One of the issues that seems to keep worrying me about life is why don’t more people in my culture believe in and follow God. Why is it that the majority of people don’t believe in God? It is something that deeply troubles me. Similarly, and perhaps more disturbing, is why is that so many people who once believed deeply and personally in God no longer do so? So many people who once appeared to have a vibrant spiritual life with a connection to Christ walk away from the faith that I hold dear. In our Christian sub-culture we call these people “backsliders”.
To be honest the reason that so many people seem to abandon their faith is not a simple one. The answers are normally complex and interwoven with each person’s individual history and experiences. However the most common theme coloring their stories is disappointment. Disappointment with a Christian leader they followed, disappointment with church politics, disappointment from unmet expectations of God, and so the list could go on.
I think we, as a Church, set people up for these disappointments by the way we make life so black and white. Something is always wrong, another thing is always right. A good Christian never does this; a good Christian always does that. We reduce the complexity of life to formulas and patterns. We teach our children and we preach from our pulpits that if you push this button you always get this result. Of course the occasional caveat is thrown in – an escape clause to explain away the fact that life doesn’t always mirror the pattern we are teaching. But the problem is that the caveat is always just thrown in, a minor inconvenience that distorts the pretty picture we are trying to paint. And as a result the caveat is easily ignored and forgotten – the picture of the Christian life with all the appropriate awards and niceties for following the rules is the one that sticks in the mind of most church goers.
Disappointment comes when the reality of life impinges on the picture perfect image we have created. When God does not give me riches after I prayed the “Prayer of Jabez” so fervently, I will struggle. When I find that people outside of the church really aren’t all that depraved and evil, but rather seem to be a lot like me; I begin to question the need for a conversion. I was taught that people who were not in a relationship with God and who have not had their sins forgiven are weighed down by guilt, have a natural propensity to do wrong, and are searching for meaning or purpose. Well when I meet these non-Christian sinners I normally find them to be caring, kind, generous, and loving. Not at all the way they were portrayed to me by Bible study leaders and pastors.
As I sit in churches and listen to sermons or read through books on the Christian life I can’t help but be annoyed by the simplistic way life is depicted. More often then naught the lessons for life are laid out in strong black and white terms with simple life lessons to apply. I can understand the reason for this – we like to have certainties, it helps us get through a very complicated world. The problem is that we live in a complicated world and to teach ourselves that by following this simple pattern of avoiding evil, doing good, going to church, praying and reading your Bible that life will be as full and rewarding as can be expected is a huge disservice. We set ourselves up for disappointment because life is so very complicated.
I think we need to get into the messiness of what life is really about. As a Church we need to stop trying to reduce life to formulas and teaching people to live for God; and instead teach people how to explore life with God. This of course is difficult to do – its not something that lends itself to 4 module Sunday School lessons complete with felt figures to go on the board. However, if we can find a way; I think we will prepare ourselves for the reality of life so much more. It’ll allow us to explore our world with God, instead of trying to retreat into an artificial world created by children’s Sunday school lessons (the same lessons being taught from the pulpit, just with less interaction and bigger words). God is more then just love and forgiveness. If we can do this, I think we will have a lot less disappointed people leaving the Church and a lot more people reflecting the richness and infinite complexities of God that surpasses all the nuances, changes, questions, and difficulties seen in the reality of our day to day lives.
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