No Coercion

I was brought up in a Christian tradition that firmly believed there was no room for coercion in matters of faith. The ancestors of my church heritage felt the sting of persecution in a European culture dominated by an exceedingly powerful church that was intertwined with government. They believed -- to their core -- that force was opposite to the Spirit of Christ and had no place in the Body of Christ.

The church, whenever it has been political and powerful, has trampled over men. Religion has often been used by people longing for power to manipulate, dictate, and control those "under their care". We've been witness to this throughout the grand events of history, but the same scenario can play itself out right down the street today. Religion, when it seeks power, is corrupted!

My spiritual forefathers were so certain of the corruptibility of power that they spread the leadership of the church across the Body. No longer would one man rule a church. They instead trusted the Holy Spirit to work through the Body and practiced the "priesthood of all believers". Those called by the church to special roles such as deacon or elder were still held accountable to the church.

Some Christian traditions are drawn to power and authority, seeming to make these things the pursuit of their faith. I can catch a glimpse of how they use scripture to justify such pursuits (primarily from certain episodes in the book of Acts), but I cannot find grounds for the pursuit of "power and authority" over men when I look at Jesus, the Cornerstone of our faith. The language of Jesus (as well as his example) is certainly powerful -- but his power (and ours!) is demonstrated in his mercy, forgiveness, justice, grace, and love.

No believer should ever practice a "power over people" faith. The example of Jesus requires us to practice a "power under" approach as we serve one another!

I make it clear to those I have spoken with who have come from abusive church environments that they have the freedom in Christ to remove themselves from any spiritual community which practices any form of coercion. The weapons of coercive behavior -- conrol, manipulation, and shaming -- possess no redeeming qualities and bring only destruction into the lives of those who live under it. People who live under such oppression know very little of the grace of God found in Jesus."Spiritual Fathers" who rule over their spiritual children and demand an unquestioning obedience do not exemplify the heart of the Father. They, instead, skew and distort the True Image of the Living God.

I live in agreement with my spiritual forefathers and believe that there should be no coercion in the Christian faith. None. As followers of Christ, we should be conscious of our use of manipulation, our desire to control and dictate, and our employment of shame as a tool to get another human being to act according to our prejudices. Not only should we ask the Holy Spirit for this awareness, but we should seek to imitate Christ in these matters and bring our lives into alignment with his.

Let us not seek power, but let us seek Christ.