Church

These Pages are meant to differentiate, but not separate the Church from the church, with high respect for that each of the terms stands for in the story of Scripture and history – higher case (Church) and lower case (church).  Often the two contexts have been at odds although God would never have them to be so.  They overlap.  The Church is a spiritual creation of a body of believers adopted by God in one divine family in a mystery from God identified in the individuals who through a penitent (humble) experience relating to the offering of Jesus Christ for acceptance as citizens to purpose in the Kingdom of God.  Although Scripture reveals much about the Church, much remains a mystery during the earthly sojourn of Christians.

The church is a human institution, formed by God to permit the Church to function within the context of a humanistic (earth-oriented) society.  It takes its legal, social, and individual ministries into a form that can manage a divine faith context in natural terms.  It is presumed that both the church and the state can, in mutual respect, be helpful to each other and all mankind.  The state will almost always find the church providing high percentage of loyal citizens to the state, especially as the state identifies with the concepts of good citizenry/government.  Where the state fails in that meaning, the Christian offers loyal protest for correction – or should do so.  Such protest is peaceful, directed, issue/value oriented, and respectful to permit differences.  In democratic societies this respect between the church and state has been rather well applied, although facing problems in the loss of official cooperative effort.  Interpretations of many secularists have made the former cooperation to be currently a violation of the principle of division between church and state.  The cooperation of church and state illustrated in the work of Moses and Aaron (brothers) is exemplary.  Each held the other to the responsibility of their assignments.  Each, on occasion, needed the help and correction of the other.  The purpose of the church is served in the meaning of God by two large ministries – the declaration of the gospel as spiritually motivated, and service to mankind as proof of the interest in the church to serve for the good of mankind – as in the charity gesture so is the spiritual gesture.  Both relate to the primacy of life, a primacy that needs maintenance and promise beyond nature.

That the church has sometimes failed can’t be denied.  Some periods in history it failed in its service either in charity or in the purpose of gospel dissemination – or both.  There were always significant persons and groups in the church carrying through on the Christian challenge for a redemptive message, for charitable gifts to all, for righteousness in life and institutions, for improvements in education, in the rights of mankind, in the integrity of the family, and the story lengthens.  There have been, and continue to be those, who violate here and there vital matters related to life, beliefs, laws, and other factors.  The state is sometimes faced with hypocritical religion, even from persons who cast religiosity to public advantage. The state may even be reluctant to correct deviations in the distractions that make every approach to balancing a matter of prejudice.  The sometimes serious responses to exchanges in racial and marriage issues are examples of misinterpreted prejudice – a matter that also touches church reality in society.  Sometimes similar in legal discussion is identified as prejudicial, so to slow-up, perhaps prevent problem solution. 

The greatest problem in all this is the loss of the main objective of the church – the effective communication of the gospel of redeeming Christ.  The message is lost in doctrinal shifting, in excessive emphasis on charity and social rights, in substitute interpretations for modernizing Scripture assertions, in adjusting so to appeal to variant common opinions, in various distractions which loses the gospel or dilutes it. I am currently reading a book that has included comparisons/contrasts between Billy Graham, the admitted premier evangelist of the Christian gospel of the twentieth century, and his son Franklin Graham, whose Samaritan’s Purse is a remarkable organization for charitable purpose.  The implication is that the father will be remembered for evangelism and the son for charity.  I have shared ministries with both men and have no doubt about their primary concern with gospel communication that respects all humanity.