Spooky Season

2012 NC State Pumpkin

I have been working on a blog but it's taking a bit longer than expected.  I guess when it's a topic that is heavy, it will take some time to write through and research.  So I thought I would write something else to fill in the gaps.  

As some of you know, it's Halloween and for those who know church history, it's also Reformation Day.  And although I could write a long explanation of the two, I think other resources on the inter-web can do a far better explanation than I can.  (Linked for the holidays in the first sentence of this paragraph but I think there are other resources you can search as well that might offer a better summary.)

Since my early adulthood, I never really celebrated Halloween.  After becoming a Christian and being on the more conservative side of the Christian spectrum, it was a holiday that was never encouraged or celebrated at the past churches that I've attended.  These churches would have a "Fall Festival" or "Truck or Treat" instead.  The main reason behind some Christians not celebrating Halloween is the connection between Halloween and the Celtic pagan holiday of Samhain.  Some Christians believed that the ancient Celts worship the spirits of the Otherworld as they pass into the real world during Samhain.  But the real story behind the Samhain festival is that the Celtic believed that on this day, the boundaries between this world and the Otherworld is broken or thin, allowing fairies and spirits to come into this world. The Celts would try to appease these spirits by feeding them food so that the spirits won't ruin their crops or livestocks for the winter. They would also dress up as ghost and such to scare off the ghost. There are other stories but this is probably the one most closely connected to where Halloween came from. So, it seems like they weren't worshipping evil spirits, rather they were trying to rid of them. When the Catholics came to Ireland in the 5th century, it was easier for the Catholics to adapt some aspects of the Celtish/Irish culture to convert them, thus All Hallow's Day or All Saint's Day was created to celebrate the Catholic saints. Samhain then became All Hallow's Eve which eventually shortened to Halloween. 

I think in recent years, I've been okay with Halloween and personally do not have an issue with it because of the reasons above.  Another reason is found in the passage in the Bible that talks about our approach to eating foods sacrificed for idols, 1 Corinthians 8.  The passage pretty much says that it shouldn't bother us if we eat the foods of idols because we know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is only one God, all things come from God (even the food), and that food doesn't bring us closer to God.  However, for those who are new to the faith and/or still weak, it's best if we, who are older in our walk with God, shouldn't eat it in front of those who are weak, as that could cause a stumbling block and have them fall back into their old habits of worshipping idols.  I think by that, for those who used to worship demons, even though Samhain/Halloween isn't about that at all, if dressing up around these people could cause an issue, then don't do it for their sake.

However, I think it's a time for kids and some adults to dress up, have fun, and hopefully scare off evil spirits along the way.

Life of a Church Nomad

The life of a church nomad (me) hasn't always been that easy.  When I was in college, I became a believer in the Christian faith and came to accept a certain type of church culture.  It worked for me and I enjoyed where I was.  But after coming back to the Charlotte area, I have been bouncing around different churches ever since. 

I can't seem to settle on a church but some of the similarities I see in every church I go to:

• Sermon style - Most denominations in the U.S. have a Sunday church service which is auditorium style or classroom style.  
• Music - Some services start off with three songs (no more, no less, unless it's a worship singing service).  Some services will also end in one to three songs as well.
• Offering - Before the pandemic, there is usually a plate, basket, nets, or trays that get passed around to collect money for the offering.  Now-a-days, I see mostly either a box with a slit on top at various points around the church facility or giving online.
• Building - Speaking of buildings, most Sunday church services are held in their own buildings.
• Hierarchy - Moving away from talking about sermons, each denomination, big or small, have a hierarchy of pastors, elders, deacons, lay people, and so on and so forth.  Mostly those who are pastors or directors are paid positions, while elders, deacons, lay person, and other types of leaders are voluntary positions.
• Financial structure - Most churches, in my understanding, are registered as non-profit organizations in the U.S.  But if you look at some of these megachurches, you would think it's a corporate business.  

Most Americans, especially the older generation, grew up going to a Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, or Catholic church, which you have to dress to the nine on Sundays, sit still in pews, and listen and participate in a service.  There is generally a hierarchy of leaders which can be good (gracious accountability with love) or bad (politics and authority struggles, or distrust and immorality - I won't get into all the details there).  There are other types of churches but these are your main ones in the U.S.

The church that I went to in college was more or less the same as described above but there was a big emphasis on "homegroups" or small groups.  There were different ones and flavors but typically, the small groups start off with songs, prayer, and then a Bible study.  There might be food, there might be some game playing afterwards, but the point of it was to build relationships within these groups and function as the church functioned in Acts 2:42.  We considered ourselves a "Acts 2:42" church as this is what we believed is how a church should operate and this is how the early church gathers for fellowship and sharing in each others lives.  No auditorium, no rock band, no classroom style teaching.  We got together, shared our resources, broke bread, sing and pray.  

Some of these traditionally churches have been trending towards offering more of these small group style fellowships.  But I think because Charlotte and the surrounding areas are so transient and fluid, it's really hard to have the same group of people stay in one church or one location for a long period of time to build these relationships.  And I get it, these churches are trying and I'm not faulting any one of them.

I think my ideal church and the reality of the church has started to clash many years ago.  What I grew used to in college is something I can't find in Charlotte.  So, in the past 10+ years, I became a church nomad.  While a lot of the churches have very good things, I haven't been fully satisfied by any one of these churches.  But during the pandemic, God blew my idea of what church should be, sort of like a huge reset button.  What I came to dislike is the institution of church, organized religion, and things I mentioned earlier in this blog.

So, it really brought me to question about the church.  What is the church supposed to be?  What was Jesus ultimate mission regarding his followers?  Did Jesus intended to establish an institution?  I think various answers I have heard in the past is that Jesus never intended to start a new religion (much like John Wesley didn't intend to break away from the Anglican church and start the Methodist movement).  I've started researching this to see what others have written and researched about.  

I think until I find a satisfactory answer, I will continue to be a church nomad.