This year our church is teaming up with eight other churches in the Sacramento area to put on a Good Friday service at a theatre downtown. The theme is "Forgive Us. --The Church." As part of the campaign, members of the church plan to be in the park in front of City Hall for most of the day on Friday, handing out fliers, inviting people to the service and just being available to answer questions and talk.The churches birthed the campaign idea on their own, but there's a related, ongoing campaign in the blogosphere as well, over at fellow-Sacramentan John Smulo's site, "We're Sorry: Christians Confess." I was intrigued by John's site when I first found it a number of months ago. I don't buy some of the "apologies" on the site, but I can't deny that the idea of Christians apologizing for "being jerks" definitely strikes a chord with some people. Take a look at this response from a reader:
"I read through the apologies on this site and unexpectedly started crying my eyes out. I was raised in the church and left a long time ago. . . . It amazes me that something that is supposedly all about love and grace can cause so very much wrenching pain and damage."
For this reason, I have this feeling that our churches are going to run into a lot more than they bargained for on Friday. As I have been discussing it with others, the sense we all have is one of great anticipation but also some trepidation. We have no idea what's waiting for us.
I'm interested in your thoughts on the idea of Christians apologizing as a unit for behavior that has done everything but represent Christ. Do you think this is an important thing to do? Do you think it will make a difference to nonbelievers? Do you think the Church has anything to apologize for? Do you find the idea of a mass apology presumptuous or self-righteous at all? If you've ever been hurt by a church/Christian, would you forgive it/them on the basis of this campaign (another's apology)? What do you think we should expect on Friday?
It's going to be interesting, to say the least . . .
2 comments:
Eek - playing with fire... I would be inclined to say that there are a lot of people out there who will have an "It's about time" attitude, but for my part, I would rather see a deep change than an outward "apology." At the root of the pain caused by "the church" is a bunch of humans doing what humans do best (or worst) - trying to be God. It's one thing to apologize - you can do that and maintain pride ("See, we're really spiritual!"). But it's another thing to be changed and to humble ourselves. The only apology we can offer the world is our lives transformed as He renews our minds.
Still, it's a place to begin - I hope you post a follow-up. I'd love to see what happens!
Like Kelly said, it's a place to begin. I think that for Christians as a whole to be able to say that we've made mistakes, we're NOT perfect, we DON'T have it all together - I think it's important. As far as whether or not it'll make a difference, it all depends. Donald Miller shared a similar story in "Blue Like Jazz" and from what I remember, they ended up having a lot of great conversations that made a difference in individual lives. It could backfire if observers don't think the apology is authentic - the whole "we're spiritual" thing - but my guess is that most people participating in something like this will be doing so from a genuine place.
So while I think it's a great place to start, I don't think it's *enough* - what the world needs most, I think, is our love - love that is lived out, not love through mere spoken words. That kind of love, of course, takes more than an event. But hopefully Friday will spark continuing conversations and relationships where there is an opportunity to love like that.
I'll be very interested to hear how it goes!
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