I've spent the past 40+ years of my life helping build and strengthen the organized church. First in Agoura Hills, CA. Then in Phoenix, AZ. And then in Los Altos, CA.
And before I say anything else, I feel like I should add a disclaimer - What I'm about to write is in no way meant to say that the organized church is a bad thing or that it should be done away with. Please keep that in mind. I love the organized church. I've spent the majority of my life giving my time & talents & money & a lot of other stuff to the organized church. It has been the life work that God called Dave & I to way back when we were twenty-somethings fresh out of college. And we have loved being a part of God's work in that way. And we truly believe that we have been right where God wanted us to be, doing what He wanted us to do, all those years. But...
There is a huge paradigm shift going on in my heart and mind. It's been brewing there since 2008 (see my Simple Church blog post from back then). And during these past seventeen years God has been adding more and more fuel to this shift in thinking. And now Dave is even feeling the same awakening going on in his mind and heart. Which is huge!
It began with watching my son Brent and his wife Danielle living out their Christian life in community with other believers and with the unbelievers who lived around them. They and some of their Christian friends even moved into a particular neighborhood in Pasadena for that very purpose. It was awesome.
Then my journey progressed to reading
The Tangible Kingdom, followed by
The Gathered AND Scattered Church. (Great books!) Then Dave agreed to come with me to a Missio conference put on by the guys who wrote those books. Which led us to begin studying through the
Tangible Kingdom Primer with a small group in our home. (It was life-changing!) Then a few years later reading Francis Chan's book "Letters to the Church." The biblical truths I've been learning through all these resources have been rocking my world.
The bottom line of the "new" thing God is teaching me has to do with what it truly means - what it biblically means - to be a fully devoted follower of Christ. Here are some random thoughts about the things I've been studying and pondering.
Most evangelical churches, along with all three of the organized churches we've ministered at, have in some way said their purpose is to help (1)
bring people to Christ, and help people (2)
become like Christ. And the intent behind those words is very biblical. But as I look at the majority of churches in the United States, there isn't a whole lot of bringing people to Christ happening. Most churches are lucky to have a handful of people come to Christ each year, even though there may be hundreds of believers in the church. And as far as becoming like Christ, that usually means a list of things like the following: spend time with God praying and reading/studying His word; attend church regularly; give money to the church; find a place of ministry in the church; invite people to church; and be prepared to witness to lost people if the opportunity ever comes up.
It seems to me that in practice the primary focus of the organized church over the past 100+ years has been to build the organized church. And again, don't get me wrong here. The organized church does great things. But when you really stop to think about it, the organized church has been about building a body of believers who are dependent on the organized church. (Now they wouldn't say that's what they're doing, but it sure seems to be the reality of it.) The organized church becomes the center of our lives and our spiritual life.
In the 20th century, that's what the organized church wanted. Just center your life around the church and we'll teach you and your kids and keep you on track. Give us your money and we'll make sure it's used to build God's kingdom (which mainly means the organized church, with a small percentage given to missions). We'll plan programs for you and your kids, and lead times of worship for you, and make your Christian life as easy as possible. Just join up and we've got you covered. Oh, and don't forget to invite others to come to our church too.
But I don't see the Bible ever telling us that should be the priority. I don't see Jesus ever telling us to create these set apart places where we can all hang out together away from the world. Where an organization will coordinate and oversee our Christian life. Where it's easy and safe. Where we can keep learning more about God and hanging out with people we're comfortable with and not have to worry about the messy stuff out in the world.
From what I see in Acts, when the early followers of Christ gathered together it was to encourage each other to get out there and live their lives in the world like Jesus would. And it didn't just happen for an hour on Sunday morning. They would get together in homes for holy huddles where they'd eat together and the apostles or elders would teach them what Jesus had done and what He had taught, and they would all pray together and sing/worship together. They'd share their frustrations and their fears and their successes. And they'd find ways together to show love to the unbelievers they were all sharing their lives with. Together they'd provide for the needs of each other and of those around them in their community. They would live life together as they walked in the way of Jesus.
And after they gathered for encouragement, they'd get back out there where life gets messy and it costs something as they let God lead them and use them to touch the world around them. The main focus of their lives - their priority - was watching for God's leading. Spending time on their own with God and in His Word. And spending time with unbelievers, getting to know them, loving them, sharing life with them, and being ready to answer them when they asked "Why are you so different?!"
Somehow we've gotten a long way off from that. And there's a longing in my heart to be living like that. But all the time and effort and money it takes to keep the organized church going and growing keeps getting in the way.
Bill Hybels is known for saying that the local church is the hope of the world. Ever since I first heard him say those words, I've felt that something was slightly off with that...if by church He meant the organized church. I think the hope of the world is fully devoted followers of Christ who choose to make it their priority to live their lives as Jesus would - walking in His way - banding together with a group of like-minded believers (the church!) and stepping out of the organized church walls to live life day by day in community with the lost world around them. With the goal of letting God use them to bring people to Christ, not to church.
I have felt for many years that the goal of the organized church should be to raise up believers who are not dependent on the organized church. As Francis Chan says, he feels his job as a pastor is to raise up believers who could be transplanted into any new city, make connections with others, band with other believers and new "disciples" who come to Christ, and become the body of Christ together - the Church meeting in homes or community rooms or coffee shops. Worshipping together. Studying God's Word together. Praying together. Serving the community together. Holding each other accountable to walk worthy. Taking care of each other. That's the body of Christ. That's what can happen if each believer is trained to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus. A disciple who makes disciples. Isn't that what Jesus commissioned us to do?
I'm not sure where this is all heading. I know God is doing something in my mind and heart. Where it's leading, I don't know. Is there a way to tweak the organized church so our priority is on getting believers out into the world instead of inside the church walls? Are we training believers to actually be disciples, able to "be the church" out in the world with other believers who live near them? Without needing an organized church to tell them what to do and when to do it?
I think our time with Covid was a wake up call from God. And an opportunity for the Church to realize that those of us who are believers ARE the church. Even if all the organized church doors are closed. We shouldn't miss a beat. Because we should already know how to gather with other believers, on our own, to be the body of Christ together.
