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The followers of Jesus are called to bind up the brokenhearted and heal humanity’s woundedness. Doing so requires a commitment to justice, for all societies on earth. The religious models of yesterday created systems of oppression. Instead of binding up broken hearts, oppression actually causes heartbreak and woundedness. Will the future model of the church be different? Yes, she will.
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?
Many faithful church goers are familiar with Jesus’ parable of the man who owns 100 sheep, and loses 1 of them. It is thought to be a lesson about the great lengths God, and by association, Christians, will go to bring 1 lost sheep back to the fold of church membership. This surface understanding often causes churchgoers to see themselves as the 99 good, faithful, obedient sheep who stay close to their owner.
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.
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!
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
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.
Christians, we have a problem! We are confused by something fundamental to our faith—Law and Love. When we talk about God’s Law, the Ten Commandments, the Law of Moses, the covenant of law, a new commandment, and the covenant of love—we often lump each of these separate entities, into one big law versus love debate! We don’t take the time to define the differences between these very unique subjects! Then, we wonder why we disagree, or why we don’t understand each other’s perspectives. The result? We live with a plate full of scrambled eggs!
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.
Continued from Part I: So, when we look at how the church should’ve organized herself, we must see the 3,400-year-old model, that the first believers in Acts 1 understood! If we don’t look to the original tribal model in the Sinai desert, then we are left to our own imagination, when it comes to building or growing the church. And, so far, human imagination has blown the church way off course! The organizational models that we’ve chosen, and continue to choose, will never fulfill the vision Jesus had for the bride of Christ.Read more