60 Minutes did a piece recently interviewing Patriarch Bartholomew, the official leader of the Greek Orthodox Church, a body of about 300 Million people – the approximate population of the United States.

You’d think that with that kind of following they’d be in good company, but no – they are in Istanbul (formerly Constantinople).  This city in Turkey has been the dividing line between East and West – Muslim and Christian.  Istanbul stands at 99% Muslim, with only about 4,000 Greek Orthodox dotting the city landscape.  While 60 Minutes was taping the interview, Bartholomew was informed another attempt had been made on his life.

How do you love your neighbor in such a circumstance?

In fact, this is one instance when we can literally ask, “What Would Jesus Do?” because there is a record of this exact situation.  Surrounded by people furious at his very existence, Jesus used the opportunity not to lay down and die, but to be crucified on a hill for all the world to see.  This wasn’t self-righteousness, it was displaying what love looks like in public.

Some might say that Christianity always has the most trouble truly communicating it’s raison d’être in an environment where it is generally accepted or revered as the cultural norm.  Christianity was born into a political and social circumstance where exile, humiliation and persecution where expected by all followers of Jesus.  That’s why in Matthew 5:11 when Jesus said “When (not IF) you are persecuted you are blessed by God.”  He supposes that each person who chooses to live the alternative lifestyle of Jesus Christ will by their very nature be targets of mockery and destruction by others.  And what do you do when (not ‘if’) it happens?  Two things: remember that prophets who came before you were also persecuted, and then turn the other cheek.

But what about in America?

Even in an age when statistically few people are actively engaging a Christian faith, most see America as a “Christian Nation” if only in name.  Even still, you can bet that Christians living out the Christ life will have it confirmed to them when they find themselves being persecuted.  Live different, and there will always be dissenters trying to rope you back into the mainstream.  Our political system might keep you from getting executed (by the Government anyway,) but keep showing your love – and you will be attacked.  It will take you to jail, make you misunderstood and maligned by friends, and harassed by cynics, hypocrites and nay-sayers. You will be given threats at every level to stop shaking up the status-quo.  You will be underfunded and overexposed.

And if you’re reading this today and can’t think of a time when you were brought down to your knees for your beliefs – maybe its because that’s all they were — beliefs.  Put some of your radical beliefs into action.  Loving your enemies, being a peace-maker, mourning with those who mourn…it will quickly make you see just how surrounded you are by people who don’t understand you – but nevertheless keep at it – they are desperately in need of Love.

The layer of Christian Community found at the “Meso” level is named such because of its “middle” level in all the layers. It is the center both in terms of size and importance.  It is the turning point for the rest of the layers.  “Meso” is phonetically connected to the word “messy” and there is no doubt that this level is the messiest – where passions, expectations, and personalities rear their heads most overtly.  But it is in the messiness that profound transformation and growth can occur if it is allowed to.  In fact, it is the crucible where salvation (on a personal, communal, and societal level) is experienced.

—

What is the Meso Layer anyway?

We see the Meso layer as the centerpiece to the organic church network, the “Onion” we’re exploring (peeling?) in this series.  In our network it is the “simple church” the “house church family” – a gathering of about 8-25 people.  For Jesus it was his 12 disciples.  This was Jesus’ daily expression of Church – and what he referred to in the few times he used the word.  For Jesus it was his spiritual family – his “brothers, sisters, and mothers” all in hot pursuit of the Way.

Today however, so often when we think of a church – we think of an organization with qualified leaders, impressive architecture, regular practices and recited doctrines.  But what is missing?

JESUS!

Why make the one who is Head of the Church anything but the central picture of what a church is? 

Simply put – Church is Jesus followed.

In other words: the Church is:

“The presence of Jesus among His people called out as a spiritual family to pursue His mission on this planet.” — CMA

Let that sink in for a moment.  What does that mean for a crew of 12 followers of Jesus in our world today who choose to join together as a simple church?

1) It means you belong to a Family.

Similar to the African proverb, we believe “It takes a Church to raise a Christian.” We may come to faith as individuals, but we grow in community.

The Church is God’s tangible ANSWER to everything that sin created on earth, and the Meso Layer, the vibrant family of Jesus, is the primary expression of the Church.  No government program, no hierarchical structure, can ever force us to love our enemies or take care of our poor and sick; only a church family can do that.  And your personal transformation toward Christ-likeness is stunted if you try to do it on your own – you need a family.   The world needs this Layer of the Church to shine!

Think of the Meso Layer as the family that you can belong to.  Cheers: “Where everybody knows your name.”  The “household” – the “oikos” or group of friends that meet regularly (preferably at least once a week) sharing life, serving their mission field, and listening to God together.

Just because you are family together doesn’t mean there won’t be conflict.  In fact, one of the watermarks of following Jesus is unity in diversity.  Learning to love the “other.”  It wasn’t long before the earliest Jewish Christians realized that Christ’s message was for the world, and then came the difficult work of overcoming stereotypes, personal vices, and inviting those incorrigible Gentiles into your household.  What they no doubt discovered in the process was that it was not their household to begin with, it was God’s.  Jewish Christians weren’t bringing Gentiles into God’s family, they were all together joining a brand new Family made up of very different people.  Suddenly the Jewish Christians’ high theological platitudes of the Church being for the whole world suddenly found its expression sitting in the living room through a smelly guy who loves a good pork sandwich.  And they realized:

“Brotherhood doesn’t come in a package. It is not a commodity to be taken down from the shelf with one hand — it is an accomplishment of soul-searching, prayer and perseverance.” — Oveta Culp Hobby

and

“He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Its only in recent days and among Western societies that the notion of “When it comes to spirituality, I do my own thing,” has popped up.  Maybe a development from the fierce American individualism alongside its distrust of submission and authority.  But when will we see that first, we are communal beings? Our spirituality cannot flourish in isolation.

“Let him who cannot be alone beware of community, and let him who cannot be in community beware of being alone.” – Bonhoeffer.

2) It means you have a Purpose.

Imagine a strand of DNA.  Two twisting rails with a series of ascending rungs holding it all together.  In this simple structure holds the design of a person’s very essence.  It is the instructions and in someways the destiny of the organism it references.  Church may find its essence and destiny in its DNA.

That DNA is Divine Truth, Nurturing Relationships, and Apostolic Mission.

Our aim is to see the DNA express itself overtly in all levels of the Onion, and its clear that if the Meso Layer doesn’t express the DNA of the Church, no other layer will either.

We find the Church’s DNA wrapped up in its genome, the Bible, most clearly seen in the Great Commandment (“Love God…” (Divine Truth), and “Love your Neighbor…” (Nurturing Relationships)), and the Great Commission (“Go into all the world, making disciples,” Apostolic Mission).

— D —

A consistent connecting to God through worship, Bible study, and listening to God’s voice in prayer are what keep the N and the A moving in the right direction.  It is the seed that is planted in the soil of a community.  It is the incarnation of God’s Divine Word in a frail human community sharing God himself through the simplest of gifts; bread, wine, song, Scripture, prayer…

The more a Meso level community is able to cross-pollinate spiritual resources and Divine Truth to its own members, the healthier it will be. (Rom 12:6-8)  Each member of the community is granted a ministry to the other members of the community; from rich to poor, young to old.

When a simple church gathers together, its aim is to share what its members collected during their time apart, sharing stories, songs, Scriptures, and meals.  Essentially, they are gathering the scattered fragments of the Kingdom. They are creating a “spiritual potluck” or an “open mic” where each person brings what God gave them. (1 Cor 14:26)  No one comes empty-handed, and they leave with abundance in order to offer the world a portion of the sacred bounty!

— N —

There is no doubt: WE NEED COMMUNITY – but what is the purpose of a church?

Through the “N in the DNA,” a nurturing church family at the Meso Layer is all about “equipping” the saints.  But what does “equip” mean?  Essentially the word means to “put a bone in right relationship with the rest of the body.”

The Meso Layer of church is the primary place for nurturing the Christian in the context of a spiritual family.  It is where we engage as healed sinners in the Kingdom-community.

Here are a few functions through which a church family may equip its members: common Love and Compassion (unity in diversity, Eph 4:1-7), common Identity and Purpose (faith, hope, love // Being of the same mind – Phil 2:1-2 ), common Nurture and Service (the “one anothers” of Scripture, Spiritual Parenting and Counsel, and  Inner-Healing Prayer), common Discernment (SASHET/ VIRKLER, communal discernment and spiritual direction), common Forgiveness and Reconciliation (through elements like shared meals, Baptism, and Communion), common Authority and Submission (sharing possessions, accepting the wisdom of others), and finally, common Worship and Prayer.

— A —

In addition, the Meso Layer of the Church is the primary catalyst for world transformation and presenting Christ to the world.  The purpose of the church is not itself.  The Church does not exist for our sake.  We ARE the Church, for the sake of the world – and to the glory of our groom, Christ.

The Church does not have a mission.  The Mission has a Church.

Merely holding a family together is not a big enough story for the role we have to play in this world.  While pastors would rather keep the sheep in the pen, the purpose of a healthy family is to present to the world the dynamic, unique and redeemed life of Jesus in a contextual way.  In fact, a deeper level of community (communitas) is forged in a church when it strikes out on a mission together.  Dream big dreams – make no small plans.

A broad summary of the New Testament mission and most Jesus-led missional movements throughout the ages included the work of God and the partnership of God’s Church family – specifically at the Meso Level.  The church has always had the virus of apostolic mission – God calling, preparing and sending communities as little capsules of the Kingdom.

This is the underlying current beneath every missional church.  From the church that met in Aquilla and Priscilla’s house in the 1st Century, to St. Patrick’s edgy “barbarian missions” in the 4th Century to the church in America today.

The Church is an Organism

At the Meso Level, we see the fluid nature of the church at its best.  It is essentially the crossroads of the Onion – it is where 3 or 4 Micro level communities (like LTG’s) make the the MesoLevel group of 12 people, and a Macro Level worship event is a collective of several different Meso groups.  We should never underestimate the power of these small groups – these simple churches – these “vibrant families of Jesus.”

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead

Because we believe in the power of the Meso Layer addressing and solving the ills of society and the brokenness in each individual, we have made the planting of these communities our central missions focus:

“Our mission is to see a vibrant family of Jesus Christ in close reach, culturally and geographically, of every person in Chicago.”

Organic things grow, and reproduce in time.  Organic churches follow God’s call to “be fruitful and multiply.”  Overtime, this creates a a grassroots network of faith families!  There is no true beginning or end to this liquid network of organic churches, connecting to Christians in every church, denomination and region on earth.  Yes, there may be names of church fellowships in cities and regions, but truly the Church – the network – of Christ goes on forever, both in time and space – one unified Body of Christ on earth!

Have you read Finding Organic Church by Frank Viola yet?  I recommend it – he has steadily grown on me over his last several works, and this is his most practical and reasonable book on the world of starting and sustaining authentic Christian communities.

Viola devotes a whole section of his book to “Practical Steps for Beginning.”  His first chapter in that section, “Five Unmovable Principles” is what I want to mention briefly in this post.

These are 5 values, or goals that each person in a house church MUST strive for as they are starting a new community together.  Otherwise, it is certainly doomed to become another pet project, run by men and not by God.  Viola says that embracing these principles however, will help a community avoid the major pitfalls and disappointments that so many house churches are hammered with in their first year.

…I would say that after years of helping plant house churches, seeing some fail and some thrive, that his list dead on.

They are:

1. Become like little children.

You may have been a spiritual guru in your last church or at seminary, but now you’re called to drop your agenda, gifts, ambitions and simply be a humble sibling in the Lord.   Unlearn as much as you can at the start.  Lean on Christ alone.

2. Your feelings will get hurt.

People will let you down, and you will disappoint others – no getting around it.  You will not get your own way.  Strangely you will be most offended by the vices in others that most reflect your own.  When someone hurts your feelings, that is the moment to see exactly what kind of person you are and want to become in Jesus.

3. Be patient with the progress of the group.

This may be “simple church” but its not simplistic, and its not a microwave!  It took 9 months for you to be born, its similar with an organic church.  All the unlearning and rebuilding going on in hearts of your church family takes time.  Certainly everyone’s clock is not the same as yours, but never fear – there is progress – visible or not.

4. People will leave your group.

Be honest, working towards a house church with no regular sermon, large-group worship, children’s classes, etc is a tough shift for many Christians to make – even non-Christians have certain expectations for what “church” is in America.  WHEN (not if) people “check you out” and then “shop elsewhere” do your best not to wish them anything but the best, do not judge their motives, and do not pressure them to stay.  Maintain instead a liberal atmosphere of freedom and a presence of God’s Spirit.

5. People will experience exciting spiritual growth and healing!

Don’t forget that it is in this context that people were designed to grow.  It is their natural habitat to flourish – socially, and spiritually.  It is in intimate, small groups that transformation occurs – and it is in these committed families of love that hold the seeds to upend the world and transform it for GOOD.  Watch with expectancy as lives are changed and healed, and as ideas for local mission and service are hatched!