The Problem of Communion: The Danger of Trusting in a Church Too Much

Learning from the sad experiences of Rod Dreher and Steve Skojec

This will be one of those posts in which I wrestle a bit with an issue. I often podcast rather than write to do that, and maybe I will eventually. But write on I will. Be merciful if this may be disorganized and very incomplete.

I’ve been thinking about how it can be harmful to be too committed to a particular part of the Church. “How can anyone be too committed to a church that Christ loves?” one may ask with good reason.

If that commitment is too wedded to only part of Christ’s Church and endangers your faith is one answer. This post is prompted by two men who freely admit their faith was wrecked by being overly committed to the Roman Catholic Church. (This will not be a Catholic-bashing post. I promise. Read on.)

Rod Dreher has often written of how his faith was tested by the horrors of what he saw during his investigation of sexual abuse by priests. Devastated, he felt compelled to leave the RCC he once loved. As he put it this week, “Being Catholic was the most important thing to me back then . . . and idolizing the institutional Church was at the core of my downfall.” He nearly lost his faith in the process but discovering the Orthodox Church and its worship delivered him.

Steve Skojec is a sadder case. He founded and led the TradCat OnePeterFive site that did yeomen’s work in reporting on Pope Francis and allies. His zeal for defending his RC Church was remarkable and, I think, commendable. I read his site often. But that task ate Skojec up also. Eventually he abruptly ceased his work and, saddest of all, openly ceased being a Christian. He wrote of all this in a frank and heart-rending post after the death of Pope Francis.

Pope Francis is Dead, But the Damage is Done.

In both cases, as they’ve openly confessed, their faith was tied too much to their particular church. And their identity was so bound to their church that it endangered their health along with their faith.

This is one problem with a “One True Church” model of communion, such as is prevalent in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, although in a less dogmatic manner now than in times past. Faith is tied so much to a particular church, and it is so required that one remain in said One True Church, that if that church fails in a profound way, faith can fail as well. (I expect to address the One True Church model more at a later time. I briefly put forth a few other models of communion in the initial post in this Problem of Communion series.)

But one does not have to be a One True Churcher to be too tied to a particular church. Back in the 90’s I went through a lot of stress because I was determined, perhaps too determined, for a matter to be resolved within my independent Bible Church of the time without my leaving.

At one point, I took a vacation to Big Bend and from God. I told God that I needed a break, so I suspended most of my prayer and Bible study for a week. Yes, that was unwise, and I do not recommend it. The stress of being too set on staying peacefully in my church was affecting my mental health and perhaps endangering my faith more than I knew. God was gracious and used the break. And fortunately, not long after that, I left that church as peacefully as I could. (Not naming the church or the matter is part of maintaining the peace.) Whether I stayed too long, I don’t know. But it was and is clear that it would not have been good to stay any longer.

But what if my faith and identity had been as tied to that particular Bible Church as Skojec’s had been to the Roman Catholic Church? From his post:

“Being Catholic is my whole identity,” I told her. “I’m not just fighting him, or fighting for the Church. I’m fighting not to lose myself.”…

I was always Catholic Steve. Catholic first. Catholic Catholic Catholic.

If my identity had been that tied to that Bible church, it would have crushed me. The time was difficult enough as it was. Or what if my faith and identity were so bound to my current denomination, the Anglican Church in North America? I attended the initial Provincial Assembly in Ft. Worth with great joy and high hopes. But ACNA as a whole has become a disappointment although it retains several excellent dioceses and many excellent parishes. I’m still probably Anglican until I die. But if my faith was in ACNA as many Catholics have faith in the Church of Rome, I would be in a bad way. Instead I think I’m doing well spiritually on a good day at least. ACNA’s issues so far have little effect on my spiritual health. And if I ever leave ACNA, it probably would not stress me nearly as much as leaving that Bible Church decades ago. Perspective can be helpful sometimes.

There are similarities between marriage and church membership that may be helpful here. Marriage is a serious, even sacred commitment. And commands against divorce reflect that. But those strictures against divorce are not absolute. If a spouse commits adultery or is profoundly and persistently abusive, the obligation to remain married ends. And sadly there are cases when one has to leave a marriage to protect oneself and one’s children.

Membership in a particular church is also a serious commitment. But if said particular church is unfaithful — here apostasy corresponds with adultery and is really spiritual adultery — or is profoundly and continually abusive, then it is probably best to leave.

Here I must make clear that I am discussing membership in a particular congregation or in a particular branch of the Church. Being part of the Church as a whole is not optional for a Christian. One cannot be a faithful Christian apart from the Body of Christ. But one can certainly be a faithful Christian apart from the Roman Catholic Church or ACNA or Faithful Few King James Bible Church.

To not make that distinction is dangerous to souls. Either to diminish the importance of the Church as a whole or to make too important remaining in a particular church are both dangerous errors.

It is especially important not to put too much faith and trust in a particular church during this time of apostasy.

There is not a sizable communion that is not affected by apostasies of various sorts. To make a keystone of faith the notion that one’s particular church will prevail to The End, as Roman Catholics do, is not only a grave misinterpretation of Christ’s words in Matthew 16:18, it is a dangerous misinterpretation. To base one’s faith on that notion is to build a foundation on sand that may become quicksand and pull you down as it did Rod Dreher and Steve Skojec. Yes, God’s Holy Church will prevail, but that is the faithful Church, not the growing multitude of apostate churches.

And, yes, the current rampant apostasy makes the Problem of Communion a problem indeed, which is why I’m wrestling with it.

As I stated when began this series, “the Communion of the Saints” is not an option. It is a vital part of being a Christian. But that does not mean and, particularly during this time, cannot mean that one must place his faith and trust in one particular communion.

Please look around you at how many churches that were once bulwarks of the faith have gaping cracks of apostasy if they have not crumbled altogether. Please consider the experiences of doggedly faithful men like Dreher and Skojec who found their faith shipwrecked when the churches they trusted too much failed them.

Please don’t learn the hard way. Place your trust in Christ, who is completely trustworthy and infallible, not in any particular communion, which is not.