If The Church Were Christian – Rediscovering the Values of Jesus — by Philip Gulley

If The Church Were Christian

If The Church Were Christian – Rediscovering the Values of Jesus by Philip Gulley,  Published by HarperOne, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers NY, NY Copyright (c) 2010 by Philip Gulley.

From the author of If Grace Is True, Philip Gulley does a masterful job in crafting a heartfelt call to re-imagine, reform and rediscover the values of Jesus in how the “Church” carries out its role. Of course, that would include those who claim affiliation with a church (attendees) along with the paid professionals.

This is distinctly NOT one of those church-bashing books.  Gulley has insights on this subject that others have yet to write about.  It’s good — very good. Of course, the observations he makes about the church will be unsettling to say the least for some. However, if you listen for the author’s heart, you will not identify a vengeful motive. On the contrary, I found the writing to be an expression from one who deeply wants the institutional church (and Christians) to truly rediscover the values of Jesus in their respective lives.

Gulley writes: If my hope in this book is the rediscovery of the values of Jesus, it seems odd to suggest the church might not be the vehicle for that regeneration. But if history has taught us anything, it is that renewal blossoms in the most unlikely places. P.8.

This is a man who deeply reveres Jesus. Perhaps that’s the reason for the sub-title to this work. Gulley yearns for a renewal and transformation of both the Church and the Christian. His desire is for Christians to be known by their behavior, as identified by others, as reflecting Christ. He says, The highest compliment we can ever pay anyone is our desire to be like that person. P.27 For the joy of Christian faith is not to be found in the rote recitation of dogmas about Jesus, but in modeling his mercy and love, which alone have the power to transform us and our world.”p.28

Yet, he poignantly characterizes the challenges as well. Listen to the following:

This is the state in which we find ourselves today—judgment and blame are believed by many to be God’s will, the tools by which God’s holy purposes are accomplished, and in that odd equation, coldness is treasured as much as compassion. P. 57

Today, the church is hemorrhaging members, as more and more thoughtful people look outside the church for enlightenment. Efforts to stem this flight are usually superficial, changing the church’s outward appearance but remaining inwardly the same, wedded to a worldview  many have found unhelpful in their search for meaning. Though more and more people seem interested in spirituality, they look less and less to the church as a setting for their search. What if the church began to understand itself as a seedbed of inquiry, as a place where persons could gather to consider what it means to be human? What if the church understood itself less as the conveyor of an unchangeable truth and more as a community of seekers, eager to think, grow, and explore? Pp.110-111.

I have often wondered if some forms of religion couldn’t more accurately be classified as a mental illness, given their power to distort the human mind and spirit. Were one determined to damage someone’s life, I could imagine few things more destructive than regular exposure to some churches. P.32

Bad beliefs persist because the “true believers” who spread them have made dissent unpleasant and difficult. They persist because the popes, priests, and pastors who promise to deliver us from the grip of sin, enjoy the institutional power these myths and doctrines confer. But, chiefly, these negative, pessimistic worldviews persist because we the people have been too fearful and too compliant, too willing to endure the spiritual abuse they engender. P.40.

Gulley cries for reform, renewal and transformation:

It is long past time for the flowering of a life-giving Christianity. Indeed, our future as a race might well depend on our willingness and ability to abandon the Christianity that divides and degrades us so we can embrace a new a new way of thinking about God and ourselves, a spirituality that more accurately reflects the values and priorities of Jesus. Pp. 44-45

In a similar vein to Brian McLaren, Philip Gulley shouts about established religion’s penchant with being an “answer machine.” He suggests an alternative: Religious institutions committed to communal uniformity seldom ask questions. The risk of straying beyond conventional answers is too great. Jesus asked questions because he believed in their power to engage his hearers, and he wanted his disciples to consider the reality of God in other ways, not regurgitate past platitudes that had lost their meaning and vigor. His frequent encouragement for others to embrace a new manner of being reveals a man quite comfortable with independent thought and action, who urged his hearers to flourish and grow and not be spiritually root-bound. Pp.117-118

From an organizational behavior standpoint, Gulley’s observations are insightful:

This might be a universal given with any institution – every organization inevitably forgets the values that inspired its start and focuses instead on its’ own perpetuation. P.123 Anyone who believes in the institutional purity of any Church has not been deeply and thoughtfully involved with organized religion. It is only possible to maintain the delusion of institutional purity by remaining willfully ignorant of the many ways religions have forsaken their core values. This delusion transcends denominational boundaries. P. 124 This blindness to the institutional failings of the church causes irreparable harm, perhaps as much or more harm than the failings themselves. For until we are mindful of the church’s failures, we’ll do nothing to mend them. P. 125 This blindness is perpetuated when the church insists it is not a human institution, prone to error, but a divine institution and therefore, infallible.  What a divorce from reality this assertion requires! P.125

What’s the solution? Gulley has some biblically based wisdom that is difficult to argue with:

To be a follower of Jesus is to choose, at every ethical crossroads, to serve people above structures. P. 137 If the church were Christian, we would do what Jesus did – equip one another to live better in this world and stop fretting about the next one. P.184

What is the theme that seems to run throughout this book? I believe the following is an accurate characterization, in the author’s own words:

The central task of this church would not be convincing us to believe doctrines about Jesus. Rather, it would help us live out the priorities of Jesus – human dignity, spiritual growth, moral evolution, and the ongoing search for truth and meaning. P. 190

I truly enjoyed this book. You will too. It’s as much about the challenge for personal growth and renewal as it is about the necessity for change within the institutional church.

After all, churches, like any other form of organization, are inhabited by us. If we don’t change, the “organization” won’t either. Change from within – the essence of the invitation of rediscovering the values of Jesus – isn’t it?

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