Earlier this month, Jen raised a thought-provoking question:
today’s “If i had a blog…” post would be called:
WHY IT IS COOL TO LOVE THE INSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH AND TO STAY COMMITTED TO IT EVEN WHEN THINGS SEEM DIFFICULT.
i wish someone was writing about that.
Over the next several days, a few of us wrote public responses to this issue. Here are links to our individual blog posts. (In the future we hope to have posts like these located on this blog, for the sake of conversation and collaboration.)
First, Joe gave us three stellar reasons for loving the institution of the church:
Yesterday, a friend wished that someone would write a blog about the institution of the church. It began a conversation (albeit far too late at night) about whether or not the institution of the church is actually something worth celebrating.
It’s hard to champion something like an institution today. The word itself seems to drip with memories of corrupting power, painful experiences, and old, dusty people in old, dusty rooms doing old, dusty things.
The alternative word that was suggested was community. I like the word community, because the word community reminds me of my people. People I love. People I have just spent a great deal of time with. People who recharge my batteries and speak life into me. People with whom I am having this very conversation. They’re my community, collected and scattered, and I love them.
But, if my community is so great why do I feel the need to carry on the institution, especially the institution of the church, as I do? There are more, but here are three reasons why. [full post]
Then Jael gave us her perspective on the issue:
Forgive me that this is a much longer post than usual. My attention span isn’t usually long enough for me to sit still to write such a long piece, but I was stuck on a plane for half of this. This is a culmination of thoughts from several years of a love-hate relationship with the institution of the Church. It might as well be time for me to share the nerdy-side of why I still choose to be committed. [full post]
Then David summarized his thoughts, addressing them to the congregation he serves as pastor:
What does the title of this article mean to you? Does it bring to mind any images, people, or customs? Does it evoke feelings in your heart, either positive or negative? Or is it a foreign term to you because of the vagueness of the term “institution”?
When I use the phrase “the institution of the church,” I am referring to the necessary structure that develops among Christians of similar theology, history, and practice. Let me unpack that a little bit: [full post]
And then Shannon did the same for the congregation she pastors:
A group of my friends and I have been having a discussion on the topic of the institution of the church, and as I began to think about it I started with “Why do *I* love the church?”
The church has been a parent to me in a sense: a stable foundation that has always been there. It is one of the few things that has been a constant in my life. And sure, there have been moments when I disagree with the way the church functions, but still I love her. I speak fondly of the church and get defensive if someone insults her. The church has made me who I am. For better or for worse, I am where I am today and who I am today in part because of the institution of the church. To my great joy, the institution of the church is why I have dear friends and my husband. I love the church.
This is my basis, what has kept me generally positive towards the intuition of church. However, it speaks only to why*I* am able to love the church, and my situation is different from many. [full post]
We love the church, its strengths, and its weaknesses. We are not afraid to own the institution of the church as our home. Please read these posts in their entirety, and join in the conversation with us.