Anne Rice and the Meaning of Church Community
Mark A. Taylor reflects on Anne Riceโs public decision to separate herself from Christianityโs followers while still claiming faith in Christ. Drawing from his own return to a welcoming church community, Taylor considers the sadness, grace, and responsibility Christians share as members of Christโs body.
- Taylor contrasts Anne Riceโs disappointment with the church with his own experience of being warmly welcomed back.
- He acknowledges that many people have been hurt or disillusioned by church life.
- The column calls Christians to help make the church a place of mercy, authentic community, and hope.
By Mark A. Taylor
My wife and I discovered something wonderful when we returned to our church after three vacation Sundays away: people there missed us.
Amid all the friendly pats and hearty greetingsโโWelcome back!โ โWe loved your pictures on Facebook!โ โWas your trip wonderful?โโI thought about this column I promised to write when we returned.
This continues a discussion begun in last weekโs issue. There I reported on and reacted to author Anne Riceโs public announcement of her decision to walk away from Christianity. She said her faith in Christ is โcentralโ to her life, but โfollowing Christ does not mean following his followers.โ She loves Jesus but no longer can identify with the โquarrelsome, hostile, disputatiousโ group called the church.
The Church Anne Rice Did Not Experience
But none of those adjectives described the happy conversations in the hallway when I came back to church. None fit how I felt when the worship songs washed over me and I lifted my eyes to join the praise. None of those negative feelings came to me when I pondered the preacherโs words and how they should guide my after-vacation lists of responsibilities.
As I wrote last week, Riceโs decision makes me sadโsad because most of us have been disappointed by the church, but also sad because Rice apparently has not experienced the community most of us have found there.
She told a National Public Radio interviewer that her decision has given her a โnew freedom to confess my fears, my doubts, my pain, my conflicts, my alienation.โ And that makes me sad, too. Iโve experienced and witnessed remarkable grace inside the church. Iโm sorry Rice hasnโt.
Choosing Mercy and Authentic Community
We might be inclined to argue with her. We could point out, as others did immediately after her announcement, that itโs impossible to be in Christ without also being in the church. We cannot remain connected to him, the head, if weโre removed from the church, his body.
But her words sparked in me an instinct to ponder more than defend. How many with me in the worship auditorium each week are more disillusioned than encouraged? How can I help make the church a place of mercy as well as judgment? What steps can I take within the church to create authentic community beyond tight, polite appearances? How can I extend the help and hope I regularly find among fellow Christians?
Together we are the church. Iโm sorry Anne Rice will not work with us to fill the gaps we are finding and has not experienced the blessings weโre celebrating as members of the body of Christ.
Author: Mark A. Taylor
Mark A. Taylor, who served as Christian Standard editor from 2003 to 2017, retired in June 2017 after almost 41 years with Standard Publishing (Christian Standard Media).
