Some Assembly Required...

This blog is a response to a letter we received from our last blog...

In the New Testament we see letters addressed to cities or to churches meeting in certain homes. Today if you wrote a letter to the church at Austin, in order to reach the church to whom would you address it? How many different denominations would there be? Within any of these groups...How many different memberships would be included? Even within individual denominations there is competition and envy. As the separate corporations fight for their existence within an almost stagnant number of parishioners, where most church growth is achieved by other membership roles diminishing. Although the message and power of the gospel is timeless and unchanging-the marketing of said gospel changes in an effort to stay relevant from generation to generation. Some equate the marketing plan they entered with, with the gospel itself, and find it hard to see God in any new packaging. These memberships diminish as the old generation dies out. In order to survive corporations usually adopt a split plan of services one appealing to the young the other to the old. The search for what works the best is a continual quest. It seems that most people are drawn to the body that offers the most diversified set of options...best services-baby sitting, childcare,gym, sports facilities and the best entertainment (music, arts and technology). The best packaging draws the largest numbers and these become mega churches. A current church phenomenon driven by smart marketing, appealing packaging for the chosen demographics. Most involved with the mega churches will relegate themselves to being an audience rather than an active participating part of the body. But being in a large church has many advantages such as business opportunities, and many activities for your children to attend. The primary down side is you will have very little say in the doctrine or direction of the church. Many who seek a more hands on approach will opt for smaller churches where they will be needed for more meaningful roles in the body. However for those who have developed strong ethical and doctrinal convictions finding a match in smaller churches can be quite difficult. Therefore, many Christians with some degree of maturity are no longer participating in organized groups. Why is this such a wide reaching trend? Outside of personal bondage issues, I see several contributing factors.
Here in 2009 the organized church is probably as fragmented as at any time since it's inception. Running parallel to that there are probably more people professing to be Christians than ever before. Much was lost from the 1st century church but reformation and restoration have come in many key areas of the church, however, the structure of the church is in desperate need of reformation. In this void of continuity individual groups have become individual kingdoms compounding this is professionalization of the minister. Now rather than a father seeking the best for those under his charge, it's more like a business owner advancing and protecting his livelihood. This hireling mentality feeds into the greatest struggle for leadership, selfish ambition and self preservation. These are not overcome with a promise of income and platform and almost never rooted out early in life. This is not just a problem for small assemblies but also for large groups. However, in the bigger churches, there is usually a much larger buffer zone between you and the hierarchy. When you come to a point of disagreement such as the excesses in the prosperity message, you must be dealt with before you affect ideology or income. There is no format in the organised church to arrive at truth just a format to indoctrinate. Agreeing to disagree is not a recipe for unity in the body. The interaction of different gifting on a peer level to determine the mind of God on truth, direction, strategy, etc., is a missing link in church structure. Pastoral and board control differs little from a CEO and primary stock holders working together for growth and profit. The family model of looking out for the well being and advancement of family members is usually a secondary consideration. The fact that the primary draw for our larger churches seems to be entertainment and convenience is a bit troubling. If cool packaging plays such an important role in the growth of the church what does that say about the quality and demand for our product? If what we have is truly precious and life changing we could give it away secretly in a back alley and we would be absolutely overrun by those seeking it out. The problem lies with the strain of Christianity itself. Since Christianity is not just taught it is also caught. It is not just intellectual assent, it is also a spiritual encounter and awakening. I see it likened to the spread of a viral infection. Depending on the strain itself there would be varying degrees of symptoms. You could simply have a slight headache and low grade fever or you could go to the other extreme and have a high fever, chills, nausea, diarrhea etc. It could range from slight discomfort to being terminal. What I see primarily in the church in the "cool gospel" is a low grade strain of Christianity like an infection that causes slight discomfort. Although this strain loves the rhetoric of laying down ones life in a revolutionary stance during emotionally charged group settings it finds an uncompromising stance on social moral issues too restrictive or not cool enough for day to day living. The short lived commitment is nothing new but does cause us to ask ourselves this question...Are we the carriers of this strain of Christianity? We can't infect others with something we don't have. Changing the structure of the church is probably not the answer although it is badly needed. Changing ourselves probably is the answer but gives us no one else to blame. I would prefer to blame the organized church for the short comings of the church, but I then realize I am the church. However, the compromise necessary not to cause waves in the organization does not enhance my transformation into the image of Christ. Being able to recognize our current state says little other than we are removed far enough to be able to have an unhindered view and use our powers of observation. This will be of little value unless we can access the wisdom of God for what to do next. It seems that many committed Christians have found themselves outside the mainstream and frustrated by their inability to fit in. Are they simply rebellious or have they been driven outside the camp for cleansing? If they are rebellious I see no cure. If their condition exist for enhancing a more virulent strain of Christianity I say come on with it. As I have stated before people who change are very rare, but it is they that carry the necessary infection for the future. Perhaps as in times past we could move beyond the low-grade spreading mechanism of close intimate contact and our strain could mutate into the airborne variety as in the Welsh Revival where people walking alone on the street would fall to their knees under conviction and seek out someone to tell them how to be saved.
So back to the question of "What do you do when you are outside the body to experience baptism into the body?" Well in this case you have in times past experienced full immersion into the body however at this season, prolonged as it has been, you feel the body has rejected you. The truth is that the organizations have rejected you the body has not. Rather we could say you do not fit into these organizations. Under the current extreme fragmentation of the church structure the individual organizations are not representative of the true church government nor do they set the outline or perimeters of the body of Christ. I started this response with a question..."What address would I use to send a letter to the church in Austin? The answer is there is no address, or no single address. Yet the church still exists. From a heavenly view you would be able to see the church in Austin without the boundaries and borders enforced by the local organizations. You must look to those God has attached you to. These do not always exist within these organizational boundaries. In your case not at all. Yet the relationships still exist even if not locally. Extra-local relationships are logistically difficult and require more effort and imagination for beneficial results. These are disciplines that many of us are slow to learn but may for the moment be the very thing God is infusing into the church. The unhindered flow of life through different parts of the body is essential for the health and maturation of the church. Without it synchronized movement of the body and the ability to fight disease (false doctrine, dead works, worldliness, etc.) will not be attainable, leaving the body as a whole weak and relatively ineffectual. If we can learn anything at all from creation itself it is that God is an incredible Master builder. Having an incomprehensible ability to design things to work in perfect balance. When we look at how God joins his church together we have a tendency to want to inject our own world view of efficient construction. Therefore, we are always looking for a more appealing structure that will bring about a successful outpouring of the Glory of God or at least a lot of people joining up. The most recent move is towards a more relationship based structure, tables set up with coffee so people can connect with each other. Not a bad idea...not a new one but not a bad one. Relationships are the key but as with everything in the New Testament the Holy Spirit is the one that initiates and connects. It is sometimes impossible for us to anticipate when or how He will do this. For His ways are higher than our ways. Therefore, relationships will never follow structure. Structure must follow relationships. This is impossible to control. It can only be recognized and yielded to. A man makes his plans but God directs his steps. Therefore, preparation is a necessary and good thing but preparation should not be so rigid that we expect God to follow our plan rather that lead us. It is my opinion that God has placed many Christians outside of the mainstream of organizational church in order to cause them to reconnect across boundaries to pump some much needed life into the body. I see this as a merciful offering of opportunity from God to bring a functional degree of unity into His body. Opportunity is a wonderful thing if it can be engaged with the proper heart. So often I have seen opportunity wasted upon the opportunist, a person or persons who seize upon opportunity for their own self interest and promotion. Advancing the kingdom and purpose of God must be our first and primary motivation not just a byproduct of our own advancement. But, for this group (people outside the organized church) to engage will require a tough skin and heightened ability to hear and follow the leading of the Spirit. I believe the Spirit is speaking and leading. If we because of rejection or laziness and cynicism reject this opportunity that God has presented then unity may only be achieved by (as it has historically been proven)the chemotherapy of severe persecution. I pray that we seize upon the opportunity to interconnect and build relationships with one another across and regardless of all boundaries.