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delete please I believe the church is there as a scaffolding to point to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It helps me learn and practice to become converted in a way I can be more like Christ, or Christ-centered. But it is not the end all, in and of itself, regardless of how many ordinances or priesthood claims it has. It is a vehicle. I can be church-centered AND Christ-centered if I use the vehicle correctly to truly show my faith to God.
I now believe my faith crisis is a direct result of me not using it correctly. I was church-centered and off base with Christ in my life, unintentionally.
God did not have to come down and create a crisis for me, it just happens as a natural result of veering off the path and hitting a tree full speed. I have had to get back to finding the “way” (Christ is the way, the church is something different), and then I’ve had to make a choice if I felt the church was going to help me find deepen my following of Christ or not.
My testimony now is that the church, when viewed properly, can be a great way to be Christ-centered. So I want to be both church-centered And Christ-centered, and I find it really works, which is why I say the church is true. If the two were mutually exclusive, and the church did not bring me closer to Christ, I would stop believing it was true and focus on Christ.
But while problems occur in church, I strongly believe that when viewed properly, the church can be a help to find Christ. That vehicle, however isn’t on auto pilot and you get in the church and it automatically takes you to Christ. Faith is working to steer it, use the gas and brake pedals, and blinkers and wipers and other things to keep it on the way (the road) to Christ. It takes work and faith, even if the vehicle is true.
I humbly admit, I am an example, like the people in your examples BLC, of a person that got caught focusing on the hood ornament. Yes, that is being church-centered. Focusing on all the ordinances, the work done in church, the callings, the outward appearances of following Christ. And my life got out of balance not looking at the road until crisis hit. it was not the car’s fault, it was how I was using it.
So, church-centered is looking at the car while driving, perhaps even thinking you’re going in the right direction.
Christ-centered is going the right Way
Church-centered AND Christ-centered is driving the car the right Way where families and friends can travel with you (sealed) in the car as you go.
If you look closely at multiple General Conference talks over the years, I think it’s pretty clear that the top leadership of the Church believes there is a difference. In this last conference, it was said in crystal clear terms that activity in church doesn’t guarantee Christian discipleship. The issue is that many talks appear to believe it’s hard for most members to live a Christ-centered life without also having a church-centered life – and, frankly, they probably are correct in many, many cases. Christianity and church affiliation are so intertwined now, as much outside the LDS Church as inside it, that it’s really hard for people of pretty much any denomination (or even “non-denominational” congregations) to separate the two. In a very practical way, it really is difficult to divorce being a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth from being part of a religious community – a group “following”, if you will. In Jesus’ ministry, it wasn’t a formal “church”, per se – but people absolutely left family and friends to follow him around as he preached. They formed a religious community, even if they didn’t build and gather in meetinghouses of their own.
The difficulty here, imo, is not that we need to separate the two affiliations totally; rather, like has been mentioned already, we need to balance the two and prioritize them so that we live a Christ-centered life within the LDS Church – not that we live a church-centered life that includes Christ. In other words,
we should be Mormon **Christians** – not Christian **Mormons**.I agree with Heber13 complete here. We learn that the purpose of the church is to help bring men to christ: “for this is my work and my glory….”
The problem is that sometimes we tend to attach too much value to the vehicle, forgetting that it is the objective of it that matters – a problem (in my view) i think they should seriously address.
Great topic, as you would expect from someone like me who agrees there has been too much church-centeredness in my own LDS experience. I think the church provides a forum for christlike behavior and training. However, as leaders try to futher organizational goals, they tend to use the Christ-centered initiation to shift focus to the organization — at times, at the expense of gratitude, compassion, kindness, and charity toward the people they are leading. At times, the church’s interests totally eclipse those of individuals making its own leadership more church-centered than Christ-centered.
So, I agree there is a need for balance. And the responsiblity for maintaining that balance is best invested in the individual. This principle of maintaining a focus on Christ and keeping the church in its rightful place is something we should teach in our homes, positively, and only at the right times. You will rarely hear it at church, so you have to claim the right to teach it in your families, possibly in your lessons and home teaching visits, and only then, in a non-offensive, church-supportive way.
And by the way, you can be Christ-centered and have only minimal involvement in the church in my view. Being christ centered is about personal righteousness and relationships with others primarily. So, it can be practiced at work, in the community, in your social groups, in your neighbourhoods.
I am working on a number of projects right now that require christlike attributes, and are stretching me:
1. Founding an online neighborhood group to facilitate neighborhood watch programs, garage sales, selling personal itmes, and a greater sense of local community — on a volunteer basis.
2. Getting involved in a local business partnership meant to reduce crime and improve the area I live in.
3. Co-missioning a part-time business with the needs of charitable organization for fundraising activities.
And I still teach classes in my local Ward and do home teaching. I am finding fulfilment outside of the church, and guess what — the local ward seems to be doing just fine without me.
Balance is yours to claim.
To alter a phrase by Kenneth Cope, LDS singer and speaker — Heaven — don’t miss it because of the church.
delete please BLC — I was following a car the other day, and the driver had his beliefs in many spectrums pasted to his rear bumper in the form of bumper stickers. It said “Vegan”. “Atheist” and finally, the one I liked the best: “Religion is not a pre-requisite for morality”.
His point was that you can be a moral person of good character, yet not be religious. While I believe in God, and think it’s important to belong to a community that makes you stretch when you need it (and in the right doses) I thought his bumper sticker was insightful — from an atheist.
Truth is everywhere.
delete please Quote:those who do go have a huge responsibility – to help create an atmosphere of love and kindness, the kind of atmosphere where people want to come.
If you can be that type of person, don’t leave. That only increases the imbalance and makes it even harder for others to stay and bring balance to the force.
Just sayin’.
delete please Quote:church ought to be a place where people feel accepted. if not they will go elsewhere for it.
Amen.
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