Is Our Church Disgusting?

By Peter Sung, Conference Coach, PacNWC

I’ve been learning about one of our core emotions: disgust. It’s an emotion that’s authored by our brain stem, i.e., it’s a primitive, core emotion that’s necessary for survival, and it turns out that disgust is an emotion that is learned. For example, poop is not something we are born to find repulsive but rather learn from the facial expressions around us. Another interesting thing is that when we don’t like something or fear it, our tendency is to run from it but when we feel disgust, we want to destroy it, to stomp it out of existence. Are you making the connections to churches yet?

In my research, I could not help making the connection between what I feel from the culture towards the church. Not only do I sense disgust, I also sense hostility, a primitive anger towards organized religion, religious authority, and even devotees who may appear naive and unthinking.

I think this may have been what the Apostle Paul felt – repulsion and hostility – towards the church while he was still called Saul. In Aramaic, Paul heard: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” As I ponder human psychology in general and Paul in specific Jesus’ response makes perfect sense. Here are three key points Jesus hit on:

One, Paul had a genuine experience of Christ. A personal encounter. Experience, not information, tends to drive human questioning. Paul, though committed to a certain viewpoint, could not deny what he felt, heard, and saw. The role of the church is crucial in facilitating genuine experiences for those in our communities.

Two, Jesus choose to ask a question, rather than making a case. Questions are powerful because they place the right burden on the right person. This was Paul’s process and Jesus left the problem-solving responsibility squarely on Paul’s shoulders. Rather than taking on the anxiety of the outcome, Christians can be better friends by creating and holding processing space.

Three, Jesus appealed to Paul’s well-trained rationale. Why? What’s your reason? Does this make sense to you? What’s really going on in your heart? What do you gain by hurting yourself? Jesus spoke the language that was meaningful for Paul. What language will get through to those you love? Do the languages of fear, manipulation, or over-simplification work for those you’re trying to connect with? Are people able to appreciate the language of the well-churched? For me, the language that integrates the disciplines of science, theology, and coaching works well. I can hear it. I can move towards it. It opens me up in a way that nothing else quite does. Mix that in with non-anxious questions and personal experience, and once again, I find myself kneeling before the Lord of lords and the King of kings.