I just read an interesting blog post by Anthony B. Robinson titled: Quit Thinking of the Church as Family. I found his thoughts to be quite provocative and well worth the time to read. He suggests many potential pitfalls with the metaphor. I wonder if the problem isn’t more one of influence. Does our American image of “family” define what we mean when we call the church a family or does the Bible’s radical view of a new family, a new community, define what we mean when we say the church is a family? I think this is an interesting question that we must raise whenever we borrow language and metaphors from the larger culture.
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March 2, 2010 By
Tom,
Interesting read. I totally see why the consulting firm said “quit thinking of the church as a family.” The observations referenced in the letter seem so obvious. The reality, it seems, is that most congregations don’t even recognize that the use of the word “family” could potentially stunt growth. The small UMC church I was raised in was a “family.” The congregation was full of loving people who loved Jesus. Perhaps the congregation struggled to be a “window-seat” church. They were more of an “aisle-seat” church. Rarely did anyone ever join our congregation. Seldom were there ever visitors. As a young boy I could even sense guests felt uncomfortable b/c they didn’t “fit in.” Still to this day I refer to those people (still family friends) as my early church family! For they truly were like family. The sad thing is that this family never grew.
Yes, the church is a family, yet more importantly it’s the body of Christ. If one part hurts, the other comes to help it.