Excited about church

I have been thinking about the church a good deal recently. I can't help but be excited about what I believe is in store for the church. Perhaps I should define church before I go further. Far too frequently people associate church with a building, or a service on Sunday morning, or programs like children's ministry or youth ministry. Now I want to be clear, these things are not wrong it's just that they should not define church.

In the Biblical paradigm of church, none of these defining items are even mentioned. In the Bible, church is about people, followers of Jesus, doing life together. Church was not something to attend but something to be together with other followers of Christ. Look at the following description:

They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.

I would like to make some observations about the nature of the first century church from these words.

1. Church relationships were far deeper than meeting once a week. Church broke out every day of the week - in homes and in the temple. It seems to me that church erupted at the workplace and in the streets on a DAILY basis
2. There was a deep sense of community that resulted in needs being known and met. They ate together, shared together, did life together in vulnerable, raw community. They prayed for each other because they deeply cared for each other.
3. Their shared walk not only enabled them care for each other, it allowed for a spirit of praise to arise as the goodness of God was evident to all. Joy and simplicity marked their interaction. In other words, they had a good time. (They might have even laughed together!!) There was not any kind of posturing or jockeying for position.

For the past several years, I have been privileged to experience some of the sense of community seen in this account. I am walking in close proximity with other believers, sharing joys, doubts, and the wonder of discovery. Life and laughter spills out as we celebrate God's goodness. We share sorrows and burdens as well, our hearts being knit to each other and to the Father as we experience the difficulty of life at times.

People ask me from time to time what new thing I see emerging in the church. One of my close fellow travellers on this journey made an insightful comment recently - "Is it possible that the new thing God wants to do is really an old thing?" I think she was on to something. I believe that there are glorious days ahead for the church as we re-discover the simplicity of God's original intent for church.

Everywhere I go people are longing for this kind of community. Community that practices discipleship as a lifestyle instead of a class or a program. People hunger to experience the presence of God as seen through the Body of His Son. This stirring for deep connection with other believers that spurs us to deeper relationship with God, this hunger for life is God breathed as we return to the simplicity of church.

As I ponder these things, I can't help but be excited!

Destroying the church??

Recently I have been accused of trying to destroy the church. I find that accusation rather amusing since the church cannot be destroyed! However, I think I know the source of the accusation.

Let me start by defining "church". The Greek word we translate as church is "ekklesia". Quite literally it means "a calling out" and it refers to a group of people. As I get older, I am becoming more aware of the need to be part of an "ekklesia". Christianity is meant to be lived in community, close intimate community. We see this in the early church in the book of Acts (read Acts 2).

Some years ago, the Holy Spirit challenged me to measure our current church activity against the template of the life of Jesus (we are the body of Christ) and against the example of the early church. Much to my surprise I discovered a lot of things that did not align with either example. I don't think that every thing we do has to be exactly like the early church. For example, while the early church did not have buildings, I do not feel that there is anything wrong with a body of believers owning a building that facilitates their walk with God.

However, what does bother me is that there is a system of beliefs and actions in our current church mindset that is synonymous with God in the minds of many people. If we depart from that system beliefs or actions, we are accused of being deceived. For instance:

• We measure a person's spiritual growth by their attendance of a meeting on Sunday morning. We see church as something to attend. If someone does not attend a Sunday service, they are somehow rebellious. (Regardless of whether they are living out the life of Jesus and the pattern of the early church throughout the week)

• We have recreated an OT type of worship with a priest (the pastor) and a temple (the building). Our primary worship is in the building under the leading of the priest.

• The structure of the church becomes more important than God and His work in the life of individuals. For instance - we recruit people to fill ministry spots instead of freeing people to pursue the path God has for them.

• Through the years, most of the leader's meetings in which I participated (and led) had more to do with keeping the structure running smoothly than they did with building deep heart to heart relationships with other believers.

It seems to me that much of our current paradigm of church has been influenced, not by Jesus and a Biblical paradigm, but by a system that has been handed down for centuries. That system is not inherently wrong UNTIL the system takes the place of God. In other words, we become more interested in protecting the church system than we are in following Jesus. When that happens, we usually attempt to make Jesus fit our framework of church instead of allowing our ideas about church to be formed by Him.

I have spoken with leaders and believers from across the United States and from other countries who will confess that the "system" is counterproductive to the expansion of the Kingdom of God. When the system becomes more important than people, people will be used or discarded according to their loyalty, not to God, but to the system. The system rewards leaders with power, a sense of worth, and in certain situations, financial security. People become the fuel to fire the engine of efficiency and productivity. The problem is not with the way we express the church, the problem arises when our expression of church becomes more important than God's work.

It is that system that kills the church. It is that system that holds people in bondage, keeping them from fulfilling their God-given purpose. It is that system that oppresses creativity. It is that system that opposes the priesthood of believers. It is that system that resists servant leadership. It is that system that is facing the judgment of God. It is that system that I will violently oppose.

Those who think I am destroying church are confusing God's idea of church with the "church system" that opposes radical interaction with God and the expansion of His kingdom. It is the ungodly system that God will destroy. Because their love for "the system", people feel threatened by this judgment of God.

I am deeply committed to Jesus and the Body of Christ. Church (ekklesia) is God's idea. I am deeply invested in heart to heart relationships with a community of believers. I deeply value the privilege of being part of the church. I have no desire to destroy the church. (And I couldn't if I wanted to!) I simply want people to be free to experience and be the church according to the Biblical pattern.

Merchandising, the church and evangelism

Bev and I were in South Carolina last month to visit our son. Every time I am there, I can't help but notice the amount of billboards extolling the virtues of attending specific churches. It seems as if churches are competing for a clientele, attempting to lure people with promises of satisfaction. Is that what the Kingdom of God is about - getting people into my building to be part of my clientele?

Yet it is not just in South Carolina that this attitude prevails. Recently I had to attend a business meeting at a local restaurant. As I was entering the restaurant, I met an acquaintance at the cash register. He began to tell me about a specific waitress to whom he had been talking. He wanted me to know that he was sure she could be convinced to attend Grace Covenant Church. He wanted me to "close the deal" with her.

Is that what Christianity is about? Are we to convince people of the value of the services they will receive if they attend our church? Sometimes I wonder if Christians have attended a used car sales training seminar. To me it all feels more like we are trying to sell used cars than inviting people into our lives to see firsthand our journey with Jesus. Quite frankly, I think we are more interested in building our own kingdom than we are about the expansion of God's kingdom. In my opinion, the good news of God's present kingdom here on earth is frequently lost in our efforts to build our church.

Life, not misery

It's 1:00 AM and I am sitting in the PA Farmshow Complex. While I recently started a new job with Agri-King, a livestock nutrition company, I still work for the state at the Farmshow Complex from time to time. Tonight I have lots of time to think as I make sure nobody steals the antiques on display for a show. I am surprisingly lucid...maybe it's the coffee!

In my last post I reflected on the goodness of God. (And for all those who will meet with GCC on Sunday, it is a preview of what I will be teaching). I think that I am beginning to understand eternal life. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, joy, and peace. This is not some ethereal concept but a practical reality.

I am aware that many teachers in the church world resist the idea that life can be good, that God desires us to enjoy life. They speak of dying to self, of the fact that Jesus said that in this world we will experience trials. Unfortunately they never move beyond the suffering. Jesus did not come so that we could suffer. Jesus did not come so that we would spend our days being miserable.

Will following Jesus cause us to die to self? Absolutely. However death is not the destination. It wasn't for Jesus and neither is it for us. Death and suffering are simply the doorway to the realm of God, a place of righteousness, joy, and peace. Taking up our cross and dying to self is for the purpose of experiencing resurrection life, not just in theory but in reality.

Do not give ear to people who spend their entire life in misery. They have not truly experienced God. Do not be swayed by those who promote Christianity as a struggle to "hold on" until they reach heaven some day. These miserable Christians frequently attempt to place guilt on those who are enjoying life. They are much like the older brother in Jesus' story of the prodigal son.

Jesus came so that we might have abundant life...enjoy it lavishly!

God is so good

I know the title of this entry sounds rather cliche-ish. However I do not know any other words to use to describe what I am experiencing as I walk with Him. In 1994, Bev and I relinquished our dream to own a farm and breed the best herd of Holstein cattle possible. God invited us to leave it all and follow Him into the unknown. We simply assumed that the dreams of raising livestock, of cows contentedly lounging on a green pasture were gone.

For the past several years, I have done some security work at the Pennsylvania Farmshow and Expo Center. Last fall as I watched a cattle show, I began to realize how much my heart was still stirred by the thought of breeding cattle. I began to wonder if maybe my heart dreams that I relinquished in 1994 were perhaps coming to life again.

In January of this year, God opened the door for me to work in the livestock nutrition field. Once again I find myself working a job that is not work for me. It makes my heart come to life. The dream of breeding fine cattle is stirring again.

When I gave my dreams to God, relinquishing my right to fulfill them, I assumed that He had discarded them in some eternal trash can to buried in the landfill of selfish desires. Instead, He deposited those dreams into an eternal bank account for a time. While I thought that they were dead, in reality, like any good investment, they were collecting interest until the time for them to be given back to me. God could have chosen to discard those dreams, instead He took care of them for me. God didn't have to keep those dreams for me - but He did!

And so I find myself in a place where my heart explodes with gratitude. His goodness in giving the dreams back to me was not required for me to love Him. He has already done enough. But the lavish restoration of relinquished dreams points to His extravagant love for me.

To all of this I can only say GOD IS SO GOOD!

My frustration with small-minded, irrelevant people

I have a confession to make. I am deeply impatient with and frustrated by what I call "small-minded, irrelevant people". Let me explain...

They are small-minded because they have no real concept of the larger work of God. They are kings of their own kingdom, creating false realities that strengthen their deception. While they may be able to parrot the correct words that sound spiritual, they have no concept of the kingdom of God. They create their own god, a god that caters to their desires. They frequently insert themselves into places that are none of their business, attempting to be God in the lives of other people. They claim to speak for God without ever having any consciousness of God. They have preconceived notions of how things ought to happen. They pompously judge other people all the while ignoring their own ugliness.

They are irrelevant to the kingdom of God. Because they have no concept of the work of God, they cannot and will not participate with God in His redemptive work. While they put themselves forward as teachers and leaders in the church, their efforts are completely outside of the rule of God. As a result, they are irrelevant to expansion of the realm of God on the earth today. They speak of power but have none. They are more interested in protecting their religious system than they are in conforming to the will of God. They are more invested in making sure things get done their way than they are about the kingdom of God coming to earth. They impose their own will instead of allowing the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus was confronted by this same type of people in His day. He pointedly spoke to their hypocrisy. He was angered by their callous attitude toward people who need healing. In the end, they were irrelevant to what God was doing in that day.

Give up

I have noticed a lot of self-effort recently in my conversations with Christians. People try to love more, try to be a better person, try to forgive, try follow Jesus. The problem with trying is that the starting point for the self-effort attempts is still self. When our starting point for any kind of transformational work is self, we are doomed to failure. If we could transform ourselves into people who love without restraint, who freely forgive without limitation, who radically follow Jesus without reservation, we would have no need for a Saviour.

I have discovered that embracing my human-ness, and coming to grips with my own inability to to live in the manner expected by God allows me to experience the transformational power of God. Instead of attempting to cover my ugliness with a veneer of goodness, I throw myself on the mercy of God, realizing that apart from Him I have no chance of ever changing. Instead of focusing on changing my behaviors, I run into Him with all my destructive ways, allowing His words and work to transform me.

As I yield my ugliness and humanity to Him, I have discovered that He begins to transform my thought processes and behaviors. I no longer need to strive to change myself into what I think God wants. I allow Him to change me into what He wants.

Instead of trying harder to change, I encourage you to abandon yourself in all your ugliness to God. Let Him define you with His words, let Him transform you by His Spirit, embrace His strategy for your transformation. You cannot change yourself, you cannot rescue yourself. Instead, allow the supernatural work of Jesus to become real in you.