Christianity is one of the most widely influential religions in the world. For believers and nonbelievers, the church's existence has been a consistent fact since ancient times, shaping various aspects of life economically and socially. Indeed, the church forms the basis for the foundation of beliefs and values integral to human living. With deep roots in the Christian faith, the love for God, strong belief in prayer, and focus on spirituality allow believers to have a more profound sense of living and have the ability to overcome life challenges. However, like any other institution that has existed for thousands of years, the church is not immune to criticism on the response of everyday issues, unnecessary neutrality, and ignorance of individual consciousness. Nonetheless, through diverse leadership and transformation, the church can minimize the weaknesses.
The love for God holds the church together, giving them a supreme being for purpose and existence. For Protestants, we grow up singing, "Jesus loves me this, I know," asserting the positive relationship between man and God. Indeed, with the guidance of the bible, God’s love is sufficient to sustain human living despite challenges and distractions, which are never-ending in the real world. As Timothy 1; 1:5 outlines, Agape is the goal of our instruction and the fulfillment of all of God’s word in us (King James, 2014). Hence, the church moves forward with God's plan for themselves and others. For instance, establishing children's homes and the local hospital is based on doing that which would please God regardless of financial hurdles. The love we have for God asserts the idea of having a supreme being in life who has the power to worry about the distress of life.
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Prayer provides a channel of communication and a pathway to overcoming dissatisfaction in life. Through prayer, believers can express themselves in an intimate way to God. For the church, prayer brings unity and a common denominator that connects beliefs, hopes, and shared love. There are many aspects to use prayers in everyday life, including confession, conviction, confrontation, and declaration Lim (2019). In a life where decisions and mistakes have to be made, confession to God allows Christians to face their fears and make ideal decisions in line with righteousness. In so doing, we can express and overcome fears and continue to live as we serve God's purpose in life. Many of us believe that without prayer, we lose a clear direction and the disappointment and dissatisfaction weigh heavily on the inner person.
Additionally, the church is based on spirituality and not materiality, which allows for more significant accomplishment and a deeper relationship with God. Christianity is about free will to do that which we deem fit and pleasing to God's ways. As a nonprofit making entity, every member is valued based on who they are as a person but not on what they contribute monetarily. In so doing, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they build a greater connection to God to see things through his eyes. Indeed, in a capitalistic world where everything runs on money, putting faith in God puts all trust in him and the affairs' outcome to a greater destiny of service to people rather than to self.
However, although the church goes to a great extent to focus on spirituality, it lacks urgency in valuing issues facing human living. As an old faith, many aspects that were central to traditional living have changed. With modern establishments being subject to humanitarian injustices, the church has a more significant role to play, which in most cases, fails to stand up for. Todd (2010) argues that when it comes to social justice, the church emphasizes mercy but forgets to identify and address root causes for poverty, powerlessness, and barriers to human living. Indeed, when the institution is selective about what it speaks up against, we create a society of spiritual righteousness without social rationality. As the figure of societal moral compliance, the institutions have higher prioritization of some social injustices and sidelines for neutrality. indeed, the marginalized such as the poor, women, and people of color, have higher church prioritization compared to gender orientation, which receives minimal priority (Todd,2010, p. 45).
Also, reluctance in speaking about the world's ills and community leads to unconscious incompetence in a bid for neutrality. Congregation and congregants use the bible as an escape to ignore what is happening concerning violence towards people of a specific sex, beliefs, and failure to address political misconduct. Even when we know a family deals with violence, the members do not want to confront the issue because someone within the conflict might get offended and withdraw from the church. Moreover, most of the misconducts go unrecognized for influential people in the church with grappling on how to treat the persons who contribute the most financially. Internationally, the world continues to witness an invasion that leaves the unestablished nations with unending violence instigated for political and economic benefits. However, the church applies the bible for defense. For instance, Romans 13:1-14 whoever resists the authorities resists… will incur judgment (King James, 2014). Indeed, selecting the bible verses to defend the loud congregation silence is a tricky aspect that downgrades what the church stands for.
Focus on staying true to beliefs could lead to ignorance of individual consciousness resulting in distortion of reality. In context, human beings are social with the desire to express opinions and decisions that might not sit well with the church. Therefore, when individuals feel compelled to act a specific way to please the congregation, we ignore independent thinking essential to mental development and fulfillment. For example, when there is a national debate on controversial issues to do with sex, race, or abortion, individuals have to shy away from engaging in what might cause disagreements in the church. Without the hope of honest discussions, we end up with mental clogs. Indeed, the church should adhere to Timothy 2:4:2, which encourages believers to rebuke, correct, and encourage patience and careful instruction. Being proven wrong invokes thinking beyond what is ordinary.
However, to minimize the weaknesses, there is a need for the church to become an agent of transformation to live up to the changing social dynamics. Unlike traditional times, the church has to realize that sexual orientation and crimes against humanity are problems that need a conscious and a spiritual way of thinking. Hence, as much as the current generation wants a religious connection, they want to know that the congregation will stand up for the issues they face daily. . If we intend to use faith as redemption and connection to God's grace and mercies, the church has to do better in acknowledging the mandate of human living beyond limitations.
Finally, leadership must also reflect diversity in representation to inspire change and minimize discontent. All followers, regardless of financial, social, and racial status, have to be considered for the church to reflect equality and appropriate time. Although young people might not have the old ideas and opinions to life, great leaders acknowledge that conflict must be handled with calm and understanding. Also, through training, leaders can develop diverse thoughts that encourage deferring opinions. The opportunities might lead to a healthy transition and better ways of dealing with the community's social issues.
Conclusively, for centuries, the church has been a common unifying factor for humanity. It has been at the forefront of speaking up for the weak and vulnerable consigning congregants to fight against poverty and racial discrimination. The connection with God is a strength that uplifts and builds on a stronger intimate relationship that they can always fall back to. Also, prayer builds faith that gives them the courage to overcome fears, failures, and hurdles in life. Still, as spiritual beings, it challenges the way of living beyond monetary value. However, as the human race continues to face social, political, and economic challenges, failure to address the world's injustices, lack of heist in advocating for humanity, and lack of trust in the human mind to function independently limits church’s influence. Therefore, being at the forefront of change and integrating a wide scope of leaders could help mitigate the weaknesses.
References
Lim, F. K. (2019). “Serving the lord”: Christianity, work, and social engagement in China. Religions , 10 (3), 196.
The New King James Version, (2014).
Todd, N. 2010. Religious participation and social Justice: Individual and congregation effects.
