BOTH AND
While I’m the first to admit that there needs to be “all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people” – there’s a catch in my throat even as I say the words.
I think its because I know that most Christians when they hear those words believe that today’s dominant expression of church in America should continue to be the default image in our minds when we think “church” .  This expression of the Church is the Sunday morning programmatic model, built around staff, buildings, high-cost infrastructure – with the aims of becoming another “mega”church. This the picture most people think of when they think of “church” – at least here in the West.
And yes – every part of me is thankful to God that there are tens of thousands of churches built around that expression of God’s family – it is obviously reaching tens of millions of people with the authentic Gospel of God! Â Praise God for that! Â Lives are changed!
And yet – there are still 250 million people who were not a part of a church gathering last Sunday – and have no connection with a church…many more still may have no true commitment to the Lord Jesus. Â And that number is growing all the time.
So a quote stands out to me:
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve already got.” — Genius unknown
Jeff Kirsch, a member of the City on a Hill faith community has a recent, great post on some of the metaphors and assumptions Jesus used to describe what God’s Family looks like – yeast, field, flock, seed, soil… this is a Kingdom, a church that doesn’t need institutional maintenance and a ministry marketing department -
…it is a “subtle contagion”…
…or as in Mark 4:26-29 the farmer (read pastor) sleeps while the Kingdom grows beyond his control!
Why not work with the grain of the Kingdom, rather than against it?
Let the Gospel seed grow underground in your friendships, permeating every nook and cranny of your life – truly trust that the fire of mission and divine love will bubble up in people as you share life on life with them.
Trust that Jesus truly is the head of the Church – and not you and your staff. Â Could it be that our churches look too much alike – each vying for the same 15% of the population – meanwhile hundreds of millions more are looking desperately for a church that looks like Jesus-with-skin-on in their context, only to find the same praise band or Powerpoints wherever they go.
I’m writing this not out of anger or bitterness; I’m writing this as a missionary, crying desperately for the Christians to reach out to a lost world. Â Could it be that the biggest obstacle for people in discovering the true Lord Jesus and his Church is our pre-conceived notions of what church is and how it should function in the world?
The lost need us to recapture the characteristics of the Kingdom of God and to tear down the walls of the church-box in our mind. Â The desperate are dying for us to incarnate the Gospel in fresh ways on our block – even as we love and bless what God is doing down the street.
I am cautiously optimistic though, as I look at the horizon of “church planting” – the wineskin of the church is becoming fresh, new. Churches gathering in nightclubs, poetry circles, homes, parks, under overpasses and in city centers. Â Churches that live together 24/7, that function as a little family and a source of light and healing for their blighted neighborhood. Â I’m seeing new forms of God’s family take shape in our little organic church network. Â I’m seeing new faith-community experiments bubble up all over Chicago, and the country.
Its time to take the lid off – where might things spread if we took Jesus’ images of his Church seriously?
Its BOTH/AND.
) and how to essentially see a city with God’s eyes. We tried to be as specific as possible, but in the end, we knew that keeping things open for imaginations to run wild was the whole idea. After a time of Q & A, we teamed people up in pairs, and sent them out to various city neighborhoods with maps, cameras, and journals.
Tim C is discussing. 
peter lambert 2:30 pm on March 31, 2011 Permalink
are you suggesting we actually follow Jesus instead of the institution? You Heretic. Lol. Some very serious food for thought in your post
Mark W 4:24 pm on March 31, 2011 Permalink
If we explode the image in our minds of what church is – if we let down our guard and our expectations – if we set aside our own visions of success and look instead for what God might want to do; even as strange and unique as it might seem to the prevailing “church planting” world – for God’s glory – let’s give it a shot and see if it sticks! I think a little “bio-diversity” in God’s garden might do us some good.
Jon 'JB' Butler 4:08 pm on April 3, 2011 Permalink
Good thought provoking post.
I think we can sometimes forget that maybe our lives and expression of faith in the living God, should be as living as him.
Mark W 4:22 pm on April 3, 2011 Permalink
Jesus presented with us a “way” meaning he didn’t ask us to “admit he existed” or “attend a specific gathering on a specific day” – This Way is what 1 John 2 means when it says, “we are to live as Jesus lived.” That’s what discipleship is about – as much as we’d prefer it to simply be a series of worship songs and prayers, etc.
Jon – thanks for your thoughts – how does our lives provide an “expression of faith in the living God” as you suggest?