What are we so afraid of?

I'm not part of an "emergent/emerging church!" I'm not an antagonist or an iconoclast! I'm not trying to tear down our institutions or murder any sacred cows! I do, however, question everything, and will do everything I can to challenge the status quo.

I'm the kind of guy that needs to study things out for myself. I have never been the one to accept whatever someone says to be true, regardless of how much I trusted him or her. If you told me it is a beautiful day today, I would at some point (not right away, I don't wish to be rude about it) go to the window or step outside for myself to make the analysis. I would look into the sky and determine how many clouds are drifting above. Is the sun shining? What about ambient temperature? Does the wind make it cold or is it a nice, cooling breeze? Then, I would come to my own conclusion that either yes, it is a beautiful day, or no, it's a crumby day and here's why. I would then state my argument for my opposition. I guess I've always been that way, and I had always thought that it was a good thing.

Lately, though, I've taken some heat for raising what I feel are valid questions. I'm certainly not encouraging or glorifying doubt, but I am encouraging people to use the brains that God gave them. Maybe it's the postmodern influences in my life that have shaped me into a rebel of sorts. Many of the business courses I took at the University of Akron were deliberate in their objective to train me to think critically. But is thinking critically and challenging the status quo really rebellious? Are our established institutions so deeply intrenched and married to their "old paths" that any question or challenge is viewed as rebellion?

And so I ask... What are we so afraid of?

Aside from my transgression of ending a sentence with a preposition, what is it that makes our established institutions so insecure and causes them to see any new approach (or method, or questioning, or idea) as a countercultural uprising or rebellion?

I suspect that much of it stems from power! Those in power wish to keep their power, and any challenge to that power is viewed as treason and must be met with a harsh response. How many stories have I heard of good people asking questions of their pastor or youth pastor - questions that were really nagging them - only to be turned away - beat down and disillusioned? How does a person respond when he acknowledges that he has questions to his youth pastor, only to be shamed when the man points to the degrees framed on the wall of his office and says, "come back when you have one of those and we'll talk."

The problem is that our churches have become dynasties, ruled by royal families, that are more concerned with preserving their own personal kingdoms than they are with building the everlasting kingdom of God. These power brokers will do whatever it takes to hold onto that power, and that usually entails squashing any uprising or challenge that comes their way. It has been my experience that when people recoil at a challenge, it's usually because they either have something to hide or they know their stand is a house of cards - so fragile that any opposition will bring it down.

Again, maybe it's just the postmodern influences in my life, but I believe that what we need today is transparency. Let's be open to questions and challenges. As long as we operate with the perceived notion that we don't have anything else to learn we are stagnant, and eventually we will stink because of it.

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5.21.