I'm Not Crazy...Institution!
Matthew 16:18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
I love this story in Matthew, where Peter confesses Christ the Messiah, the Son of the living God and on Peter, or his confession, the church will be built. It even says that the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. What I have always missed or at least haven't given much thought to is the fact that it says that Christ will build his church. It doesn't say he will give further instruction, it doesn't say to have a strategic meeting or read the latest book on organic church planting, it says "I (The Christ) will build my church". I want to be clear that I don't think reading literature on church planting and organization is always a bad thing but I don't think we have usually stopped there. We follow blueprints and models to plant churches. As a result, we live in a time and place where our churches look much more like institutions and corporations than organic Jesus communities. The first response to this challenge is often a defensive one. It's hard to look at structures and ways of life, that we have given ourselves to, could be anything other than good but the way we have ordered our worship and gatherings begs a more honest discernment.
"I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it". I was listening to a podcast this week where the host asked "If Jesus said HE would build his church, how do you think He's doing?".
Stop and really think about the implications of that question before continuing.
No, really. Stop and think about what that says about the state of the church in the West.
I mean if Jesus said he would be the one who would build it, we are left having to say either Jesus isn't doing a good job (I certainly don't want to be in that camp) or that WE are building our churches in opposition to the way of Jesus.
What are people really rejecting?
I'm not crazy - institution You're the one who's crazy - institution You're driving me crazy - institution They stuck me in an institution Said it was the only solution To give me the needed professional help To protect me from the enemy - myself
If you grew up in the 80's or if you are fan of Punk music, you may be familiar with this punk anthem from the band Suicidal Tendencies. It's the song behind the title of this post (I was going to name the post "All I wanted was a Pepsi" but I thought that may be too obscure of a reference). I think it fits well with what people are rejecting in our churches, the institution. In a recent study done by the University of Northern Colorado, they found that of the 210 million adults in the US, 65 million of them have left the church. Of that 65 million, 34.5 million have left the church and left the faith. This group is often identified as the "nones". The other 30.5 million have left the church but "have kept the faith". This group has lost faith in the institution of church and are done attending. They are identified as the "dones". Even if we just concentrate on this latter of the two groups, we have 30.5 million of only 210 million adults in the US who are disenfranchised with the whole system of religion and the institutions that we have, if we are honest, done a horrible job of building and maintaining. These people love Jesus, they just hate the politics of church. Many churches have been ok with people thinking that their particular church was the solution and not Jesus, because it kept people tied to their institution. Unfortunately it wasn't keeping people tied to the transformative love of God.
When I was younger I had just reached the age where I was encouraged to attend "men's meetings". These are the meetings where the decisions of the church are discussed and finalized. Unfortunately much of the business discussed was about carpet, should song books be changed, is having potluck after service sinful, etc? I want to be clear that I have worked through most of my frustrations with growing up in a fairly conservative church and truly grateful for learning about faith in that place. I am thankful for teachers who committed to teaching me the bible and trying, the best they could, to teach me about the love of God. But I had seen behind the curtain. What I had witnessed was that running an institution sometimes got ugly. I tell this story because it was more than I could handle at a young age and when I was old enough to decide whether or not I attended church, I decided to stay home. It wasn't until I went to Rochester College and met some other Christian kids who seemed to struggle with the things I struggled with and were willing to meet in a dorm room to laugh, listen, and pray, that I saw the life of Christ followers could be exciting and fulfilling. What I had rejected, and what I believe the "nones" and "dones" are really rejecting, is the often dead and empty structural institutions that are passing as Church.
How did we get to this place?
I want to be clear that I love the church. I love all of the churches and the people in those churches that I have learned from, laughed and cried with, shared meals with and shared in powerful moments of conversion and growth. The church is good. But it is Christ's church, and I think we have stolen from him. We have allowed church growth models to be the thing that grows our churches. We have relied on sending mailers, having Easter egg hunts, invite a friend Sundays, and carnivals to be ways of proclaiming the gospel. We have relied on and invested in "churchianity" instead of a true transformative relationship with Christ and his church. We are building structures, organizations, committees and programs that are able to function outside of the Spirit of God. If your church organization is able to keep running whether motivated and moved by God or not, then it is in real danger of being against His work in this world.
How do we get out?
I think the first part of the answer to the question of "how do we get out?" is honest reflection. Are leaders and lay members truly excited about coming to church or does it feel like you just have to go? Are you finding more life in the breaking of bread that happens when you invite a family over for dinner and sit around the table laughing and sharing life than you do gathered around the Lord's table Sunday morning? Does the business model of your church look like a business? Are all of your elders successful business men? Are there so many meetings, and meetings to schedule other meetings, that the members of your church don't have time to evangelize and disciple the people they meet throughout the week? Do the poor, disenfranchised or just plain awkward members feel as involved and responsible for the decision making as the well dressed, well spoken members who tithe the most? What percentage of the money coming in on a Sunday morning goes to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide water to the thirsty and restore dignity to forgotten people, and what percentage goes toward salaries and building maintenance? This has to be step one of returning the reigns of church to Jesus, honest reflection?
A word of warning, this exploration and maybe the changes that you make as a result of your findings, may make people leave your church. I get it, we like shiny things that run like well oiled machines but those shiny things are often nothing more than a distraction. What you will be left with is like what is described in 1 Timothy 6
18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, 19 thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.
Take hold of life that really is life. The loss of a church as we have known it in a Western mindset will feel like loss but it will be a loss of false life to take hold of a life that Jesus intended for His church.