One of my pastor mentors often refers to what is called
“us-them” thinking in the church. What he is referring to is the tendency to
see a separation between leadership and congregants or believers and
non-believers, etc, etc, etc.
Why do we do this? Sometimes it can be a form of pride or
arrogance, but most often it flows from tradition or wanting to fit in. In its
extreme it can be quite toxic, putting up a wall with a sign that says either
“You’re not welcome” or “You’re not qualified”.
Of course it’s not just in the church where this can exist.
All organizations or groups have the potential to set themselves apart. Sometimes
it is quite necessary, as in the military, etc. There needs to be qualifiers. But
for us in the church it can be an unwanted barrier.
I (Dave) had been raised in the church from the time I was
born – but I took a long rebellious break before I returned. In the interim a
lot had changed. My traditional Presbyterian experience was different from the post
Jesus People movement and Pentecostalism that I encountered. I ran into a lot
of new “markers”.
Markers determine who is “inside” and who is “outside”. For example in some congregations you are
outside if you wear a suit and tie. In others it is an expected uniform. Another
marker is raising your hands in church. If you do then you are considered an
insider, if not you are probably a guest or seeker. There is also marker
language – we call it “Christianese” when we use phrases that are not typically
part of everyday language, i.e.: “traveling mercies” or “angels camping around
your house” etc. Those kinds of phrases can create us-them thinking.
There can even be this kind of thinking within the Christian
church world itself, where one church or denomination can feel superior to
another.
“We have the real truth.”
“We have a special calling from God.”
“We have the Holy Spirit operating in our midst in a unique
way.”
We might call this hyper-spiritual thinking.
Or how about the “Black
Church ” vs. the “White Church
In the mental health field there can also be us-them
thinking – us “mentally healthy”, them “mentally ill”. The truth is that mental
health is a continuum that is constantly shifting. Some days I am much more
mentally healthy than others.
Regardless, if our goal is inclusiveness and the expansion
of the family of Christ, shouldn’t we be breaking down walls instead of
creating them?
