial for his life, because He loves Jesus, I did not hear of one church in America offering to bring him here and offer him asylum. “Remember your brothers and sisters who are in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” And I don’t understand all these billion dollar architecture projects being undertaken while nations of people literally starve to death. You realize that some congregations spend more money on the building of a building, its maintenance, and its additions than some nations spend on their people in a year? I’m leaning more towards hubris…

I’d like to think that everyone reading this would agree with me, but I’m just as much a part of the problem. I didn’t offer Rahman asylum. I did not send him a basket of fruit or box of cookies. And although I prayed, I did not conduct a meaningful prayer service on his behalf. For that matter, I too often forget about those who suffer for Christ because I’m too worried about whether or not I visited enough sick people or if I picked the right songs for Sunday’s worship or if I managed to get a guest speaker so I could go on vacation. I think I have a long way to go before I am considered an equal with someone like Rahman. I think this church in America has a long way to go before we can say with Jesus: Suffer the Little Children to Come unto me. For now, we can just suffer the chairs.

The magazine gives us one more clue as to the problem we are facing in the American Church. The magazine's title: Your Church. The problem is, of course, that this is not our church. In some sense we have stolen the church, ruined its reputation, squandered its wealth on frivolous living, and we have misused the Name of God in our justification of opulence and grandeur. Jesus said: "I will build MY church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." I truly wonder if the gates of hell would prevail against my church. I know Jesus' church will do fine. I wonder about mine.

Remember the Suffering.