My freshmen year at Bible college was a real eye opener. This was the fall of 1977. I had been a Christian since I was - well, from birth actually, I was “raised in the Church.” But I was baptized in April of 1969. So from that point, I was eight years a confessing, baptized Christian. And yet Bible college was another world of thought.
Old Testament History and New Testament Church were the two biggest eye openers that fall.
In New Testament Church, Professor Knofel Staton asked a classroom of young, freshmen know-it-alls, “Who is the Church?”
That one, like his question on suicide, was simple: we were. I mean the confessed, baptized members of Stone-Campbell Movement, aka the Restoration Movement, aka the Churches of Christ, the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ and the Disciples of Christ.
“Ah!” says the wily Professor Staton, “what about all the rest of the people?”
This question was perplexing: Unsettling. Uh? The rest of what people?
“You know! The Baptists, the Charismatics, the Lutherans, the Methodists, the Presbyterians…”(cue the DUN-DUN-DA music) “the Catholics.”
Oh. Ah. Well…
To avoid further embarrassment, Brother Staton went to the blackboard and started drawing vertical lines.
He was drawing vertical lines on the chalkboard. When he had eight or ten lines drawn he stopped and started labeling each line with the name of a denomination or sect. Having laid out a goodly part of deluded people who thought (hehe) they were Christians on the chalkboard he smiled and asked again, “Who is the Church?”
Confused, distraught silence. I, for one, knew this was a trap. Everyone couldn’t possibly be right. On the other hand, if you included the Lutherans as “Christian” but excluded the Calvinist sects, the follow up question was going to be: “Interesting, Mr. Zielsdorf. Why?” And that was a question I was quite unprepared to answer. “Just because,” was not going to cut it though it may have been comic relief.
So draw some lines on a piece of paper. Be reasonably neat, you’ll want to put this up on the fridge as a constant reminder to yourself. And, instead of vertical lines, horizontal lines works as well.
Now, label each line with the name of a denomination or sect that you are aware of - likely non-denominational, Baptist and Methodist will be the ones that come quickest to mind. But you may live near Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Anglicans and Catholics.. Anyway, you should get the general idea. Label away.
Now, having drawn and labeled, start anywhere on one edge of your lines and just draw a wavy line; just let your pen or pencil draw a gentle ambling line through all the lines.
Pens down.
That ambling line represents true disciples (as in the Oriental meaning of disciple - one who follows a teacher’s teaching and helps spread that teacher’s teaching). Regardless of what a sectarian person may say or do with regards to their denominational beliefs, whether they know it or not, they are following in Jesus’ footsteps. These people, regardless of their identifying “handle,” represent the real Church.
Well, okay. Easy enough. But what about the rest of the people on any given line of your little visual aid? What are they? Well, I’ll tell you. MY POINT OF VIEW SOLELY, but try it out and see how it feels.
Within any given congregation I propose there are the following:
Looky-loos Someone who maybe has been attending the congregation for a long time but just can’t “pull the trigger” and confess Christ as the Son of God and their Lord and Savior. But for reasons clearly a mystery to me, they get up, get out of bed and “come to church.” They sing, they generally will bow their heads, probably even close their eyes at prayer time, maybe put a buck or two in the offering but they are not Christians. As the adage goes, just because you stand in a garage, don’t make you a car.
Newborn Christians Whether you are in a congregation that is “faith only” - that is you confess Christ, repent, invite Him into your heart - or one where in addition to the confessing and repenting you get wet, as in baptized. A person who has done that is a Newborn and just like newborn babies they require intensive care and guidance - without it they will “fail to thrive” and most likely die.
Spiritually Developmentally Disabled Christians Way back in the late 70’s/early 80’s a pentecostal minister confessing his shock that his congregation didn’t know how to worship if prevented from saying “hallelujah” or “praise the Lord” during services for 30 days was less PC. He said he realized he had a congregation of retarded Christians. They had started in their spiritual growth but somewhere along the way they got waylaid. So these people knew all or most of the things they needed to fit into the congregation but they never knew the need to mature.
(American political activist Christians whom I want to express my ire at) Republi-Christians or just ritual Christians. The American Church in the early 70’s, through men like the late Rev. Jerry Falwell and the Rev. Pat Robertson, influenced in part by men like American theologian Francis Schaeffer, took a hard right turn in spirit and politics. Church, these men reasoned, had to be more than just “coming to church” and singing and praying and listening to a sermon, having potluck suppers, youth groups, summer softball leagues, and other religious stuff! It needs to be meaningful! It needs to represent Christian "morals" and it needs to be proactive!
DUN-DUN-DA! It needs to be political!
The Church in America offered a vast number of people - a voting block to wield like a blunt instrument - who simply needed some political direction in their lives. They needed to be informed about their country. Actually, more than informed, they needed to be guided and who better to do than than the national preachers via religious media and the local pastors..
Falwell and Robertson ran with the “holocaust of aborted children” as their first big political issue. And big it was and big it is. If you are a “Christian” you are to vote for the candidate of your choice who meets the litmus test of being “pro-life.
Soon, other political litmus tests were added.
These “Christians” in American life are “upper lip” deep involved in idolatry and spiritual adultery to the point I doubt many of them can find the narrow road. So, to represent them placing base political power and "ethics" over God and holiness, to represent their true spiritual selves, I will call them Republi-Christians. The hyphen represents their split allegiance, their service to two masters; politics first and God second.
The other group - ritual Christians - whether American or anywhere else on the globe, are simply people who follow Christianity through ritualism. They go to church on certain days, they dress certain ways, style their hair certain ways, believe certain legalistic things about God - in short, they go through the motions of their denomination or sect and as long as they meet the minimum standards, they’re comfy with their spiritual life.
What all four groups have in common is time.
Their religious devotion requires very little time “to do;” an hour or two on Sunday, maybe 20 minutes a day in prayer and devotion (too high?), maybe an hour in some small group setting during the week. Maybe volunteer to clean the building or mow the lawn or this and that. It requires almost no effort. And almost no personal sacrifice. Rather like worshipping an idol; it’s all ritual.
As the sower sowed, some seed fell along the roadside and the birds ate it.
Other seeds fell on rocky ground without much soil. The seeds quickly sprouted but as they had no real roots when the sun came out, the seedlings were scorched and withered away.
Still other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked the seedlings out.
Finally, the sower sowed in good earth and it produced a crop many times what was sown.
For those who are like the seed along the road or path, Jesus says these are the ones who hear the good news but the “evil one” comes along and snatches it from them; they never “get it.” Hence, the Looky-loos.
The seed on rocky ground - those who hear the message and receive it with joy but Jesus says when these people are hit with adversity or persecution because of the Word, they quickly go away. Newborns that have not been nurtured but left to their own devices. They fail to thrive and they eventually die. Perhaps some Spiritually Developmentally Disabled Christians too?
The seed among the thorns, Jesus says these are ones who hear the message and takes it to heart but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth grow and choke the message. The seed is unfruitful, unproductive. The Republi-Christians and ritual Christians/some Spiritually Developmentally Disabled Christians.
The seed in the good earth? Jesus says those seeds produced an abundant crop - 30, 60. 100 times what was sown. Here is the disciple of Jesus.
It takes time to mold oneself into the image of their master. If it weren’t for the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, I doubt whether three years with Jesus was enough to equip them for their task ahead.
Conversely, being a Looky-loo, a Newborn, a Spiritually Developmentally Disabled Christian or a Republi-Christian/ritual Christian requires no real, legitimate struggle. For in addition to time, to travel the narrow road of discipleship is hard, intensely hard. And one can find themselves feeling like they’re swimming upstream, alone, in their pursuit of Jesus.
I want to be a disciple of Jesus. For so long I have passed through being that Newborn, being a Spiritually Developmentally Disabled Christian, for a brief time a Republi-Christian and for the longest time being just a ritual Christian.
We are all called to be disciples and to make disciples. We are called to a long, hard, narrow path in our faith in the Son of God. I think the starting point for such journey, for most of us, is just the constant encouraging reminder of the path we have willfully chosen; that there are other travellers, that we are not alone. Then, as Paul says in Hebrews, we are to provoke one another to Love and good works, encouraging each other daily.
Are there any fellow travellers out there on this path?
Until next time,
May the Peace of Christ be with You,
† Scott V.D.M. ev
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