When the System is Broken

I walked not in the way of righteousness. … But the Almighty God, who sits in the court of heaven, granted what I did not deserve (Constantine 280-337).

The author of an article I read recently, regarding the current state of journalism and of photojournalism in particular (or the lack thereof), called it “a broken system that doesn’t deserve to survive.”

As time goes on, the old structure lets in more and more light.

The words could apply to many other systems as well and sadly, that includes the church “system.” We live in a world of broken systems. It is a broken world.

Broken systems have some common characteristics. First, they are not functioning as they were meant to function. Second, those who are comfortable with them try to patch them up to keep them working. Even in their lack of real ability to be comfortable, they are comfortable. Third, their very existence hinders their replacement. As long as they are working to some degree, even if ineffectively and even if they have outlived their usefulness, they continue to survive.

There is comfort in the familiar, in the rote, and the self-contained. People are drawn to it. In the church system it is about being comfortable connecting to God. 

But church was never meant to be rote or self-contained. It was never meant to be a system. It was meant to be organic and dynamic. By definition, that makes them unfamiliar and that can sometimes be very uncomfortable. 

No one knows what would have happened if the Emperor Constantine had not “validated” Christianity, allowing Christians to come out into the open and form public places of worship. We do know that what resulted was a somewhat different form of “Christianity;” one that was simmering on a back burner for at least a couple of centuries waiting its time. Let’s call it the church system. 

Whether it was his real motive or not, Constantine’s premise was to unify Christianity. That didn’t work. The system was flawed from the beginning. 

So, does this system deserve to survive? 

The answer, I believe, lies in acknowledging that the church system is broken. While it can be perceived as a life-raft, it is in fact a broken system made up of the pieces of shipwreck. But, it should not stop there. Seeing that the church system is broken, perhaps beyond repair, should cause us to look to the Father who made us to show us what to do with this broken system. In fact, that is our responsibility. 

In spite of its brokenness, the church still attracts those who want to find God. As individuals, we are called to be the church of God individually. So, it is not the system that deserves to survive. It is the people of God. They are the real church. The question then becomes, can the people of God survive without the system? Even more, can they go beyond surviving to thriving and growing as organic and dynamic members of one body? 

That is something only the Father himself can reveal. It is not a matter of opinion or debate. His answer may lead us into a wilderness or into a prison cell. It may even lead us into a crumbling infrastructure on a rescue mission. He is able to take what was meant for evil and turn it into something good (Romans 8:28, Genesis 50:28).

 And it just might be that in the brokenness of the system God may yet shine best. 

“There is a crack in everything – That’s how the light gets in” (Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson).

1 Corinthians 3:16

“Don't you yourselves know that you are God's sanctuary and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” (Holman Christian Standard Bible).

Ezekiel 37
“²God’s Spirit took me up and set me down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. He led me around and among them—a lot of bones! There were bones all over the plain—dry bones, bleached by the sun.

³ He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Master God, only you know that.”

⁴ He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones: ‘Dry bones, listen to the Message of God!’”

^5-6 God, the Master, told the dry bones, “Watch this: I’m bringing the breath of life to you and you’ll come to life. I’ll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You’ll come alive and you’ll realize that I am God!” – (The Message).

Ephesians 2

²⁰Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. ²¹We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord (New Living Translation).

Excerpt from  

While it Is Called Today -

a 30-day photo-devotional 

© 2018 Dee Marvin Emeigh