sunday-monday disconnect

This dualistic spirituality described in the previous blogs has been called a number of things, but perhaps the idea of the Sunday-Monday disconnect brings the experience to the fore. We experience a certain type of God on Sunday, but Monday is another matter—“this is ‘the real world’ and things work differently here.” How many times have we ‘professional’ ministers heard variations of that phrase? “You don’t really understand. It’s just not as easy for me as it is for you. You work in the church with Christians”, etc. The two ‘spheres of life,’ the sacred and the secular, are conceived as being infinitely different and heading in opposite directions. It is left to the believer to live one way in the sacred sphere and have to another in the secular. It is the actual way we do church that communicates this non-verbal message of dualism. The medium is the message after all. And it sets people up to see things in an essentially distorted way where God is limited to the religious sphere. This creates a vacuum that is filled by idols and false, or incomplete, worship.

Now, using the same elements and realigning them to fit a non-dualistic understanding of God, Church, and World, of we can re-configure this as follows…

Seeing things this way leads us to embrace an all-of-life perspective to our faith. By refusing the false dualism of sacred or secular and by committing all of our lives under Jesus we live out true holiness. There is nothing in our lives that should not, and cannot, be brought under this rule of God over all. Our task is to integrate the disparate elements that make up our lives and communities and bring them under the One God manifested to us in Jesus Christ.

If we fail to do this, then whilst we might be confessing monotheists, we might end up practicing polytheists. Dualistic expressions of faith always result in practical polytheism. There will be different gods that rule the different spheres of our lives and the God of the Church in this view, is largely impotent outside of the privatized religious sphere. Christocentric Monotheism demands loyalty precisely where the other gods claim it, and this is true for us as it was for our spiritual forebears. For make no mistake, we are surrounded by the claims of false gods in our own way as the many gods clamor for our loyalties and lives as well—not the least of these the worship of wealth and the associated gods of consumerism. But this is also how apartheid was birthed and developed in South Africa. The white Christians of South Africa would not integrate their national situation under the Lordship of Jesus and so a false god was invoked to ruled over white politics…the result was a deeply sinful and ungodly crushing of the people of color in that land. When we fail to bring a sphere under the claim of Jesus, then it becomes autonomous and susceptible to the rule of other gods and many sins result.

In this way, so many Christians end up being practicing polytheists. Isn’t it interesting that most churchgoers report a radical disconnect between the God that rules Sunday and the gods that rule Monday. How many of us live as if there were different gods for every sphere of life? A god for work, another for family, a different one when we are at the movies, or in our politics. No wonder why the average churchgoer can’t seem to make sense of it all. All this results from a failure to respond truly to the One God. This failure can only be addressed by a discipleship that responds by offering all the disparate elements of our lives back to God, thus unifying our lives under his lordship.

June 29, 2007 | Filed Under the forgotten ways, theologia |

Comments

15 Responses to “sunday-monday disconnect”

Peggy Brown on June 29th, 2007 9:24 am

Alan,

I seem to be seeing this very conversation in so many places lately. I look forward to the day when I can say I have joined those who have stepped up and out to bring this kind of unified living in Christ out in the open as “the practice of the better.” That day is getting closer, though….
Espen on June 30th, 2007 8:20 am

Completely off topic, but… I got my results today at it seems like I am accepted to medicine! This afternoon I was 328, now it seems like I am 329… but as long as it is under 400 it should be ok (the reason the results changed is that they discovered an error).

Thanks a lot Peggy and Janet who prayed for me!
Peggy Brown on June 30th, 2007 10:07 am

Rejoicing is never off topic at TFW! Congratulations to you, Espen. And 329 is significantly under 400! Thank you for sharing your joy with us.

Blessings as you move toward the next part of your journey.
Janet on June 30th, 2007 12:17 pm

Wow! Congratulations. I’m delighted to hear this.

Looks like God has something in store for you in France!
Gary Davis on July 3rd, 2007 7:19 am

Now this is a post I would have to agree with totally!!!
alan hirsch on July 3rd, 2007 7:38 am

Hi Gary, I was just wondering where everyone went on this one, when the previous post in the series rocked on. Everyone’s exhausted now I guess.
Peggy Brown on July 3rd, 2007 8:04 am

You know, Alan, I think that we have just folded this thread in with what we’re still working on in the earlier thread!

We’re fleshing out some of what that intersection of God, World and Church means as we let Christ’s Lordship reign over all aspects of life.

…sorry we didn’t follow you over here…must be that “holy rebel” thing asserting itself again

Luvyerwork, as CS would say!
alan hirsch on July 3rd, 2007 10:35 am

And CS, he’s gone AWOL! Bloody holy rebels. Can’t live with them, or live without them.
Peggy Brown on July 3rd, 2007 12:30 pm

Absence does make the heart grow fonder, eh? CS’s plate is rather full these days… You’ll just have to do with me sticking my fingers in all your pies (At least I’m not flinging little micro pies…can’t seem to get those images our of my mind!)
Bob Carder on July 4th, 2007 2:52 pm

Could we assume that transformation has not occurred if Sunday morning and Monday morning result in two different people?

How can we see transformation lead to Monday morning change?
Peggy Brown on July 5th, 2007 5:05 am

Transformation is a continual process…the tension of the already/not yet calls for both patience and persistence. Romans 12 seems to be a good reminder of that which leads to Morday morning change.
Alan Hirsch on July 5th, 2007 5:17 am

Bob, one of my friend used to have a definition of integrity as being the same person in three different places (home, work, church). I think that if we have failed to reach this level of integrity, true transformation is still going on.
Bob Carder on July 6th, 2007 1:31 am

Alan, you share great truth here.

Peggy, the Holy Spirit continues to transform. Believe me, He is still working on me. Of course everyone knows I need Him and His continual work in my life.

Thanks to the both of you.
Eli Dorman on July 7th, 2007 5:50 am

I have been wrestling with this same topic. As a pastor in a local church I am always confronted by the very real challenge of discipling the flock under my spiritual care. Some are so hungry for growth/transformation, some are curious and looking for more, while some just don’t care; just being there Sunday morning is enough for them.

I think real faith is lived out in the six days between Sundays because that’s the place we live our real lives. Its to easy to pretend and posture at church on Sunday morning. But in real, everyday life that’s where the rubber meets the road. I want people to see that their very lives bear witness to the sincerity of their faith and whether or not transformation is actually taking place.

There’s a pretty good discussion thread happening on this topic at my site. Just click my name to go to my site and read: “Between Sundays.” Thanks for letting me chime in. This confirms that what I’ve been thinking is crazy!

Blessings,
Eli
Eli Dorman on July 7th, 2007 5:52 am

Sorry, that what I’ve been thinking isn’t crazy. Thanks for helping me see that I am not alone in wrestling with this topic.

Eli