In my opinion, there is no tougher problem facing any congregation of people than being honest about their purpose as a church. I can't begin to estimate how many times through the years I have worked with my church leaders to hammer out a clear sense of direction. Through the years I've been part of focus groups, planning groups, goals setting groups, and dozens of elders retreats, meetings, and workshops - all trying to clarify what the church should be doing. There were several times when I had it figures out too! At least I thought I did, with the knowledge I had at the time. It's not as easy as it sounds. For one thing, church leaders are never objective. It's rare to find a leader who can step back, look at the big picture, and dump all the extra baggage of traditions, politics, and people-pleasing. For another thing, we assume that those who've gone before us have worked out the details of "What the church is and does" and our job is to simply develop the most efficient and effective way to carry it out. I remember how dumbfounded I was thirty-five years ago when I asked, "Why hasn't anyone wondered why worship IS NEVER described, used, or performed in the New Testament like we do it today?" How could the "most important thing we do" (at least traditionally) be so "undescribed" in the Bible? Well, you get the point hopefully, without me quoting chapters from one of my books. Those who went before us DID NOT WORK OUT ALL THE DETAILS - at least not always correctly. They weren't always "restoring" as much as they were adjusting.
Today, the last thing I want to do is hammer out a Mission Statement or create a new Vision for the church. I like God's. Building a church is not always the same thing as seeking God! We get it twisted around. It's not the big church that God is looking for but the big heart that seeks Him! It's not about the church! The church is a tool to help people develop a deeper relationship with Jesus! Anything that doesn't contribute to that, is a worldview church. At the risk of being repetitious, the church exists to facilitate the building of spiritual relationships. It was never in the plan of God that the church would become the Temple of the New Covenant. So I'll close this theological tantrum with two ignored or at least diminished principles that any child of God can place scriptures to.
1. A deeper relationship with Jesus comes from having deeper spiritual relationships with one another.
2. The best way to have a deeper relationship with Jesus is to help someone else have one.
The real question then becomes: How does the church help make this happen?
3 comments:
Wow...great, Dad. Thanks!
This is actually something we just talked about with Cary and Dan on Thursday. My "opinion" is that helping someone grow only happens with vulnerability. When someone opens themselves up to their struggles and their sin and questions, etc; then growth is allowed. It's impossible to help someone grow if you don't "know" them. That's really my goal this year. To get to "know" people and find out how to encourage growth, and grow in the process.
This was so thought provoking!! I loved your comment and your goal, Melanie. I actually had similar thoughts this weekend about that...
Truly, one of the greatest needs of humans is to BE KNOWN intimately by others.
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