tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943366568013445284.post2635121359046173752..comments2024-02-09T06:15:27.088-08:00Comments on josh barkey: Your Church Might Be StupidJOSH BARKEYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056229250824359708noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943366568013445284.post-18361999652327710232012-08-03T08:46:57.083-07:002012-08-03T08:46:57.083-07:00A friend of mine wrote me a private note raising s...A friend of mine wrote me a private note raising some useful objections to this piece. Namely, that I'm coming across as an arrogant know-it-all, and that I should be advocating that people stay in their church communities and try to fix them from the inside, rather than skipping from church to church, looking for the perfect one. I responded to his objections privately, but thought my answer might be a useful expansion on this post:<br /><br />Oh, I dunno. I don't mind being thought of as anything. I'd mind it if I WAS arrogant and self-righteous and a know-it-all, but I figure that's up for God to judge. Maybe I am... I certainly don't know.<br /><br />But I also don't mind pissing people off.<br /><br />And I also don't mind if people quit going to stupid "church"s - because I think doing so is a waste of time, and a distraction from the real Business of Love. <br /><br />In a lot of ways, Marx was right about the "opiate of the masses" thing.<br /><br />People COULD try to change their own church communities from the inside, but there are a few problems with that.<br /><br />First, most churches are hierarchical, top-down power-structures. Try to critique any significant aspect of them, and the leaders will come down fast and hard. Fact.<br /><br />Second, today's suburban churches don't offer much in the way of actual community, because they're an outgrowth of suburban culture, which is antithetical to community. Community CAN happen in suburbs and suburban churches, but usually in spite of the structure, not because of it.<br /><br />When Christ came along, Christianity hadn't been invented. The church of the day, well, he attacked that with a braided cord any chance he could get. <br /><br />He was willing to meet with people within that structure (like Nicodemus) who legitimately wanted what he had to offer, but had nothing to offer but criticism for the structure as a whole.<br /><br />Yes, I know. I'm not Christ. But I sure do like the way he did things.<br /><br />Check out Deitrich Boenhoffer's writings on "Religionless Christianity." Super-illuminating.<br /><br />Honestly, I'm not thinking I'm likely to change anybody's mind by writing something like this. What I'm hoping to do is to offer somebody out there who feels guilty for hating the ugliness that gets done in the name of their church the chance to feel okay about leaving... that they're not damned just because they don't want to be a part of something that's structured wrong.<br /><br />I'm hoping to help them believe (as I do) that God is Love, and that salvation is found in Christ, not whomever claims to be his representative.<br /><br />The problems are systemic, and the system is broken. There's lots of good, there, in lots of places, but I don't think you have to be a fan of some Liberian dictator, just because he sponsors a good concert every now and then.JOSH BARKEYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02056229250824359708noreply@blogger.com