Organizing Efforts

Addressing the Future Organizational Image of the Church Universal

🔊 Listen I walked away from the institutional model of the church ministry in 1995, after directing music for 22 years within her walls. I couldn’t label myself as a “none” or “done” because the term wasn’t on anyone’s radar in the 90’s. The exodus from organized Christianity was a negligible trickle at the time. I harbored no animosity toward the institution when I made my exit. My calling in music ministry simply ceased to exist.

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🔊 Listen Of all the subjects taught by church leaders, organizing people for effective ministry is rarely one of them. Yet, we all know that a well-organized mission is key to its success. Furthermore, we know that people are not likely to participate in a mission that is not well-organized. So, what does the Bible say about organizing the church? Does the Bible contain any organizational teachings?

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🔊 Listen In my circle of influence I hear comments that indicate an internal questioning. We all know that major change is upon us, yet we wonder where the change is leading? I happen to think millions of spiritual leaders are floundering for direction right now. I think Jesus’ vision for where the human spirit *must go, and how the human spirit *must grow, was made known during his earthly ministry.

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🔊 Listen Most bridal departments are well staffed with consultants. These women politely prevent the general public, who might have dirty hands, from aimlessly browsing through the wedding gowns. Instead, the gowns are carefully selected for the bride-to-be, by the consultants. I was young and naive when my parents took me to several of these upscale bridal shops. They wanted to help me select the perfect dress for my wedding day. What should have been a fun-filled experience, accompanied by laughter and giddiness, turned out to be just plain deflating!

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🔊 Listen Christians, we like our walls! I mean we love, love, love our walls! We love the walls of our church buildings. We love our denominational walls, and our non-denominational walls. We love the church walls in our towns and cities. We love our regional walls, and we love our national walls. The church’s walls are time-honored! They were built by our ancestors who shed blood, sweat, and tears to erect them. We must not tarnish or dismantle the work of our parents and grandparents, by disrespecting the walls they built. We’ve inherited them and we must care for them. Right?     Read more

🔊 Listen The past 30 years have provided a slew of new ideas regarding the way Christians ‘do’ church. The best thing about these fresh entrepreneurial efforts, is that they have successfully broken a mold that needed to be broken. But more recently, people have begun to question the sustainability of the newer church-planting models. Moreover, the term, “church plant,” is problematic. It creates an image of something that is planted from seed, and grown from the ground by those who sow the seed. While this may be a great metaphor for sharing the Gospel, it’s not helpful as a working, organizational image.

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🔊 Listen Christians make one mistake—and it’s a whopper! We don’t understand the Way of Jesus! We think we do, but we don’t. As a Christian, I never knew we were making such a huge mistake. The way we do church is just plain wrong! So, now that I see the mistake, it’s impossible to keep quiet about it! I can’t. Nor should I. As a member of the body of Christ, I am obligated to speak up. Moreover, I believe that the church will spin her wheels forever, unless Christians deal with this mistake, and agree not to continue making it.

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