Well... The Modern Church Is Broken Anyway (Part 2)

 After an earthquake wrecked much of my hometown (Christchurch, New Zealand) in 2011 many of city's splendid examples of Gothic style buildings and churches were "totalled". Our two cathedrals, one Anglican, (Episcopalian) one Catholic were reduced to rubble. Work has only recently begun on restoring the Anglican Cathedral, and work is soon to start on building a new Catholic Cathedral, in a new location. 

Buildings can be repaired, rebuilt, and our city's two cathedrals will be, for hundreds of millions of dollars. But surely the purpose of "The Church" is not to restore busted buildings or build new ones?  Buildings do not rebuild broken people, shattered dreams or wasted lives. 

We usually go to church and are greeted at the door, ushered to our seat, to follow a "worship" routine, listen to a "sermon" that we are seldom allowed to interact with, and one that generally seems to be aimed at a 10-year-old. Our real needs are seldom met, and any real fellowship occurs after the service. 

To my shame, I once attended an "on fire" church, with a great building, good programs, great youth group etc. I attended with my family, was part  of the "leadership team" sat next to the same person week after week, interacted with them on a superficial level, week after week... and then attended their funeral after they had committed suicide... I was not alone in my shock... no one knew what was going on in their life. Clearly, this church, myself included, had bypassed the trauma in this person's life.  

I am not saying that my family and I didn't have some good experiences in that church, we did, and I remember them fondly. But  this church, like many, if not most, in the western world, was not built/designed as a trauma centre. Like most churches that I have attended, it was/is designed around a schedule.

Time, the rarest of commodities, is as scheduled in a church as anywhere else. Most of the energy in the organization is focused towards Sunday's service.  We have programs for every eventuality... apart from honest, open healing dialogue. 

Many souls wandering into the "worship" service on Sunday morning  arrive with hurts, often spiritual, sometimes physical, and those same souls usually leave with those hurts intact. The very place (church) that attracts traumatized people, in the end, doesn't actually provide the means for healing that trauma. There may well be an "altar call" for prayer after the service, but usually, in my experience, there is little, if any follow up.

Another example from the church that we attended. There was one young woman who regularly went forward for prayer for healing for her "blinding" headaches. I began to notice that the people who were the regular "prayors" started avoiding her. I spent some time in my prayer closet (there's a churchy word for you) asking our Lord what was wrong with this young woman. I was "shown" her with a block of chocolate over her head. (I often see such "images" when I am praying for healing for a person)  I asked the young woman if she likes chocolate, she said she eats about a block a day! I then said that our Lord had revealed to me that she had a chocolate allergy. She stopped eating chocolate, and her headaches went away.    

Make no mistake about it... the church is an organization, most churches spend about 75% of their income on salaries and buildings. Modern pastors are principally taught to preach, and manage the organization, recruit new members, and generally keep people happy. 

There is a massive difference between the church in century one, and today. Our modern independent democratic, fast-paced, materialistic lifestyle has all but destroyed community. Many of us don't even know our neighbours, let alone the people six doors down the road, or on the next floor of the apartment complex.

And all who believed (who adhered to and trusted in and relied on Jesus Christ) were united and [together] they had everything in common; And they sold their possessions (both their landed property and their movable goods) and distributed the price among all, according as any had need.  And day after day they regularly assembled in the temple with united purpose, and in their homes they broke bread [including the Lord's Supper]. They partook of their food with gladness and simplicity and generous hearts, Constantly praising God and being in favour and goodwill with all the people; and the Lord kept adding [to their number] daily those who were being saved [from spiritual death]. Acts 244-47 Amplified Bible 

Do you attend a church like that? Have you managed to find one like that?  I can guarantee that those with trauma in their lives were looked after, and healed from that trauma.