Conversation Between Church and the Hurting

Church: Dear Believers, do not worry yourself with the evil in this world. This evil is powerless to stop the amazing plan of God upon your life and even upon the history of all mankind. Because of Christ, evil is merely a pawn in the hand of God to show off the glory of redemption. Be encouraged, and know that all things, even the evil of the curse, work together for good, to those who love God.

Hurting church member: Thank you, Church. I needed this encouragement, because I have experienced a lot of pain lately.

Church: Tell me more about this pain.

Hurting church member: Well, a general mixture of church and non-church people have successfully abused me emotionally and physically, they have slandered me and those that I love, they have imposed harmful expectations upon me and those that I love (expectations not in the Bible), they have raised their voices in anger against me, and several other things. My pain is deep and real. Can you speak more comfort to me of this loving plan of God to use this evil for good? Can you embrace me with safe and kind words for a bit? I am afraid, angry, and confused.

Church: Well, this may be challenging.

Hurting church member: Really? Why?

Church: I know of those that have abused you, and I do not doubt that a few of them did the wrong thing. From what I’ve learned from you in the last couple minutes, I can tell that you probably provoked this abuse in some cases.

Hurting church member: Really?

Church: Regarding the others that you feel abused you, many of them did not intend to abuse you as you say. You ought to forgive them for the evil you perceived that they did to you. You also must know that it was never about you anyway.

Hurting church member: I imagined it?

Church: I know of those that slandered you, and you have to understand that their words are simply a matter of perspective. If you understood their perspective, you would better understand why the things that they said were at least a little bit true.

Hurting church member: I feel like this is something you should share with them, as well. The slander that they spread came as a result of misunderstanding my perspective.

Church: You see, that is the problem. You “felt like” they did you wrong. You ought not to live by your feelings.

Hurting church member: I’m just explaining myself….

Church: Now you are just getting defensive. Obviously, something else is going on here, and you need to go to the Word of God and grow in your relationship with Christ. You see, I also know those that imposed their standards on you and those you love. The truth is that they read the Bible, and their conscience feels strongly. You ought to be more patient with their conscience and not seek to offend. You ought to be more teachable, even if you do not agree. 

Hurting church member: I did not mean to offend anyone or be unteachable.

Church: Whether or not you meant to offend, the fact is that they are offended.

Hurting church member: But then maybe they should understand that I did not intend to offend them. Didn’t you tell me that it wasn’t about me? The way that I live isn’t about them either. My understanding of the Bible leads me to act in this way, and I gave no thought that anyone would be offended.

Church: You should be more careful.

Hurting church member: This is all very overwhelming. I could really use some words of assurance and comfort.

Church: You seem very argumentative.

Hurting church member: My mind is a bit mixed up and confused right now. I’m just trying to make sense of things.

Church: You shouldn’t be trying so hard. The Bible is clear about what God wants from us.

Hurting church member: Well, there seem to be a lot of different opinions flying around about all kinds of things.

Church: If you read the Bible more, you wouldn’t be so overwhelmed with different opinions.

Hurting church member: When I read the Bible for myself and acted in obedience, then several church people stood up and spoke harshly to me. I wish that they would not have done that.

Church: I can already tell from this conversation that you are a very argumentative person. They probably felt attacked. MacArthur wrote a really great book about this. You should read it and better understand what God is saying here.

Hurting church member: But I thought you just said to read the Bible for myself.

Church: You will not be taught. You will not let go of your anger. You are choosing to be hurt, and you are bitter. People are not perfect, you know. You should forgive and grow.

Hurting church member: It seems like you think that no one really wronged me, that I just imagined it?

Church: Well, you sound a little bit hypocritical right now. Are you saying that you didn’t sin?

Hurting church member: I don’t know. I’m confused and devastated.

Church: Take your pain and confusion to Christ.

Hurting church member: Would you say that Christ is your leader?

Church: Why are you being so accusatory? Of course we follow Christ.

Former church member: Just checking. 

Amazing Grace

            I lay on my rack on board the USS Nassau as a Lance Corporal in the Marine Corps Infantry. We had been circling off the coast of Yemen for a few months. Our AC was down, and our berthing quarters (where we slept) fluctuated between 95 and 100 degrees. I, along with a group of about twenty Lance Corporals and PFCs, were affectionately known as “boots,” meaning that we were new to the Corps. “Seniors” (those with a few years and deployments under their belts) dominated us with extra working parties and occasional secret hazing sessions, as was tradition among infantry units. As I lay in my rack, I hated life, but more importantly, I hated Corporal Davis. Earlier that day, it was just me and Corporal Davis in the showers. Davis called over from his shower and asked if he could come over and “f…k” me in my shower. Davis was not homosexual: he just loved domination. I rejected his half-joking, playful offers and finished my shower as quickly as possible.

            Corporal Davis was a tall, muscular (rumors were that he was on roids) NCO in my company who was the unspoken leader behind most hazing sessions. I hated him so badly that as I lay on my rack dreading another day in fear, I prayed for God to judge Corporal Davis. Maybe God would let us into Somalia tomorrow, and Corporal Davis would take one to the chest. I wanted Corporal Davis to die. I must have pled with God for almost an hour to judge this man. The next morning, I went on with my day – working parties, PT, Bible studies – with hardly a thought about last night’s merciless prayer.

            Two years later back home in Camp Lejeune, NC, I came into the office early to find most of my superiors hard at work, exhausted from having pulled an all-nighter. My superiors were preparing to brief the Battalion Commander of a Marine's death and to inform the family. Davis, now a Sergeant, had perished just a few hours ago from a motorcycle accident. Surviving two combat deployments, a MEU, and getting away with numerous hazing sessions without any repercussions from the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice), Davis died on an obscure curvy road while speeding on his bike. Was this an answer to prayer? Was this just God’s justice? Was this just chance?

           No one will ever be able to convince me that I did not have a part in this man’s death. I hated Davis. Is not hate equally despicable as murder in the sight of God? I know that most counseling would assure me that I had nothing to do with Davis’ death. But sometimes our counseling betrays such naiveté: there is some guilt where cliché phrases are as useless as a squirt gun to a bonfire.

            My guilt expands far beyond this spiritual, first-degree murder. I have lusted for years, a private stress relief that temporarily silences my deepest fears that I am a huge failure at life. I am a control freak, and sometimes my motives are shady. My guilt does not end there, as I have many more urges that would keep church busybodies active for years. I am just one big scandal.

            Coming to terms with all this guilt opens a whole new world of understanding. Embracing the hypocrite in yourself gives you a sort of x-ray vision, because now you instantly identify the scandal and hypocrisy in everyone around you. The hypocrites hate this, because if you are new at using your “x-ray vision,” then you will be innocently reckless. You notice, you speak, and you get pounded. Very soon you understand that the whole world (church members, too) is either equally or almost as scandalous as you are. As you become more skilled with your “x-ray vision,” you have to make a choice: get angry and point out everyone’s hypocrisy en masse; do your best to define tact and implement tactful pleas for transparency and risk being called “angry” by hypocrites refusing to come clean; or shut up and start decorating the outside of your sepulcher as fast as possible.

            Guilt heaped on more guilt as I vacillated among all three choices, sometimes daily. For some time now, I have begun feeling like a fourth grader who is completely exacerbated over a complex math problem that is due in class the next day.

            Funny - at this point in your life, hypocrites come running from all directions in an effort to “help” you with your problems. If you get lucky, a hypocrite or two might come sit down beside you and empathize with you while praising God in almost hysterical joy. Thus a ray of hope: a group of people who embrace the reality that they are a great scandal, living freely in the joy and confidence that not one ounce of their valid guilt has any bearing upon their identity in Another. This group of people is the true Church with Jesus Christ the Head. 

            Jesus Christ pulls me to Himself and introduces me to something new. The black-and-white-word-on-a-page is not new to me, but the reality of the word is. We refer to this word as Grace. As I come to a deeper understanding of this word, I come to realize that I will never be able to fathom all the earth-shattering implications of the word. Grace introduces me to the most beautiful attribute of our Savior, where all my hypocrisy, guilt, and scandal are swallowed up in the wrath of God upon Christ and remembered no more. The consequences of sin are tragic:

Then the earth reeled and rocked;

                        the foundations also of the mountains trembled

                        and quaked, because God was angry.

            Smoke went up from His nostrils,

                        and devouring fire from His mouth;

                        glowing coals flamed forth from Him.

            He bowed the heavens and came down;

                        thick darkness was under His feet.

            He rode on a cherub and flew;

                        He came swiftly on the wings of the wind.

            He made darkness His covering, His canopy around Him,

                        thick clouds dark with water.

            Out of the brightness before Him

                        hailstones and coals of fire broke through His clouds.

           

            The LORD also thundered in the heavens,

                        and the Most High uttered His voice,

                        hailstones and coals of fire.

            And He sent out his arrows and scattered them;

                        He flashed forth lightnings and routed them.

            Then the channels of the sea were seen,

                        and the foundations of the world were laid bare

            at Your rebuke, O LORD,

                        at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

The destruction of David’s enemies in Psalm 18 barely holds a candle to the wrath poured out upon Jesus Christ from Heaven. My scandal did this. God the Father attacked Jesus Christ with vicious wrath and thus Christ became my propitiation.

            Where sin abounds, Grace abounds far more. It is and will always be one ounce of sin becoming overwhelmed with a million ounces of Grace. “Grace must raise the temptation to think we can sin as we please; if it does not, we have not understood the true extent of grace” (Derek Thomas). Paul must discourage a mentality of license to sin, because Believers coming to terms with the abounding power of Grace requires it. Grace is so amazing and overwhelming that sin’s vocal chords are torn out forever, never to make a sound but only to move its mouth for the voice-overs of the Great Accuser.

            Grace begs me to grab all this guilt, scandal, lust, murder, and dishonesty – to pick it up and lay it at the feet of Christ on the cross. Grace invites me to stay and watch the filth pile removed. Grace clothes me in righteousness and silences me from ever breathing a hint that the filth pile any longer exists.

            On earth, the guilt and scandal bring earthly consequences as real as the physical consequences of defying gravity. But just as God smiles no less upon the Christ-bought righteousness of a Believer who accidentally falls off a cliff to his death, God smiles no less upon the Believer who meets earthly consequences for his sin. After all, the consequences of infracting against God’s physical and moral laws have no bearing upon what Grace has done in permanently identifying us in Christ. License to sin is truly an improper response, but the power of God (Grace) to overwhelm all sin past, present, and future is that amazing.

            As I lay my guilt, scandal, lust, murder, and dishonesty at the feet of Christ, more sin appears: sins of pride and fear. You see, long before I came to embrace my guilt for all the “nasty stuff,” I lived a life of meticulous spiritual pride and fear of being touched and infected by the “nasty people” doing “nasty stuff.” There exists a middle road of sinlessness, and erring on the side of obvious sin is just as evil as erring on the side of legalistically living extra-carefully. The pious Pharisee, whom my “x-ray vision” has taught me to hate more than any other sinner, is who I truly am deep inside. If I fight to let Grace overwhelm my pride and fear, then I find myself fighting Grace to also overwhelm the “nasty stuff.” It’s all or nothing. I either let Grace abound as it intends to do or I fight Grace on all fronts.

            Christ takes my sin, all of it. He pours Grace upon it all. I look up and around and see throngs of others. Some are “nasty” people like Corporal Davis who victimize others, and I must make room for them next to me at the cross. Some are Pharisees who led many astray in pride and fear, and I must make room for them next to me at the cross. And now God has done what the Law could not do. Grace abounds upon my soul, and I find that almost without my knowledge, Grace has calmed my heart to forgive all mankind for all its hypocrisy and scandal.

For more reading:
Fundamentalism, Make It Stop!
Fundamentalism Breaks the Rules of Organizational Behavior
OCD Theology
A Culture of Protection
An Idolatry of Excellence
The Upside Down Pyramid

An Argument from Organizational Behavior

Stephen Robbins, MBA textbook author on the subject, defines organizational behavior as "a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization's effectiveness" (2014, page 11). It is a combined discipline of psychology, sociology, and anthropology as it relates to groups as part of a larger group. Leaders use the principles of organizational behavior to inject the strategy and mission of an organization into that organization's DNA. A leader defines effectiveness by how closely the organization operates in accordance with its mission and strategy. 

           

An organization can go to great lengths to build a mission and strategy but neglect to bring that mission and strategy to bear on every task, objective, department, and member. When this happens, the tasks, objectives, departments, and members create waste that perpetuates the organization's ineffectiveness. Tasks become superfluous to the mission and strategy. Objectives become shortsighted. Departments tenaciously compete with one another due to the present leadership's inability to remain true to the mission and strategy. Finally, members become victims of superfluous requirements, shortsighted objectives, and other members exerting their control in an effort to fill the perceived leadership void.

           

Self-coined, Modern-day Fundamentalists (the intentionally conservative, independent Evangelical brand of Christianity) by and large reflect a severe lack in understanding of the principles of organizational behavior. Despite the emphatic profession to be always adhering to the "fundamentals of the faith," they have neglected the pure mission and strategy of the Gospel for a practical theology that allows for Gospel rhetoric but adds subtle burdens that not only visibly discredit the Gospel but also quench the Holy Spirit from accomplishing His purpose in individual members of the local church.

           

Christ's mission to the members of His Church is simple yet potent enough to redeem a fallen world: Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Christ's strategy to His Church unfolds the mission:

•       Submit to Jesus Christ as the One to Whom has been granted power in Heaven and on Earth;

•       Cast your sin under His blood and receive His righteousness;

•       Love others as you would love yourself by serving them with compassion and making disciples of Jesus Christ;

•       Grow together in your knowledge of and love for Jesus Christ; and,

•       Be led by the Spirit, Who will never leave us or forsake us.

           

In secular organizations, leadership takes stock of its members, seeks to align those members to the mission and strategy, analyzes strengths and weaknesses of members, equips and assigns those members to appropriate tasks that accurately fulfill the mission and strategy, all the while recognizing that diversity among members must be encouraged (rather than squashed) and channeled towards effectiveness (as defined by the mission and strategy). In the Church, Christ does exactly this through the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God. This makes perfect sense, seeing as how God created the science of organizational behavior. Scientists are only privileged to discover it. A key to understanding organizational behavior is the God-given need within each person to be valued and enriched by the organization in which he/she exists. Without individuals being allowed to embrace their diversity as an important part of the team, they are listless, frustrated, confused, and often left feeling guilty for not fitting in.

           

Ephesians expresses these truths through word pictures such as a building with many stones in their own place uniquely crafted by the Holy Spirit. I Corinthians also compares the local church to the human body, all parts necessary and uniquely gifted by the Holy Spirit. Communication among Believers in a local church should exalt this diversity both verbally and nonverbally. Using communication, verbal and nonverbal, to squash this diversity is not only unkind but is an obstacle to the work of the Holy Spirit in the midst of that local church. This diversity is deeply unified, not around gifts and personalities but around the Gospel (as is declared in Corinthians). Diversity is not only permissible, it is vital if we desire to see the Holy Spirit equip and grow the Church.

Understandably, any local church or brand of local churches will naturally have their own flavor as they seek to carry out Christ's mission and strategy in their community. But each and every local church ought to accurately reflect Christ's mission and strategy for His Church, which is inflexibly Gospel-centered. When principles of organizational behavior are applied to the current Fundamentalist Movement, four key characteristics emerge to challenge both the unity and diversity of the Church. These characteristics are certainly not limited to Fundamentalism, but they provide a clear framework for understanding and explaining the practical theological errors within:      

• Fundamentalism empowers loud consciences.

• Fundamentalism endorses a culture of protection.

• Fundamentalism betrays an idolatry of excellence.

• Fundamentalism reacts to organizational flaws by improving the presentation.

           
These behavioral characteristics are not unique to Fundamentalism. Many individual churches and denominations will naturally exhibit one or more of these behavioral characteristics. 

           

The warped practical theology of modern day Fundamentalism can be primarily credited to a deviation from Christ's mission and strategy for the Church. While there are increasingly more high-profile cases of physical, sexual, and spiritual abuse within Fundamentalism (and other evangelical brands), we will not explore the obvious moral infractions exhibited by extreme cases. Instead, my purpose is to venture deeper into the less-obvious (until exposed) philosophies within Fundamentalism that are producing hundreds and hundreds of spiritual abuse victims each year. Many of the subtleties of the behavioral characteristics described above may not be visible from the pews but become quite obvious as one enters the "belly of the beast." The practical theological errors are so much more than shallow arguments over musical styles and dress code: they are misconceptions that have been profoundly installed into our rational cognition. Mere pulpit preaching did not do this, but the powerful reinforcement of these practical theological errors through the organizational behavior of modern day Fundamentalism did.

           

As my wife and I hosted Sneads Ferry Fellowship Church in our home in its infancy, we ministered side-by-side with a great group of military families. The Holy Spirit miraculously kept us unified even through challenging circumstances. I am sorrowful to recall moments where I fell prey to my own Fundamentalist mentality and effectively quenched the Holy Spirit at Sneads Ferry Fellowship Church. At a time when my own ambitions for the future of our church got ahead of what God intended to do, the Holy Spirit used Jim (a dear friend and vital member) to make quiet suggestions that, had I listened, would have saved us from unintentionally hurting two families in the church. Jim holds no seminary or counseling degrees from a liberal arts university, but he was a member of the body, and the Holy Spirit used him just as powerfully as any evangelist or pastor. At least two other scenarios burn in my brain where the Holy Spirit offered practical wisdom through unexpected people, and instead of listening and watching for the Spirit to work, I reverted to endorsing some form of quenching the diversity and unity of Sneads Ferry Fellowship Church. Thankfully, there are also many wonderful memories where diversity and unity were upheld through the work of the Holy Spirit in our midst. My wife and I were so blessed to have been a part of SFFC before the church closed its doors.

Reacting to Organizational Flaws

If an organization were a pyramid, the bottom of the pyramid should represent that organization's mission and strategy. The large center of the pyramid would represent the organization's culture (as a result of the principles of organizational behavior), and the tip of the pyramid would represent that organization's presentation (advertising/public relations/etc.). Often, organizations can get turned upside down, where the mission and strategy are ignored/neglected. The culture of the organization (small at the bottom due to poor indoctrination/methodology and large at the top) begins to focus less on the mission and strategy and more on the presentation. When the character of the organization is turned upside down, advertising/public relations must compensate for the flaws in the system.

           

For a local church, departing from the simplicity of the Gospel produces severe flaws in the system for which the presentation must compensate. Many Fundamentalist churches that recognize flaws in the system seek to make their presentation more and more pristine. Instead of addressing internal and foundational flaws, they use PR tactics to react and "put out fires." Many do this by addressing problems with official statements or a sermon series. While a sermon series is necessary to address general errors in thought among church members, it can never truly get to the heart of problems that find their basis in a neglected foundation. A sermon series is a great way of introducing and adjusting church members to organizational change, but a sermon series typically translates individually into half-listening minds that only hear what they want to hear. A sermon series with no organizational adjustment on a practical level is only compensating with PR. Organizations that have reversed the pyramid are salvageable but not without need for massive overhauls on an ideological and practical level. The financial and relational sacrifices can be huge, and often it is much easier for the organization to "PR" their way through the storms.

           

When flaws in the organization become more apparent in a local church, the paid staff must work double-overtime. I say "double-overtime" because Fundamentalist pastors are already severely under appreciated and under paid. Especially when organizational flaws related to evangelism and community outreach become a grave concern, the Fundamentalist culture is one that expects the pastor to do the work. Instead of fulfilling Ephesians 4:12 where church leaders equip the members to make disciples in their realms of influence, church members by and large throw their pastors "under the bus" for the church not growing or effectively reaching the community. Considering the other three behavioral characteristics of Fundamentalist churches, effectively reaching the local community seems an insurmountable task for a team of two to five men working full-time on a part-time salary. While pastors of all brands and denominations are already struggling to not become financial and emotional "martyrs of those who employ them" (to borrow a phrase from an extended family member), Fundamentalism has further demonized financial appreciation for their ministers by criticizing the large, "seeker friendly" churches that take good care of their pastors. We hypocritically heap stress upon our ministers, become surprised when they fall into secret sins that provided them with a solace from the misery, and then we leave them out to dry wearing their infamous Fundamentalist Scarlet Letter. Shame on us!

           

In the heat of organizational problems, a common reaction of Fundamentalism is to centralize control.  Sometimes, this means eliminating transparency with constituents when transparency is vital (swearing disaster-involved individuals to secrecy). Sometimes, this means removing responsibilities from the perceived "less-qualified" personnel when it might be safer to eliminate or delegate more tasks to more people. Ultimately, Fundamentalism often betrays a mistrust of the Holy Spirit to work in the members of local churches to do the work of the ministry. The already under appreciated, under paid pastors increase their workload and leave vast numbers of members without job descriptions and nothing else to do but speculate and give in to the urge to impose their hyperactive consciences and idolatry of excellence upon other church members.


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