The Underground Church of the West

The church through history has hurt more people than it has loved and won more wars than hearts. It's painful to think about; but it's history, right? We can't change it. What then do we do if we realise that today is tomorrow's history? That maybe there's still time to change it? Will the war in Iraq be viewed as we now see the Vietnam war in future years? Will the errors of the modern church become more evident in a couple of centuries?

I know that the underground church in the East undergoes real suffering. That it forced out of sight to preserve its freedom from the control of government run churches and to escape persecution.

My question is this: Does such a church exist in the west?

Not a people who undergo such extremes of suffering, as say those in China, but a people who have no home in the modern day church as it stands...

Freethinking Artists: In need of a loose structure and space to be themselves.

Seekers of genuine friendship: Tired of keeping up appearances.

The broken and damaged: Finding they are brushed under the carpet with textbook answers that provide little comfort.

The burnt out: Have served themselves dry and found that the church is disappointed that they lack the strength to continue.

Lovers of the world: Delight in the beauty of their existence and want to engage with the world they live in, have non-christian friends, burn barriers between religion and reality, sacred and secular.

Facilitators of Change: See the fresh movements of God's spirit in the world and want to follow without being held back by structure and tradition that lacks relevance.

I leave no space here for those who think that the world exists to revolve around them and that they have the right to put their feet up and have the church cater to their every need. I speak of those who want an outlet for their love. Who understand that God is love. Who know that where there is no love, there is no God. Those whose patience with loveless Christians who claim to know God has run dry; completely dry...

I believe that the kingdom of God can be stifled by institution. That when it is pushed down it bursts up in unusual places. That when it appears to have died; seeds will spring up. That it is unstoppable. However, there is one thing that it cannot be, and that is ugly. It cannot be brash, or gaudy, or selfish, or condemning, or false; saying one thing and thinking another. It cannot give and expect anything in return, or give and not enjoy doing so. It cannot, indeed, live without enjoying doing so.

I believe, sadly, that the church is not the same thing as the kingdom of God.