It’s too easy to chalk up last week’s tragedy in a New York church to the actions of a bunch of crazies. It’s too easy to simply shake one’s head in disgust, flip the page and move past the story without thinking how such a horrific thing might relate to us.
In case you didn’t hear about it, Sunday evening, Oct. 11, two teenage boys were beaten by members of their church, Word of Life Christian Church in New Hartford. And why would members of a church beat these two boys? Well, the accounts differ. One source says the pastor declared that one of the boys was practicing witchcraft, though the local police chief has refuted that claim. Another says it was because the boys wanted to leave the church.
The beatings, where the boys were kicked and punched, lasted for hours. At the end of the melee, one of the boys, Lucas Leonard, 19, was dead and his brother, Christopher, 17, was hospitalized in critical condition.
We hear of such stories and thank God that nothing like that happens around here. But, perhaps we need to be more mindful of the lessons herein to ensure it never does.
This church was marked by secrecy. Neighbors and many community members interviewed have remarked at how the church closed itself off to outsiders. “I always wondered why they were so secretive, why they had no kids outside playing,” said one resident. Secrecy kills – in relationships and in churches.
When a church puts up walls and closes in on itself, what results is a dynamic that is fueled by secrecy, allowing those in control to exercise ultimate and often abusive power. Strange beliefs and practices follow, mostly developed for those in control to maintain their power and influence. Members buy in because they’ve been persuaded that there’s something special about those in power, and that the secrecy protects them as a church. And those who are smart enough to see the problems often feel they’ll be shunned if they leave.
This dynamic, this “what goes on inside these walls is none of anyone’s business but ours,” is scary at best, un-Christian at worst. I have even heard such remarks from people in mainline denominations, which is more evidence that people are often all too willing to close their eyes if they don’t have to struggle or think.
I say this dynamic is both scary and un-Christian for a few reasons. First, keep in mind that it is precisely these kinds of stories that keep people away from churches. How many people across the country read that story over the past week and said, “You see, that’s why I don’t go to church. They’re all a bunch of holier-than-thou nuts!”? In the end, this affects us all.
Second, what I have defined above is a “cult.” Show me a church that says to its members, “Now don’t talk about this to anyone,” or, “No one needs to know what we are doing,” and I will show you a cult. In fact, that is one the key factors in the definition of a cult — a religious organization that closes itself off from the community instead of embracing it.
Third, do we not refer to the worldwide church as “the body of Christ”? Has there ever been more than one body of Christ? Have we ever worked on building “bodies” of Christ? Did Jesus not pray for us all “to be one”?
Then, how can one member of the same body of Christ say to another, “I have no need of you,” or, “What you do has no effect on me,” or, “What we do in here is our business, and what you do there is your business”?
Certainly, our authorities do not extend beyond our own church, but our identities do; we identify with Christ in the same way our brothers and sisters down the road do. And it is in Christ that we are connected. Therefore, do we not have some responsibility to each other?
As long as people enter churches, evil will enter in the hearts of some. Jesus did not leave behind a perfect church. But He did give us the responsibility to grow His body, strengthen it, and protect it.
Lucas and Christopher Leonard could have used some of that protection.
