on matters of the Church (pt. 2)

Attractional. Missional. Promotional. Mainline. Traditional. Emergent. Conservative. Charismatic. Willowback. Saddle Creek. Whatever.

Look, I'm all for working to define concepts and principles in ways that will aid in communication and the exchange of ideas between churches, pastors, leaders, laity, and so on... But we're spending so much time on these issues and defending our positions so adamantly that we're losing focus on the matters that count.

We gawk at the speck of sawdust in our brother's eye and neglect our own 2 X 4 blinder. Traditional churches are complaining about missional churches being too liberal (however they mean that). Missional churches attack attractional churches for how flashy they are. Everybody is bickering about mainline churches because they are so formal. It's all a bunch of smoke.

Hey everybody let's give a hand to Satan for again finding a way to separate the people of God and shift their focus to something other than the spreading of the Gospel! Come on! Can't we all just get along?

Aren't we busy throwing the baby out with the bath water? Can't traditional churches become more missional? Don't missional churches grow through attraction? Don't mainline and emergent churches share principles of symbolism and sensory stimulation in worship? Don't some conservative churches desire to experience the work of the Holy Spirit while some charismatic churches desire more effective teaching? What ever happened to the ability to exchange ideas in a way that doesn't lead to hair-splitting and dissension? Any great revival is supported by unity within the people of God. Christ's followers set aside differences and seek after the Holy One. I could swear that someone prayed for this to occur... Jesus, our Savior. Maybe he had an inside track on what it might take for his Word to advance throughout the world.

Let us return to the Scriptures and investigate what God says about His Body!

The followers of Christ are to be marked by their love. Love for whom? For God and for others. This is the teaching of Christ. Love God first then love others as yourself.

Love the Lord your God with all your mind, heart, soul, strength, possessions, abilities, etc... Love God above all else. Worship him all people. Worship him with your hymn book or your projection screen. Worship him with your band or your choir. Worship him with your poetry, prose, theology, and history. Worship him with your painting, pottery, culinary skill, or automotive repair. Worship him with technology or lack thereof. Worship him with silence and with shouts of joy and bellowing cries of sorrow. Worship him with your service to others. Worship him with your hands in your pockets or with your hands raised high. Do you see it? Worship is everywhere at every time. We should set aside specific times to worship God together through the sharing of songs and teaching,as described in Scripture, but we must live Life in worship to the King. Give to him the first fruits of all you are and have. A.W. Tozer said that we are too willing to divide our lives into the categories of scared and secular. When we are born of Christ, all is sacred. Love God and we will then be able to love others. (Did you notice that if the love of God is the guiding principle of the whole of Life, love of others sprouts out naturally... automatically? Interesting.)

Love all others as yourself. I was recently told that Mother Teresa used to refer to all people as Jesus, taking quite literally the Savior's teaching that whatever we do for another person we do for him as well. I don't think that this is an overly literal interpretation of the Word. What might this world be like if we (the followers of Jesus) were to treat each and every person- lovely or unlovely- as though they are the one who died for our sins? I assure you that this world would look entirely different. In the earliest accounts of what the Church looked like we see that the natural response to the hearing of the Gospel was to share with others as they were in need. In principle there would be no one in need as there would be a free exchange of goods and services between those who were seeking after the Kingdom of God. Does this mean that nobody ever got taken advantage of? Not likely. But there are risks connected to pursuing the righteous path. We can't forget that God sees all and will be the judge of all. We don't hope to receive the strike to our face, but our response must be that of turning the other cheek, whether physically or metaphorically.

Now some of you may be saying, "Okay that's all well and good in an ideal world" or, "That couldn't happen in my community." Have you ever noticed that the Lord teaches us to pray that His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven? Part of our mission as the church is to press forward and be a source of active change and renewal in our communities. We are to try to make our communities in our culture as much like the ideal of heaven on earth as possible. I warn you to not call into doubt the power of God to change the non-ideal people and circumstances surrounding us. It starts with those of us who call ourselves followers of the Most High. If we are not willing to pursue His ideal (godly, righteous, pure, heavenly) plan, we can't expect to ever see change in the world around us.

Maybe some of you are saying, "Okay, but what about the details... the nuts and bolts of ministry." This is a truly understandable question. One that I too ask with great frequency. The nuts and bolts of ministry are going to be determined through the work of God's Holy Spirit. There are some things that the Scripture reveals as guiding principles, but there is no steadfast blueprint for the local church. I believe that this is with absolute intention on God's part because the church will look different in various communities, cultures, ages, and so on. Have you ever looked at a church and considered how much the body of people gathered seem to resemble the pastor? No, I'm not talking about appearance, but rather about values. One church has a pastor who is a high-powered, get-to-the-point, dynamic, motivational speaker type. Who will gravitate to his congregation? People like him... executives and people who respond to the relaying of the message in a way that resembles communication in corporate/business-class America. Another church has a pastor who is academic, mild-mannered, and sets teaching as a priority in his life. Who will gravitate to this congregation? People who have a more scholarly bent toward their pursuit of God. Perhaps people who desire to learn about God in a more minimalists setting. These, of course, are generalizations, but valid nonetheless. Is there anything wrong with one or the other? I'd say not necessarily.

Faithfulness isn't wholly contained within programs, models, and plans (oh my). Rather faithfulness is measured by reliance upon the Word and work of God. I could continue on about these matters for days, but I realize that this post is turning into a book. Please accept my apologies... both of you still reading this.

I have seen mainline/traditional churches that are alive and vibrant, adhering to tenets of their faith and exploring the worship spectrum. I have seen missional churches tank because of a lack of understanding of the Word of God. I have seen churches focused so intently upon the inward development of the saints that they became ineffective in sharing the Gospel. I have seen churches serve the needs of others with such voracity that they have neglected the focus of God and the teaching of the Word. The church is not a social club, nor is it simply a relief organization.

The pendulum just swings back and forth... There is nothing new under the sun. There was once an age when building bigger churches was the thing to do. We now refer to those churches as museums and artistically architectural wonders. They sit empty and cold. There was a time when the steadfast teachings of the church were called into question. The examination of the Scriptures birthed new understandings. Then there was warring between believers. The Catholics persecuted the Lutherans. The Lutherans persecuted the Anabaptists. Division and disunity dominated the Kingdom.
Let us not forget the lessons of the past.

Please, let's dialog. Listen to one another. Listen to hear, not to respond. Missional churches can learn from traditional and mainline churches. Conservative churches can learn from charismatic churches.

We have soiled the dress of Christ's Bride and we have prostituted her to the ebb and flow of cultural opportunism. Come, let us repent and return to the Lord.