Converted To What?

What are you a part of? What do you participate in? Is it Christianity or is it Churchanity? Now before you cast this off as frivolous consider some of our language and statements: “I am doing church work.” “They have brought reproach upon the church.” “He left the church.” “I gave money to the church.”

Even if you have never used any of these statements, which is doubtful, they are familiar since we have likely heard them all used by someone. For years this traditional institutional jargon about “the church” has been used and is part of our religious language.

However has our language and phrases about the church developed into something and created within us something that is nothing more than an impersonal religion? We talk about taking “the church” to areas where no one had ever heard of “the church.” We preached “the church” and tell people about “the church” in an effort to get them to “come into the church” so they could give money to “the church.”

Now there is no question that being part of a community of believers is important and should be highly esteemed. God established it. It is referred to in scripture as a living organism and the bride of Christ but never does scripture suggest that “the church” and our love for it should take precedence over our love and allegiance to Jesus. And I wonder if in this thought lies the heart of the problem for some. I wonder if there are not some who are stuck in “Churchanity” but have never been immersed in “Christianity” and a love for Jesus. I wonder if there are some who have only been converted to the church but have never committed their lives to Jesus. I wonder if we sometimes see ourselves too much as members of “the church” but have never thought of ourselves individually as the bride of Christ. You see our phrases and language tell on us. Whether consciously or not doesn’t matter because what we say reveals what we really believe and what is most important to us. As a result I am afraid that there are some who really don't love Christ as much as they love the church. They don't serve and work for the Lord; they serve and work for the church. They don't tell people about the crucified and risen Lord, they tell them about the rightness of “the church.” They don't take the good news to people; they try to persuade them to become a member of “the church.”

But why does that matter? What happens when our first love is not Christ? It has implications for us and for those who are seeking. For those that profess to be Christians but are more converted to the church, their lives often lack spiritual depth and commitment. Often they are more intent on maintaining adherence to a certain form than they are with deepening their relationship with the Lord. Seekers face similar challenges. They are converted to doctrine and become committed to the church, instead of being converted Jesus. Then when difficulties come, since they have never submitted to a new Master their life crumbles because of crisis. Shame on us if we’ve too highly esteemed the body and in the process have usurped Jesus.

The angel of the church in Revelation 2:4-5 puts us on notice if we are converted more to “churchanity” than Christianity where it says, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”