Therapeutic Christianity or Churchianity is the use of the gospel for psychological means. As a comfort, as palliation. It is about making things peaceful and resolving conflict, not correcting things, disturbing things, and calling us to repentance.
Now that would be bad. For the gospel, in Churchianity, becomes just an alternate to a psychotherapist — a place to confess and receive understanding, to grow in spirituality, but to not deal with justice.
We need to remember that the world has not changed since the prophets spoke. It is still unjust, the value of our money fades with inflation, and our rulers are just as corrupt.
21How the faithful city has become a whore! She that was full of justice, righteousness lodged in her — but now murderers!
22Your silver has become dross, your wine is mixed with water.
23Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not defend the orphan, and the widow’s cause does not come before them.
Churchianity is not about this. Instead of talking about repentence and returning to obedience in the law of Christ, it talks about empowerment, and the strong being in thrall to the whims of the foolish and weak. The Churchians call that servant leadership. I call that enslaving the productive class, removing authority from the church, and losing the power of God to maintain the appearance of peace.
Paul was no Churchian. Paul broke all the Church growth rules. And Paul was effective.
1You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, 2but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. 3For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, 4but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; 6nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, 7though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. 8So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.
9You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. 11As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, 12urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
So my question today, is why has this happened? Well, Paul gives us a big hint. Church building was hard work — night and day, continually sharing oneself, being akin to a father, demanding the best from the people of God.
Not the worst. Not listening and reinforcing the fears or superstitions of the congregation. or flattering them.
This will make you unpopular, particularly with the women’s Tuesday night bible class. And they will expect you to bend, and become good Churchians, feminist variety.
Do not listen to them. For in their way lies perdition.