Why the Church?

Neingusienuo Kruneilie [dropcap]O[/dropcap]f late the Church has become an object of much criticism and negative speculations for each little mistake or mess in our society. The church at times is unfairly criticized for the little individual inconveniences giving the impression that the church is an individual property and that when you do not agree with the way it functions or is functioning you can just throw mud at her and distance yourself. In a Christian majority state like Nagaland, the church seems to have become a convenient object of criticism. We must admit that the Church has failed in many ways to live up to what she is has been called to, namely to be the light and salt and to be a transforming agent. Nevertheless, as perfect as the church ought to be, we must also realize that it is governed by imperfect people with imperfect members gathered together as saved sinners at the foot of the cross. The church is bound to fail, bound to disappoint, bound to be critiqued and bound to be criticized. But what is unbound, is Christ, the head of the Church. As long as we stay focus in him and on his purpose he will use our imperfectness to perfect his purpose. Yes, criticism can be discouraging because it is not always fair but we cannot repay evil for evil but evil with love and this is what the church is called to be, in love serving and edifying each other.Nonetheless, we must also admit and watch out in our strife to be relevant. The Church, in trying to be relevant has fallen into the trap of secularization, postmodernism and other worldly affairs. This is put best in St. Augustine words that “the Church is a whore but it is still a mother.” Losing our stance with the define purpose of our existence as the church will lead us to chart in unwanted waters where we can easily become an object of criticism. Our existence must be always defined in the kingdom business. It should also be kept in mind that it is unfair to blame the Church for every problem in the society. And the Church also should play its part in transforming not only the individuals but also the society as well. In the midst of ruins throughout the ages, the Church has remained strong though not perfect because the Church as the Body of Christ is there to fulfill the purpose of God. Thus, the Church remains as the sole witness to the faithfulness of God in carrying out His divine plan. So, if we, by critiquing the Church try to get away from her, we will never be able to do so, because in the words of Rodney L. Petersen, “the Church is engendered by the Spirit and will continue to be birthed and evolve.” We must therefore allow ourselves to be engendered, birthed and evolve to be a positive structuring of the Church for the extension of God’s Kingdom. We must allow the power of the Holy Spirit to live and expand the program of God’s eternal design in us. The Church is the Community of believers into which a believer is ‘born, grows and lives’ and therefore the Church as the Body of Christ should strive for developing and edifying each of the members. Though the Church is often deemed with negativity, some of these critiques are trivial while others call for some introspection on our part as members of the Church. Neingusienuo Kruneilie