Holy or Helpless: The Challenge of the Church
I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign LORD, then the nations will know that I am the LORD (Ezekiel 36:23 NLT)
"The truth of the gospel is turned into a lie when it ceases to look like Christ himself. The true image of the Son is that of a person who gave up his own life out of love for the weak and hopeless."--Nijay K. Gupta and Scot McKnight in Galatians
For those who are followers of Jesus, we are members of a universal family called the Church (notice the capitalization). Local communities of Christians are referred to as churches (lowercase c), which collectively make up the Church (capitalized). Followers of Jesus are invited into the Church upon placing their trust in Jesus. Local churches typically have a process of becoming a member, using the Bible as its guide. All of that is very normal and healthy. Often lost in the theological imagination of churches is the purpose of the Church. The Church is literally to be a community that embodies the purposes and will of God.
This purpose is best described as being holy as God is holy (I Pet 1:15). Holy is a term that has multiple connotations and is often used in different ways in scripture. However, Jesus came to reveal the nature of God (Heb 1:1-3) and quickly revealed that holiness is not simply devoting yourself from sin and evil but devoting yourself to love. To be holy is to embody the character of God, as revealed through Jesus. Holiness is not about rule-keeping or particular avoidances, although both are helpful as we mature spiritually. Holiness is about our active participation in the love as expressed in the Godhead, or as commonly described, the trinity.
"In this line of thinking, we find it compelling to interpret Christian holiness as our active participation in the love between God the Father and God the Son through the power and presence of God the Spirit. This love that God is--revealed to us through Jesus' openhearted laying-down of HIs life for us--ideally ought to be experienced. And we experience this because the Holy Spirit labors among us, especially within the loving fellowship of the Church."--Thomas J. Oord and Michael Lodahl in Relational Holiness.
God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel and let the people of Israel, who were in a covenant relationship with God, that he was going to demonstrate "Holiness" through them. The purpose is that the world would know that God is holy. Now, God could have demonstrated Holiness without people but delights in using his created people to partake in God's mission. Dr. Matt O'reilly (Free to Be Holy, 2024) describes God's desire to demonstrate Holiness through his people this way:
"The way that the nations will come to know God is through the holiness of God's people. This clarifies the problem we've been exploring. If God is holy and if his people are to represent him well, then God's people must be holy too. When God's people embody his character as they represent him to the nations, the nations will come to know the character of God. The nations will see God's perfect love, consistent truth, and unwavering righteousness. This does not happen apart from the representative vocation of God's people."
Jesus told his followers that the world would know their authenticity by their modeled love and by the unity of the community in demonstrating that love (Jn 13:34-35, Jn 17:21). This reflects the core activity of God. It reveals God's purposes and ultimately honors God. This love is not an imaginative, romantic expression of affection but a self-sacrificing devotion to the betterment of others. Jn 3:16 says that "God so loved the world that he gave his only son". This reflects the nature of God, whose actions are based upon love, justice, and righteousness (Jer 9:23-24).
I have been writing a manuscript for a couple of months, built upon the premise that many Gen-Z young adults are not leaving the church to dismantle their faith but to seek a more authentic version than what they see in many churches (lowercase c). I believe their courage to walk away from a helpless church, rather than be complicit in its continued missional drift, is a sign of hope. It is a sign that God still seeks to demonstrate his loving holiness through churches everywhere. It is a type of Divine judgment that God is disappointed by our failure to understand the mission and orient our lives accordingly.
Brenda Salter McNeil has written several books (Be Brave, Empowered to Repair) where she vulnerably shares her surprise to see young adult activists who were not interested in collaboration with churches. They felt strongly that they needed to see a commitment to real justice as opposed to advice that often is "thoughts and prayers". They are hungry for God and God's people who want to demonstrate the purposes of a Holy God, through a consecrated, holy people who strive for love, justice, and righteousness. South African Theologian Allan Boesak (Pharaohs on Both Sides of the Blood-Red Waters, 2022) shared about how young adults in South Africa called the church to account for its complicity in apartheid:
"These young people have become a compelling, restless, disturbing presence in the midst of an apathetic society for too occupied with the comfort of the privileged and a complacent church far too self-absorbed with survival; far too intimidated by the power of the few to under the power of the hopes of the people."
The prophet Micah said infamously
He has told you, human one, what is good and what the LORD requires from you: to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God (Mic 6:8 CEB)
God is not giving them a simplified code of conduct. Still, God is compelling those who worship God to bear God's image by reflecting God's character, which is love, faithfulness, justice, and persistent humility. Humility is not humiliating oneself, nor is it passivity or powerlessness; as Dr. Karen Keen (The Word of a Humble God, 2023) writes, "It's the intentional use of one's ability for the sake of others."
When there are times of massive disorientation, such as the rash of executive orders from President Trump that literally shut down parts of government on which millions are dependent, began mass deportations, and pejoratively blaming people of color, women, those with disabilities, and immigrants for most of the problems in American society. The prevalence of highly influential but idolatrous Christian Nationalistic churches and their collaboration with an oligarchic government encourages the worship of the false God of coercive power over the true God of humble love.
This is where the church can make a choice. Stand for embodied Holiness that lives out the great commandment and the great commission by demonstrating the signature of God's Spirit; Love, justice, and righteousness. Or worship the god of power that prioritizes our own privilege, comfort, and complacency. This means caring for souls created in the image of God over stances that seek to justify the privilege of the powerful. This means prioritizing the real needs of people in our nation over the need to shape the perfect public image. It means fealty to the Missio Dei (Mission of God) even if its not popular and costs you something.
Theologian Jennifer Butler (Who Stole My Bible, 2020) describes the climate of political chaos caused by "eternity politicians," whose job is to continually divide and deflect to influence our understanding of what can be and what should be while producing feelings of futility and frustration towards any possible actions.
"Eternity politicians manufacture crises and manipulate fear. They deny truth and use spectacle instead. Rather than focus on policy fixes and systemic change to accommodate the needs of their people, eternity politicians create a sense of us versus them, friends against enemies, in order to distract and control their citizens. The reality and suffering remain unaddressed by practical solutions despite the wealth of those at the top. Instead, leaders enact a game of political spectacle designed to overwhelm the sense, numb and confuse the populace, and distract through demonizing the other."
Jesus spoke to his followers about judgment day (Mt 25:31-46), and the judgment has more to do with those who acted in love, justice, and righteousness, humbly caring for others than reciting a formal creed, reading the Bible, or church attendance (although all of those are good). The world is literally waiting for a holy people to arise and demonstrate the holiness of God to the suffering and watching world. As Dr. King famously said, "It is always the time to do right".
God is looking for those in church who will follow Jesus even if it requires going to places that you have never been, or that your church has never dealt with. Community organizer Marshall Ganz (People, Power, Change, 2024) describes the kind of leadership that is required in the church today:
"Leadership is accepting responsibility (self) for enabling others (us) to achieve shared purpose under conditions of uncertainty (now)."
Accept the responsibility toward holiness based upon the work of God's Spirit in us. Through community, encourage others to work toward God's purposes, understanding that although things are disoriented, God is still on the throne, and Jesus is still the same, yesterday, today, and forevermore.
Ask God what you are to do to be loving, faithful, righteous, and humble toward those who are suffering and in need, yearning to see God's holiness lived out. This call toward activism must come from a spirituality based upon a deep and abiding relationship with God. It's not spirituality or activism, but spiritual activism to unleash God's power and presence. And it's this life and love-giving holiness that should set apart:
"Church is a community of people animated by the wild, unpredictable spirit of God unleashed to bless the world through love, healing, joy, repentance, and reconciliation."--Sean Palmer in Unarmed Empire
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