1 Corinthians 2: 1-2
1 Corinthians 2: 1-2
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Earlier this week, we drove by a “mega” church. You know the type, large, non-traditional designed building, made to accommodate large congregations at an affordable cost. Of course, this is nothing out of the ordinary in Alabama… except we were in a random town outside of Galway, Ireland. Every church I had seen there was a traditional Anglican style parish church or cathedral with dark weathered stone; but here I saw something built within the last twenty years. Something vibrant.
This siting came after a week in which we received a crash course on some of Ireland’s history, which includes modern-day violence between Christians. The Irish “Troubles” which lasted for 30 years, only ended in 1998. It is still a very fresh and traumatic memory for many folks. It was primarily a politically charged conflict between parties wishing to stay attached to the United Kingdom and those wanting full Irish independence. In addition to political divides, these parties also split heavily between denominations, protestant (The Church of Ireland) vs Catholic. Violent conflict within Christdom, sounds like history book material, but The Troubles are not a generation removed. But like the 30-years War in history books, these political conflicts use religious identity to incite passions for their cause. Defense of one’s belief in God isa powerful force that political movements are not afraid of leveraging.
Partly because of the religious-fueled conflict, along with the other cultural headwinds facing Christianity, both portions of Ireland experienced rapid secularization in the last 25 years as skepticism mounted over the role of religion in the lives of the Irish people. The culture had deeply rooted its identity in their denominations, and that betrayed them, so no wonder, they began to walkaway from the church.
Afterall, how do you reconcile these two sides who apparently believe the same thing, but the persistent violence between them disallows healing. Ultimately, the Spirit-Driven path, does not require reconciliation, but a hard reset to their Christian identity; not between Catholic and Protestant, but solely on the person, work, and accomplishment of Jesus Christ. Like the early church describe by Paul, there were no established Christian institutions, just the life of Christ and him crucified.
And that brings me back to the mega-church. If we find ourselves too entrenched in an identity based on tradition and customs, we begin to lose sight of the essentials. Our faith is in Christ, and the Spirit carries the Word to our hearts. And though human institutions are an effort in spreading and maintaining the faith, they are unreliable as man is unreliable. I am encouraged by what I see as a resetting of faith where the strongest headwinds exist. I am reminded that the essential message is the Gospel, and it is more powerful than anything of mankind’s creation, more powerful than hate, more powerful than death itself.
Your Brother in Christ,
Thomas Goodrich
