Simple Thoughts on a Great Hall and its Many Rooms

Let me begin by saying that the blogosphere probably doesn’t need yet another response to Rachel Held Evans’ article on millennials and the church, and it certainly doesn’t need one written by me. I have no deep, innovative insight to bring to the conversation. Neither do I have extensive knowledge of complex theological concepts. And I especially don’t have charts, numbers, or studies to back up what I say (mostly because I hate math). 

All of that being said, lately I’ve read many blogs and articles and taken part in many conversations (both over the internet and in person) concerning the church, its teachings, and faith in general. All of these conversations have gotten my wheels turning, which I count as a good thing. Wheels turning means something is happening, something is being processed. If wheels aren’t turning it means something is missing. I process things best through talking or writing about them, ergo, here we all are.

When I think of God, our powerful, wonderful Almighty God, I think of complexity. Lucky for us He has made some things relatively simple for us (emphasis on the relatively). Thinking of God Himself, though? I’m not sure how anyone could call him anything other than complex. I find evidence of this in creation...dynamic, complex, vibrant creation. Every person, animal, and plant is unique. Things change over time, people change over time, climates change over time. Creation is the definition of dynamic. And yet it is also consistent. It’s predictable to an extent. The natural laws, as we know them, provide order in the midst of chaos. In that I see a hint of God’s unchangingness (my computer is trying to tell me that isn’t a real world, but I’m going to use it anyway. Take that, Microsoft Word).

So here’s my thought: if creation is capable of simultaneously reflecting both the dynamic and unchanging aspects of its Creator, why can’t the church, the very body of Christ, do the same? I adore the foreword to C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity because he discusses this in such a clear, yet beautifully illustrated way. Undoubtedly there are certain tenants of the Christian faith in which everyone who would call themselves a follower of Christ must believe. But surely there are also elements of the life lived for Christ that need not look the exact same for everyone. There are constants, but isn’t there also room for the kind of dynamic variety we find in creation?

Lewis describes the ‘constants’ of our faith as “a hall out of which doors open into several rooms”. Finding one’s way into the hall is of the utmost importance, but it is choosing a room with “fires and chairs and meals” that leads to the kind of community I believe God always intended his church to embody. Lewis encourages us to choose a ‘door’ based not on its “paint and paneling,” but by asking the important questions: “’Are these doctrines true: Is holiness here? Does my conscience move me towards this? Is my reluctance to knock at this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike of this particular door-keeper?’” (xv)

What is wonderful about this idea of simultaneous unchangingness and dynamic variety, this great hall and its many rooms, is that it “suggests that at the centre of each there is a something, or a Someone, who against all divergencies of belief, all differences of temperament, all memories of mutual persecution, speaks with the same voice” (xii). We all need to be careful to remember that it is not the hearth, nor the meals, nor even the other people in the rooms that bind us together. It is the one responsible for building the hall in the first place.

So what do all of these rooms have to do with the Evans’ article and the internet tizzy it generated? So much of the language and so many of the ideas I read (both in the article and in responses to it) imply that there are only two rooms in such a hall: a right room and a wrong one. By all means let’s discuss the goings-on of our rooms and hall! But let’s leave the arrogance out of it, shall we? Let’s stop pretending that all of the secrets and truths are hidden in a single room, or within a single generation. This ‘room’ you’ve found yourself in? It was inhabited long before you entered, and will continue to be so long after you’ve left it for an even grander hall. Become a part of what came before you and help to grow it into something that will stand long after you’ve departed. But as long as our ‘discussions’ are full of accusations, arrogance, and “you just don’t understand” statements we will do nothing but tear the room, and each other, apart.

So let’s discuss! Remember how there’s space for both the constant and the dynamic? Let’s find common ground in the constant and recognize in each other the kindred spirits of this royal priesthood of which we are all, unbelievably, allowed to be a part. Perhaps then we’ll be able to approach discussions and disagreements (because they are inevitable) with love and humility. Perhaps then the discussions will produce fruit and greater understanding. Perhaps we’ll stop pelting the doors of other rooms with hate and disdain, and start meeting for family dinners in the great room of the hall we all share. 

So you see, I don’t have any fresh insights into why millennials are leaving the church, or any radically divergent opinion on whether or not such a phenomenon exists at all. I have an idea that there’s more than one way of doing things. I have an idea that there are some things that should be the same for all of us, those things that are represented by Lewis’ ‘great hall’. I have an idea that the focus needs to be on bringing people into the great hall in the first place. From there, with the Spirit and a mentor as guides, an individual can find which room they desire to be a part of. It shouldn’t be a choice made lightly or without prayer and careful thought, but it is ultimately a choice made by an individual. Let’s focus on making sure that, whichever room they choose, they are welcomed joyously into a community striving to love their God and Savior, one another, and the world.

All quotes taken from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, published by HarperCollins in 2001.