Recently, I’ve been watching on YouTube short clips from the multi-year TV series, The Crown, a historical- fiction account of the life of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. Cumulatively, these brief bits make it easier to see an overall theme that can be lost in all the individual dramas the series depicts. And that theme is Elizabeth’s deep-seated reluctance to let herself and the monarchy be dragged from the comfortable world of Queen Victoria to the confusing and challenging world of post-World War II modernity.

Early in her reign, Elizabeth meets with a public critic of her royal style. She bristles at his suggestions for change. When he tells her she needs to let people get to know her, she responds, “I don’t want to be known.” While against her nature, Elizabeth does slowly and painfully accept a new, more open style of royal presence. Who would have imagined that sixty years after ascending the throne, she would appear in a skit simulation with James Bond (Daniel Craig) parachuting into the London Olympic stadium? Or a few years later pulling a marmalade sandwich out of her purse for Paddington Bear?

Elizabeth’s personal evolution was wrenching and not entirely successful, as the travails of her family especially demonstrated. As I wrap up this short series on transforming Christianity, I’ve thought the church will be lucky if it can be half as successful as the late queen in adapting to the much-changed world it clearly would rather not be in. Given the poor prospects for such a transformation, what’s going to follow is not an agenda for overhauling the church. Rather, it’s more of a thought experiment. In other words, given what I have said in the past three posts about a renewed Christianity, what would a church look like if it took those things seriously?

* * *

But before even taking that step, one thing needs to be acknowledged first. And that is, that the teachings of Jesus do not necessarily lead to a religion or religious organization of any kind. Jesus founded no new religion, and he seems to have had an ambivalent attitude toward existing religions, including Judaism. His temple cleansing (found in all four gospels) seems to reject the sacrificial system that was at the core of traditional Judaism, as well as many other ancient religions.

Instead, Jesus calls the temple a “house of prayer”, a description that would not have occurred to very many at the time. Further, going off to pray in seclusion seems to have been his most important spiritual practice. Historically, it may well be that some number of Jesus’ followers continued to live by his teachings without creating or joining anything like a church. And they may have shared and spread that “way” to others.

If so, their efforts were soon swamped by “church Christianity.” It may be, however, that their tradition is seen in the desert fathers and mothers who moved into the wilderness beginning in the 3^rd century, to avoid the new urbanized Roman Christianity, and in the monastic and mystical traditions that succeeded them.

The rise of those identifying as “spiritual but not religious” shows how seriously this option needs to be taken. Today, there are uncounted millions around the world with genuine spiritual practices, often guided by the teachings of one, or often multiple, religious traditions. Yet they have not formally joined any religion, nor do they identify with any one of them.

A renewed church, then, would recognize that it is entirely optional. A church isn’t necessary to experience and live out the spiritual rebirth taught by Jesus, but for some it might be helpful. Thus, the church’s primary task is to assist people on their spiritual journey toward a full life of freedom and wholeness.

And this points to an important change needed in how Christians, especially, have treated organized religion. For many, belonging to a church was a way of checking a box. Like buying a treadmill as a gesture towards fitness, only to have it be a place to hang drying clothes, so church Christianity has often been viewed as “taking care” of some religious need or obligation, rather than a means to actual involvement.

Of course, Christianity’s God of Judgement was the source of such an understanding, but that god is dead and gone. We don’t see proper nutrition or exercise fulfilling a health and wellness obligation but as the means for achieving our best physical well-being. Similarly, spirituality and religion are ways in which we find life’s ultimate meaning and value. But they require our serious commitment, investment, and dedication.

* * *

The communities (or congregations) of a renewed church would have two primary facets: 1) teaching and learning the way of spiritual awakening and life, and 2) the communal expression of that life through love and compassionate service. What has been called worship (though perhaps needing a new name) would be a regular community gathering where these two facets come together to be explored and celebrated.

1) The spiritual journey is lifelong. One does not “arrive” at the destination saying, “Okay, I’m saved. Got that out of the way.” However, as all spiritual traditions testify, there is an awakening, not at the conclusion but really at the start, which sends us on the journey of spiritual discovery and growth. Facilitating that awakening and journeying would be the one essential function of a renewed church.

Such learning would happen through classes, retreats, guided self-study, and one-on-one interactions of community members and designated teachers and mentors. Resources for this learning would come from the entire global and historical tradition of spirituality, even as the life and teaching of Jesus would be the overarching model and icon of our human spiritual identity.

The sources of knowledge about Jesus would, of course, include the familiar biblical texts. But now they would be placed in dialog with ancient texts outside the biblical canon, as well as the nearly two-thousand-year conversation that is still ongoing about him. For we now realize that the quest to know the historical Jesus “as he really was” is a red herring. It will never be accomplished nor is that what we’re interested in. Jesus is a classic mythic hero, as Joseph Campbell and others have taught us so much about. His “hero’s journey” is ours as well. More than being a disciple, our spiritual goal is to say as Paul does, “It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.”

Exploring the ancient texts for a new purpose, points to another radical change in attitude within a renewed church, and that is abolishing the idea of the Bible. In other words, recognizing that there are no writings with a preordained status as holy or inspired. Writings, ancient or modern, simply have whatever authority people find in them. Irrelevant, offensive, or bizarre texts don’t need to be twisted to find meaning but simply can be ignored. History and tradition can certainly be a guide in finding meaning in writings, but the Bible’s stranglehold on that search is over. The Bible has been a millstone around the church’s neck since its conception. It needs to be cut loose.

2) Probably the greatest service congregations have provided over the centuries has been as sources of community. They have tried, however well or poorly, to live out Paul’s vision that “we are all one in Christ Jesus” and Jesus’ own teaching that we are to “love our neighbor as ourselves.”

The latter, of course, points beyond church walls to the limitless possibilities of showing compassion to anyone and everyone with whom we share our earthly home. Yet today, we know that compassion extends to every creature on the planet and to the Earth itself. The unity of Being is one of the great spiritual discoveries of our time. Even so, centuries ago the gospel of Thomas quotes Jesus saying, “Split a piece of wood, and I am there.”

Participants in a renewed church will find appropriate and meaningful ways to live out that oneness in their lives. Perhaps most often that will occur outside the church community. But it will also happen in the natural course of community life and when people are moved to address a need they perceive going unmet, whether near or far. The possibilities are endless but unique to each community’s resources and interests. In any case, they will all grow out of the experience of the death of self common to all spiritual traditions, and the new life of freedom and love that arises from it.

* * *

Missing so far from this description of a renewed church is the one activity that people have most identified with traditional church, and that’s worship. As I said, it might be time for a new word because in a renewed church the purpose of gathering will be very different. The most obvious change is that the focus is no longer a divine being removed from us yet who needs our attention, and we his (and this god really is always male). We are no longer seeking God’s attention, approval, or forgiveness. God is not waiting for our praise and adoration. We’ve known this for a long time, yet the church has hung on to such notions with remarkable tenacity. But all of that is over.

Congregations of a renewed church will gather for the reasons any community does. And as specifically Christian communities, it may be surprising how many traditions of church worship can be retained with a renewed understanding and practice. Set free from doctrines and ecclesial regulations, congregations will have the freedom to explore how practices like communion and baptism, for example, can continue to be meaningful communal rituals.

Similarly, traditional liturgical seasons and holidays, especially Christmas and Easter, can be reimagined as explorations and celebrations of points on our  life and spiritual journeys. Much of this reimagining has been underway for some time (centuries I would say in the case of Christmas), held back only by the church’s literalism and historicism (“What do you mean Jesus wasn’t born in a manger!?”). These renewed traditions and rituals will find new life the closer they come to reflecting the real lives and experiences of contemporary people.

Performed music, sung songs, guided prayerful meditation, shared readings with reflections by those with such gifts, and a communal and symbolic meal of thanksgiving could constitute a congregation’s renewed weekly worship. This would not by any means exclude other types of group experiences. Outdoor events, for instance, could happen at any time and in any place. So, too, smaller gatherings in people’s homes.

For those less enamored with traditional worship, the Satsang of Hindu and Buddhist traditions could be a model for a different type of gathering, perhaps during the week. The central activity would be teaching and reflection on a spiritual topic, along with group meditation and singing or chanting. Simple songs like those of the Taizé community could fit well here, and their liturgies could provide further inspiration for such gatherings.

* * *

These are starter ideas and so much more could be said. Perhaps the main task of congregations of a renewed church would be to explore and experiment with new and renewed traditions, rituals, and practices. In doing so, there would need to be a real sense of discovery and joy. And in all of this, the full range of human experience and emotion would need to be recognized and honored: celebration and grief, thanksgiving and despair, confidence and doubt, and so on.

Are any existing churches open to or ready for such transformation? Perhaps not. Yet as churches continue hemorrhaging members, one would hope there would be some acknowledgement that something has got to change. Then from that could grow a willingness to reexamine old assumptions and sincerely ask about the meaning and purpose of religion and spirituality in the world today.

Or, as the numbers of former church members swell, perhaps a critical mass will form of those wanting to reconstitute a church that better fits their lives and the world around them. Thus, a renewed church would form outside the existing church’s boundaries. This could well be the easier and more productive route for creating a renewed church.

If neither of these things occur, however, it may well be that the church is coming to the end of its useful existence. As I said earlier, church is optional. Already, many live inspired by a renewed Jesus story apart from any formal religious organization. Jesus himself seemed to have a foot in both camps. Time will tell which makes sense for people and their lives today.

If you appreciate these posts, remember to “Like”, share, and subscribe, if you haven’t done so already. In the mystical world of search algorithms, this all helps “spread the word.” And add a comment, if you’re so moved, to be part of the conversation. Finally, thank you for your financial support (see the “DONATE” box), which covers blog expenses and helps me to keep doing this!