Humans are deeply spiritual animals. For centuries in Scotland this has been explored and expressed through the Church. In the last century however this has changed.
At one time the Church provided political authority, social services, education, healthcare, and the opportunity to experience the best of the arts. A church was the place to go to to access these things, or to contribute to the provision of them for those in need. When many of these tasks were delegated to secular authorities the Church remained as the spiritual specialist, proving access to deeper things.
Can a church so disconnected from secular life continue to do this though?
For some church life still blends seamlessly with their everyday life, and going to a church on a Sunday is like drinking deeply from a well which flows into every day and everywhere they go.
Others find beauty on mountain tops, mystery in forests, charity when they watch TV ads and Love in the extended family experience of a hobby club. They mark births and deaths through social media, and relationship changes with status updates. When they search for deeper spiritual experiences they have a global culture to explore. Here is an example – for these experiences to be genuine, do they have to be experienced through Church?
You try … you fail … failure is not bad … it is the way to grow.
Jesus talked about a shepherd leaving the bulk of his flock grazing where they were content in order to go searching for the one rogue sheep.
How much effort do our churches put into preserving buildings and the orders of service they inherited, while about 80% of the decendants of the people who built those buildings never enter them?
In psalm 23 the author talks about dwelling in the house of the Lord. If you read the beginning of the psalm though most of the time is spent on the move, finding new waters, seeking out grass.
Churches need caretakers who can look after the building and anoint tired brows with refreshing oils. They also need pioneers who will wander with semi-feral sheep and goats. Ones who carry big sticks to face the darkness, and who are skilled in diving deep in search of adventure.
0 replies on “Finding the Depth”
The feelings are surely genuine and do not have to come through church.
So does that mean some people do not need church? As humans we need to share our experiences with others for full richness and perhaps with God for full completeness…