A couple of weeks ago, I was late to church because I was stuck in a meeting with a friend. She had an appointment with one of the church’s compassion ministries; she is struggling and they advertise help for people in her situation. After almost two hours of talking and waiting, we were told that she did not meet their criteria because she was not spiritually acceptable, an official member of the church, or volunteering in their ministries. Though no help could be given her, we were both admonished to “have hope” and “stay centered on God” and assured that “things would fall into place.” James taught that we should not tell a beggar to “Go and be warm,” but should give them a coat. But this ministry essentially told my friend, “You don’t deserve this coat, but I’m sure somehow God will help you warm up.”

The true irony is that as she was being dismissed as a candidate for aid, we were missing a ten minute video playing on the screens announcing that this church was about to “unleash unprecedented amounts of compassion” on the surrounding area, and that they needed our help to do so. They left out the spiritual merit badge requirements.

I wish I could say I was amazed, but the truth is, I knew going in that the meeting might go that way. I feel similar trepidation when I pick up a Christian book. I have hope that it will reveal a powerful Christ in intense interaction with reality, but what I get instead is full of censored situations and a checklist driven CEO-Jesus with a knack for forgiveness. Luckily, Relief is looking for good writers to break this trend. Submissions are open.

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deanna     |2007-11-29 19:43:27 You're singing my tune. Christianity often promotes "a checklist driven CEO-Jesus with a knack for forgiveness." I've been in a situation similar to the one with your friend and the church ministry. "Sorry, lady, gotta keep the program moving along. Next?" As my son would say, wtf? New Testament James might say: You're missing the point, folks. Humble yourselves. Be merciful. Kierkegaard portrays a powerful Christ, completely contemporaneous with his contemporaries. In other words, his power wasn't recognized. Miracles got explained away. Influential people around Jesus dismissed him. Rather than push a shiny agenda for reaching the downtrodden, he bade them "Come to me." He lived fully in their space. Trying to imitate Christ in this regard shows me how limited I am. But a group of us extremely limited people can do something, each on our own, sometimes together. Sure thing is, we're not going to impress anyone. Reply | Quote 0   0

melanie  - re: Checklist Compassion     |2007-11-30 18:47:40 Point well taken. I'd love to jump on board to help break the trend, but to be honest I'm as much of a hypocrite as anyone. I don't know how to fix these kinds of problems within the church. While I see scores of issues within churches that need a wake-up call, the plank in my eye keeps me from feeling free to stand up and say so. Yes, the church needs to change, but so do I. The question is am I willing to? And have I taken into account what living it out will really cost me? Reply | Quote 1   0

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