The State of the Modern American Church
**This article also appears on the Gottesdiesnt blog**
In light of the decline in many American Churches, I have noticed a troubling trend: the view that the Christian Church is just a social club.
In this modern American zeitgeist, one of the most pernicious lies from the devil is that the Christian Church is just a social club.
Now, what do I mean by the phrase “social club”. Essentially, a common view among American Christians is that one’s local Christian congregation is no different than a bowling league club or a country club. From this standpoint, Church is just one of many social activities that we can take part in.
Let me put this view another way: why do most of our family and friends view Church attendance as an optional thing? Why do so many people never attend the Divine Service but make it to the Church Fish Fry or annual Pot-luck? Why do so many kids attend our congregation’s Vacation Bible School (VBS) but never attend Sunday School or the Divine Service?
The answer: many people—including Lutherans—view Church as a social club.
Unfortunately, this same thinking has taken over many “Christian” youth groups and men’s clubs at many Lutheran congregations. In fact, I know of youth groups at Lutheran churches that don’t even pray before group meals—let alone do Bible studies.
I can’t help but think that many American Lutheran churches have become glorified German social clubs—where our Lord Jesus Christ is only a minor part of the Church’s overall event programming.
If you’re a regular reader here, then it’s fairly apparent that our local congregations are not “social clubs”.
What is the Church?
Well then, what exactly is the Church? Do we have another model for what the Church should look like?
Here’s a verse from Scripture that might help our discussion:
“… And he [Christ] is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” –Colossians 1:18
The Church is the body of Christ.
For centuries, faithful Churches/congregations are places where Christ administers his gifts of salvation, forgiveness, and faith to his people.
At the Church, Christ offers his very Body and Blood for our sake in Holy Communion. At the Church, pastors preach the Word of God to Christ’s people. At the Church, Christ forgives us for our sins.
All of those aspects of the Church are centered around Christ. Christ is the cornerstone of the Church, not “lagniappe” (i.e. “something extra” for my non-Louisiana Lutherans). We must not forget that as we lead our Churches through an increasingly pagan culture.
For confessional Lutherans, our tradition upholds this Christ-centered view of the Church. For instance, one of Luther’s works called On the Councils and the Church echoes the Biblical view of “what the Church is”.
In this book, Luther lists the seven marks of the Church: God’s Word, Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, the office of the keys, pastors, prayer, & the Holy Cross. Those seven marks encapsulate the foundation of the Church. Without these marks, then a Christian church is not “the Church”.
To close, I want to make a point here that I am not against fellowship and social events within a congregation. In fact, I am a firm supporter of Christian fellowship, and I wish that Churches hosted more community-based, fellowship-based, and service-based events. Nevertheless, those types of events are not the foundation of the Christian Church.
Jesus Christ needs to remain the center of our local Lutheran congregations. May we repent for the years that we American Lutherans have pushed Christ aside to appeal to the ways of the world (e.g. The “Church Growth movement”, the “Seeker-sensitive” movement”, etc.).
Never forget: Church is not a social club.