Back when I was a Baptist and attended a church in a small
town in North Florida, every Sunday morning after the opening hymn and prayer
the pastor would stand in the pulpit and welcome visitors. He’d ask that they stay seated while we all
stood and sang the hymn, “The Family of God.”
The lyrics go like this:
I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood!
Joint heirs with
Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm part of the
family,
The Family of God.
You will notice we
say "brother and sister" 'round here,
It's because we're
a family and these are so near;
When one has a
heartache, we all share the tears,
And rejoice in each
victory in this family so dear.
A nice hymn with a great
sentiment. If only it were accurate…
It’s common, especially among
Protestants, to describe the church as a family. Familial language is particularly common
among evangelicals, especially of an older generation; they really do call each other “brother” and “sister.” The family theme is attractive and a great
selling point for churches. After all,
who does not want to be a part of a family.
The problem, however, is that the church is not a family; it is a body.
What is a family? It is a group made up of individuals linked
by ties of blood or affinity. When we
say family, we usually think of the “nuclear family”—mother, father, and
children. The children may be linked
genetically to the parents, or if adopted by a legal recognition of the
familial tie. It can also include
extended members such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The primary purpose of the family is to
provide for a stable social order, for reproduction, and for the transmittal of
cultural norms from one generation to another.
Ultimately, families are meant to reproduce themselves—one family can
become two, three, four, or more.
As we all know from experience,
family life can be far from idyllic. Even in the best of families, there is going
to be conflict, strife, and stresses at times, particularly between
generations. Some families are what
might be charitably called dysfunctional;
there is abuse, adultery, and alcoholism. Families can break down through death and
divorce. Families are not stable and
fixed, but are constantly subject to change.
This is because families are made up of autonomous individuals who, in
spite of common ties, will eventually follow their own interests and
preferences.
Considering all this, what is wrong
with viewing the church as a family?
From a practical standpoint, the church cannot be considered primarily a
family. The family construct views the
church made up of autonomous individuals joined together by ties of a common
faith experience—but nothing else. Particularly
in larger evangelical churches, the family comes together for worship on
Sundays and perhaps small groups. But
beyond the fact that they all are followers of Christ, there is really nothing
else to tie them together. So when
conflict arises in an evangelical church, the family easily breaks down. That is why there are so many denominations
and why churches are often created by splitting off from each other; they were created because of a dispute over
points theological or practical. Even
apart from conflict, evangelicals can
leave one church and go to another for whatever reasons they choose—better
sermons, more programs for children, closer to home, etc. In all, either view is hardly the one we find
in Sacred Scripture.
Instead, we find the Church described
as a body. St. Paul said:
For as the body is
one, and hath many members; and all the members of the body, whereas they are
many, yet are one body, so also is Christ. For
in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles,
whether bond or free; and in one Spirit we have all been made to drink. For the body also is not one member,
but many. If the foot should
say, because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of
the body?
And
if the ear should say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it
therefore not of the body? If the
whole body were the eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing,
where would be the smelling? But
now God hath set the members every one of them in the body as it hath pleased
him. And if they all were one
member, where would be the body? But
now there are many members indeed, yet one body.
And
the eye cannot say to the hand: I need not thy help; nor again the head to the
feet: I have no need of you. Yea,
much more those that seem to be the more feeble members of the body, are more
necessary. And such as we think
to be the less honourable members of the body, about these we put more abundant
honour; and those that are our uncomely parts, have more abundant comeliness. But our comely parts have no
need: but God hath tempered the body together, giving to that which wanted the
more abundant honour, ]That there might be no schism in the body;
but the members might be mutually careful one for another.
And
if one member suffer any thing, all the members suffer with it; or if one
member glory, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ,
and members of member. (1 Cor. 12:12-27,
D-R)
A
body cannot divide itself. It cannot
survive very long without one of its organs; and the individual organs cannot
survive apart from the body. The body
cannot live without its head, because it is the head that provides the
direction and the impulse for other parts.
And the Church has only one head—Christ.
And likewise, Christ only has one body—the Church. His body is made up of those baptized. They are formed into his Body by partaking of
his Body in the Eucharist. With the Eucharist
nourishing the Body, the Church grows and thrives. As we partake of the other sacraments, the
body is renewed and regenerated.
But
this can only happen if we take care of the Body. As with a human body, if we don’t take care
of the body of Christ, the body can break down and stop working properly. For example, if we don’t regularly attend to
the Eucharist; if we fail to baptize our children; if we don’t go to
confession; if we treat marriage as the
rest of our society does instead of the sacrament; if we disrespect our priests and
bishops; all of these can lead to decay
and disease in the body. The body will
not die, not with Christ as our head;
but instead of a continually young, continually growing, always vigorous
Church, we will become a smaller, old, and ineffective institution.
