You Seem Nice, But I’m Not Looking to Join Your Organization

I love people; I really do. I love God; yes it’s true. The issue arises when people who seemingly love God join and promote the propagation of the organization. Many refer to this organization as the church, however to me it’s more like some sort of Primerica / Amway / Prepaid Legal business plan. Encouraged to start by gaining new members by first recruiting family and friends. Then your family and friends recruit their circles and eventually you score some crucial points within the organization. Now I know that propagators of the organization believe they are justified because, that is where they believe God exists and rules. Membership, partnership, dues are all red flags that keep me from committing to the organization. I’ve committed to the God in your organization’s name and vision. I have partnered with those around me to spread love. I even give generously to my community and my world when the opportunity arises.

Now, here’s the thing…I love the people in the organization. I even love what many of the organization state as their reason for being. I just don’t love the organization. The truth is, I just can’t pledge allegiance to your organization and well, I still wonder how it is you justified it. I’ve searched far and wide for theological justification for the organization, but in the end I only see it as the fence constructed to keep the sheep safe and happy. As I look at the history of the probation of the Gospel (or as I like to call it, a big slap in the face to God’s people when they forgot who He was) and can see where councils, legislation and governmental hierarchy was established in order to create safety, order and common ground. However, these have seemingly done more harm than good.

So then my dilema, do I think the organizations should just close shop and go away? If they do, what would that do to the brittle spiritual lives of their followers who placed so much of their faith in the organization?

I don’t think, practically speaking, the organizations should be shut down. I do think that organizations should focus more on what the product is and less on the team selling the product or on what they think the product is used for. I don’t disagree that a simple organized plan of action is beneficial. I do agree that getting like-minded people together in unity can do more to shift culture than a single solo revolutionary. I just think this done in a sound fashion has become a rarity. Not just in this century, but since the beginning of human kind. We like order, hence the need for organizations. We like to follow, hence the need for government. We like the approval of others, hence the lack of individual revolutionary thinking. We like a clear plan of action, so we know if we are failing or succeeding, hence the education system full of grades and degrees. The problem…that’s not what being a follower of God is about. It’s about walking sometimes blindly towards an indescribable light down an abstract trail marked with tears. It’s about faith. It’s about doubt. It’s about discovery. It’s about love. It’s about grace and it’s marked by it’s relationships, not with the organization, but with the world.

Consider with me, that your organization is not doing the best job at providing an environment for discovery, faith and doubt. Consider that maybe your organization is creating more machinists than revolutionaries. Consider that your organization is not utilizing your generous gifts as well as you may have thought. Keep your Costco card. Hold on to your Starbucks card. Hey, even double check you didn’t leave home without your AAA card. But for the love of God, consider the worth of your organizational membership. I’m not saying to quit and run. I am imploring you to be a revolutionary in and out of the walls of your organization. I am imploring you to discover for yourself the plan of God for your life.