What is the Church and what is its mission today? Integrative Summary

Taken as a whole, it seems that we were all in agreement that “the Church” does not entirely live up to its charter as a teacher of Jesus’ ways.  We had, on the overall, similar concerns with how the Church is seen, what it represents in contemporary America, and how its practice diverges from its ideals.  What I realized during this process is that, even though Christians refer to “the Church” as if there were a central Christian body of Christian affairs, there actually is no such thing.  

Maybe it’s just me, but I have had this fantasy, based on how the term is used, that “the Church” actually refers to something non-mythical.  Maybe I thought that the national councils of churches indicated a sincere siblinghood of believers.  Or something.  But no, Christians have clutched this construct around them since the time of the medieval Catholic Church - all of them,  trying to steal it for themselves, even as they have run as fast as possible away from each other.  

Wow.  I wrote in another paper that the Reformation continues today, that, in spite of our hyper-modern ultra-coolness, in some crucial areas we still think about the same as people did in medieval times.  And here is an actual artifact! a true relic, if you will, still alive today!

In truth, it is time for this to change.  Christians profess to a false unity, unfairly fluffing up their numbers, maybe for advantage in an increasingly multicultural world, maybe just because they really feel the need to look important.  But they do it with mendacity, if the way that they treat each other is included in the assessment.  

Secondly, I suspect that most Christians chauvinistically assume that “the Church” is their particular church.  This is a kind of naivete generally associated with unsophisticated tribal groups who call themselves “the people”  or “the real people.”    If faith groups want to have high credibility with the general public, then this sloppy self-reference needs to be addressed.  That, or actual unity needs to be felt and achieved.

In conclusion, since the term “the Church” refers to a prop being used to comfort people in religiously dangerous illusions, I will no longer use the term to refer to the set of Christianities that would claim it as their own.  That is, I will now talk about “Christian expressions of faith,” in the plural.  I will talk about how it is my opinion, based on study of the gospels, that Jesus never sought to start a church.  That is, Jesus is not represented by any church, much less owned by one.  And that any body that seeks to worship him needs first of all to honor his words, his instructions to us:  love God, end wars, love each other, seek justice for all.  This means, most of all, that

CHRISTIANITY IS NOT ABOUT PERSONAL SALVATION.

It’s something more like working tirelessly for our neighbors’ benefit.  God help us.  And me.