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My Personal Experlence
1 am reminded of my own personal
experience, probably typical of
many others. My parents were
members of the Friends Church ,
commonly known as the Quakers.
The famíly had been Quakers for
many generatíons. 1 was taken to
church from babyhood , taking it
for granted as a normal part of life.
1 was in church every Sunday
because my parents took me. As a
routine habit 1 contínued until age
18.
lt
never occurred tome toques–
tion why we should attend church
or how the church carne into exis–
tence, or what was its real meaning
and purpose.
1 never went through the experi–
ence in those years of being "con–
verted ." As 1 grew into the teens, 1
was told that 1 had a birthright
membership in the church. 1 was
led to take it for granted that 1 was
an immor tal soul and that wben 1
died 1 would not really die, but
rather pass away into heaven where
1 would have no responsibilities but
only a life of idleness and ease in
sublime glory forever and ever. But
1 was not religiously or doctrinally
interested. I simply took churchgo–
ing and a religious phase of lífe for
g ranted. But 1 had no special or
deep religious or spiritual interest,
and by age 18 1 started in the
advertising business, lost al l inter–
est in religion or the things of God
and gave up regular church atten–
dance. 1 stíll believed in God- that
is to say, I took the existence of
God for granted since 1 had been
taught of God's existence frdm ear–
liest memory.
Then at age 25 1 had met and
married that one and only particu–
lar young woman. S he was more
seríously interested in the things of
God . We began to feel that we
should join a church. My wife's
ances try had been part Quaker and
part Methodist. There was no
Quaker church in the neighbor–
hood where we lived in a Chicago
suburb. We joined a Methodist
church because it was located with–
in walking distance, we liked the
personality of the minister, and we
liked the membership sociaJly. 1
think our experience was typical of
millions of others. But it never
occurred to me to ask or even won-
May 1986
der why we ought to go to church,
or why the ins titution of the
Church had ever come into being.
Like millions of others 1 assumed
that the "good people" went to
church and so ought we.
The Church In Relation to Past
History
ent churches- Catholic, Protes–
tant , independents. And within
them · many denominations, sects
and divisions or congregations,
each with its differi ng beliefs,
teachings, rituals and programs.
The Church started out as one
Church. As it is recorded in 1
And so now 1 ask, Does
anyone question the rea–
son or purpose for the
Church as an inst itution?
1 ask, Does anyone know
why there are churches?
l s there a
REASON
for it?
The very existence of the
Church known as "Chris–
tianity" is one of the
g reat mysteries of our
time. This very subject
hy the institution of
the <Jhurch in the
world? Why was it started,
and for what purpose?
brings to mind again the fact that,
not having lived through and seen
events of the past 6,000 years that
led up to the present, we do not
grasp tbe real meaning or purpose
of the Church. In this chapter we
shall view the Church in its
TRUE
r e lation ship to all the events
described in the firs t five chapters
of this book. Again, what is the
Church?
Most think of the Church as a
building with a sharply sloping
roof, a steeple atop pointing heav–
enward and a cross on its face .
l ndeed Webster defines the word
church
as a bui lding.
rt
was some–
thing altogether different when
originally founded .
People suppose a church is a
building to which people-some of
them-ftock on Sunday morning
for "worship." They think
people
go to the
church .
As founded in the
New Testament, the
Church
went
to a
building,
at first a prívate
home. And the Church assembled
on a Saturday, not Sunday.
The churches of today have
changed drastically from Christ's
pattern! This fact, also, is cloaked
in mystery, understood by vi rtually
no one. But for
WHAT PURPOSE
did
Christ found the Church? What
has happened to it since?
Sorne may know Christ started
the Church . But who and what is
Christ? And if he was the founder
of the Church, for what purpose
d id he start it? J esus founded only
one Church. Yet in the Western
world today there are many d iffer-
Corinthians 12 the Church con–
sisted of many members, but only
the one body- the one Church--of
whicb Jesus Christ was the Head.
At the outset of this chapter we
are primarily concerned with four
basic questions that constitute a
mystery that needs to be revealed
with understanding.
1) Who and what is Christ?
Why did he appear on earth?
2) What is and why was the
Church brought into existence?
3) What is t he gospe l the
Church is commissioned to pro–
claim?
4) What is the history of the
Church? Why is Christianity so
different today than at its inception
in the first century?
l nstitutionaJly the
CHURCH
is
thought of today as a relig ious
organization, association or society.
One-if "good"-is supposed to
join the "church of his choice." Of
course there are the "good guys"
and the "bad guys" and the "good"
go to church. But does it make any
difference which church- which
denomination?
A Minister wlthout a Pastorate
1 am reminded of an incident of
more than 50 years ago. I was still
in Eugene, Oregon. An ex-minister
carne to me who had just recently
been married. His wife had money,
but he was too proud to let her
support him. He had not been
employed in the ministry for sorne
time but now needed a job.
" Do you know of any pulpit
11