Churches are like Onions

It has been several years since we first asked the question, “Who was Jesus’ church?” but the question seems once again at the forefront of our dialogue in our house church network here in Chicago.  When God came to earth as Jesus, there is no doubt that he sought out to develop a spiritual family – adopted through the grace of God.  But how did he understand that family?  And how does that impact how we live as that family today?

———–

MONDO - Was Jesus’ church the crowds?  The amazing impact he had on teaching to hundreds, maybe thousands of hearts at the Sermon on the Mount, or numerous other occasions when anyone within ear shot heard whispers of God’s Kingdom.  They experienced his healings, heard his wisdom, and witnessed his death.

MACRO - Was Jesus’ church the 70 disciples he trained and commissioned  in pairs to proclaim and display the subversive Kingdom of God to villages and people groups all over the Empire?  Certainly he spent enough time with these disciples to share the vision of the Kingdom with them, and apparently they were ready to leave their wallets and responsibilities behind as they set out as the world’s first missionaries.  They trusted Jesus, and he trusted them.  Certainly they too were his church.

MESO - Were the 12 disciples the church of Jesus on earth?  These foolhardy friends were present with Jesus daily.  They not only experienced the MEGA and the MACRO, but they were given special attention – a director’s cut on Jesus’ confusing teachings, and the impartation of his Holy Spirit.  They became the catalyst for the Church worldwide as we read about it in Acts.  No doubt they saw themselves as Jesus’ church.

MICRO - But maybe Jesus’ church was “smaller still.”  Regularly we read about the companions of Jesus; Peter, James and John.  They found Jesus at his strongest (Mount of Transfiguration) and his weakest (Mount of Olives).  Surely they understood him better than any other people on the planet.  The Gospel of John accounts a very intimate portrait of Jesus Christ, very different from the other writers – could this be from John’s close friendship with his Lord?

MONO - At the end of the day, everyone mentioned above misunderstands Jesus Christ and his mission.  Ultimately, Jesus’ church was his personal (not private) relationship with the Triune God.

————–

Obviously the question is a misnomer.  All of these layers: MONDO, MACRO, MESO, MICRO, and MONO are layers in Jesus’ faith community.  Think of these as “layers of an onion.”

Consider the movements of Jesus Christ throughout the ages; each one promotes as special only a certain layer of the onion, many times to the exclusion or in reaction to the abuses of the other layers.  The Chinese house church movement, the Mega-Church movement in America, George Whitfield’s frontier revivals, the Anabaptists of 16th Century Europe, the “anamcharas” (soul friends) of 6th Century Ireland.

As we watch this particular organic network of faith emerge in Chicago, and truly all around the world – it will benefit each follower of Christ, each faith community, each network, to consider how a healthy onion is made up of healthy layers.  The Underground Church Network aims to grow a healthy onion!  But how?

This is the beginning of a blog series that will unpack the current reality and future plans of how one organic church network in Chicago is attempting to develop healthy layers of Christian community.  We’ll look at each layer – MONO, MICRO, MESO, MACRO, and MONDO.  Stay tuned!

Share