When I come to Greenville for liturgy three times a month from Raleigh, I take U.S. Route 264, which brings me right by the town of Wilson, N.C. The few times I’ve stopped there for gas or food, I’ve been impressed by its small-town charm, and have prayed that someday there will be an Orthodox Church there.
For several months, I have noticed a certain billboard as I pass by the town. It is for a Church that has campuses in both Wilson and Greenville, and it states boldly: “Redefining Church.” I am suspicious of slogans in general, but all the more so when they are related to Church. When they express an idea that is incorrect, I feel frustrated.
That is exactly the feeling I get each time I see this billboard. I want to make it clear that I do not judge the sincerity of the Church’s pastors and staff, and I have no desire to disparage any good work they may be doing in their community. For this reason, I will not name the Church. But I do feel an obligation to point out where this message falls short of the Gospel of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
What do Churches like this one mean by “Redefining Church,” anyway? Often they arise in reaction to what they perceive as the stuffy, spiritually dead atmosphere found in mainline Protestant congregations. Just as in the 16th century, Martin Luther was faced with the Roman Catholic Church, which had replaced a personal relationship with Jesus with a formalistic, cold religious system, our modern Churches believe that even Protestantism has now become formalized and stuck in the past. The process of Reformation must continue.
