When a church is not a church

Let me begin this article with a simple question: what is the church?  Yes, I know – all remnant believers will know exactly what the church is or, more to the point, who the church is.  However, it seems that the word “church” is being loosely (and inappropriately) used today by many organisations which are not churches at all.  

Many people today consider the church to be a building.  After all, when people ask what church somebody attends, they are usually looking for a geographical landmark, not a spiritual one.  However, as we know, the church is not a building but a body of believers who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through a saving faith in Him.  So, if our use of the word “church” is predicated on the fact that those who belong to the church have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, let’s examine two instances where the use of the word “church” is entirely inappropriate.

Firstly, I would like to take you to Spain where there is an organisation called La Iglesia Patolica.  The word “Patolica” is a play on words, combining “Catholic” with the Spanish word “pato” meaning “duck”.  So, if we were to refer to this organisation in English, it would be The Patholic Church or, as it is more popularly known, The Duck Church.  As the name suggests, the organisation does not revere Jesus Christ but instead directs it worship to rubber ducks.  So, what should one expect from a service at La Iglesia Patolica?  Well, the service is led by comedian (and sixth-generation clown) Leo Bassi who organises a mass every weekend. 

During the one-hour event, Bassi mixes humour with current affairs while “quacking” several times to entertain his audience.  It has been described as “the most eccentric and unholy of masses”.  One travel website wrote: “Bassi blesses his millennial audience with a toilet brush and splashes them with unholy water.  Disco beats, tasseled shoulder pads and magical absurdity fill the tiny church with laughter and applause.”  May I also add that some pictures reveal that affixed to Bassi’s “pulpit” are two LGBT pride flags.  If all of this is not enough to cause you to shake your head in disgust, prepare yourself for what I am about to share.  A person who attended a service wrote: “To bring the duck mass to a close, Leo Bassi performs the best magic trick of all: turning water into wine. Proclaiming this ‘the only useful thing Jesus ever did,’ he proceeds to down it in one.”

Although Bassi has appointed himself to be the priest of his own “church”, he clearly does not believe in God.  In a recent interview he gave, he said this: “I was thinking if I had a god, how could it be? Then I started to think, the god can't be all-powerful, clowns don't like all-powerful things, it had to be a small thing, a thing without transcendence, a childish thing, a thing for children. And then came the idea of a rubber duckling.  I wanted to honour the rubber duckies, so I thought about doing it in some small chapel and start doing masses. At the beginning I didn't know in which direction it was going to go and maybe this thing lasted a month, but 12 years later it is growing, growing and growing with such a deep message about valuing the little things.”

Also inappropriately applying the word “church” to their organisation is the International Church of Cannabis located in Denver, Colorado.  According to its website: “The International Church of Cannabis’ mission is to offer a home to adults everywhere who are looking to create the best version of themselves by way of the sacred plant. Our lifestance is that an individual’s spiritual journey, and search for meaning, is one of self-discovery that can be accelerated with ritual cannabis use. Elevationists claim no divine authority, nor authoritarian structure, therefore, those of all religious and cultural background are welcome to visit our chapel and take part in our celebrations.”

During in-person rituals, members light their cannabis from the same candle and, while consuming it, recite the Elevationist meditation: “We give thanks to the original energy of creation. We light this candle to celebrate our freedom to elevate, and remember those not at liberty to join us. We support each other on our individual spiritual journey, and welcome all as family in love and in peace to burn their sacrament with us today.”  The purpose of the ritual, according to one of the co-founders is to “clear your head to kind of get into the right setting to really have some interesting conversations and thoughts about the world, yourself and what you’re doing with yourself.”

Similar to the stance adopted by La Iglesia Patolica, the “elevationists” of the International Church of Cannabis do not promote belief in the True and Living God revealed in the Bible.  Instead, they say: “Generally, as a group, we refer to a Universal Creative Force and leave it up to the individual to decide what that means.”  Naturally, what their position leads to is religious syncretism.  One spokesperson went on to say: "We’re all one human race. We may have different beliefs. We may believe in different gods, but that’s okay, right? Because we’re all spiritual and we all ultimately want this world to be a better place for the next generations."

Warren Wiersbe used to say that people like to use God’s vocabulary but not His dictionary.  My two examples prove that point.  People are all too happy to use the word “church” and profit from it, but they deceive their followers by redefining it.  Sadly, they have no understanding what a church is or exactly how precious it is to the One who shed His blood to purchase it (Acts 20:28).  Their version of a “church” is a cheap, bloodless counterfeit with no grace and no hope.  Our prayer should be that these people would come to know the Saviour and truly understand what it means to be part of the blood-bought church of Jesus Christ.