The nutshell version is that Pastor Jim hires Atheist Casper to go to twelve churches in America and simply give his impression and observations of the churches they visit.
They visit Saddleback, Willow Creek, The Mosaic Church, Imago Dei, Mars Hill (Seattle), Lakewood, The Potter's House, et al. See why I was intrigued? The idea is that we Christians, for the most part, have been to church all of our lives and well, frankly, when looking at how we do church we can't see the forest for the trees. I was intrigued at what an "un-churched" non-believer would see when viewing the creme-of-the-crop, or as Jim Henderson described Saddleback, "the Super Bowl of Churches."
Casper the Atheist makes very blunt observations that really made me question, "What are we doing? And why are we doing it like this?" The question he kept asking the Pastor Jim, after seeing the big celebrity preachers, the laser lights, fog machines, polished "slick" bands singing songs with no soul, the contrived smiles of congregants, being told to be friendly to your neighbor (as though Christians should be told to do this during our meetings or anywhere else for that matter), the compulsory appeals to give so that the big show can be promoted, mega churches, mega ministries, mega egos, and mega bucks was, "Jim, did Jesus tell you guys to do all of this?"
The thing about this book is that it left me feeling despair. Not because of its overly cynical tone, which it wasn't. They were both surprisingly objective in their subjectivity. What left me in despair was because it's true. It's true. It is true... .
I see the problems all the time with the way we conduct church and with the way we the church conduct ourselves. We jump from church, after church, after church going to where we can be "most blessed" or "fed" or because (my favorite) "God is leading us elsewhere," or whatever lame excuses we use to lie about the real reason we are leaving a particular church. Does God really call us to go somewhere else so often so that we can sit more comfortably in some other church's pews and occupy space? I'm not saying it never happens, but why does it always seems to happen to those who are most disgruntled, or hurt or offended? And it seems to always be to a church that is bigger and better. Why doesn't God ever call us to some mission work where we can be useful in some regard? It's really the excuse we give because it removes the responsibility from ourselves, after all, who can blame God for moving us, right? This seems rampant in the pulpit as well and not just in the pews. Ministers are always, seemingly, called to be bigger better places - promotions, if you will. This doesn't discount the countless hundreds of ministers who faithfully hold their places of obscurity, painfully praying for God to move amongst us. But, I'm convinced that God isn't going to move anytime soon. I have a hard time believing He will simply "Pour out His Spirit over our mess," to quote someone I know who gloriously knows a thing or too about obscurity (and I mean that in a good way).
The reason too this book was so despairing is because of its passive call to 'otherness'. James 4:17 says, "If you know what's right to do and you don't do it by ignoring it and going on living like you never knew, then you are guilty, sinful and wretched" (paraphrase mine). Now that I know that we are going about this all wrong, how do I live from this point on and not grieve the Holy Spirit?
Radical change must occur for us to become the church and stop going to church (to borrow a "right-on" cliche), because really that can't happen. We cannot go to church just as though no one can go to tree. (silly, huh?) You might stand near a tree, but you can't go to something that is. You can't go to something that is living. You are either the living thing or you are around or near the living thing and, by implication then, you are not the living thing. (makes sense? sort of?) We can stand near the church that happens to be in a building where we might be at that time on Sunday morning, or we can be the church that is, and, as we live and go and are in the world, we then are that thing.
So the question we have to ask ourselves, am I the church or am I simply around the church? If we answer the question that we are the church, then, remembering a question quoted from Francis Chan in my previous blog "Forgotten God", "What about my life makes the world be in awe of Christ?" Because frankly, a single Atheist named Matt Casper wasn't in awe with the Christ we claim to be buddies with. Despite the latest great technology and celebrity. The church only needs one celebrity; the One hated by the world not loved by it...
I think I'm going to have to check this one out...I agree with many of your sentiments. Just this week we lost several families from church to "greener pastures." It is so sad that so many just occupy space instead of becoming involved and active in the Body of Christ.
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