1. The Church.
It is the people of God. It is what happens when multiple disciples of Christ gather in Christ's name. When that happens, you have a part of or a form of church. Yet we have made the mistake of believing that the church is something we create. We believed it was a ministry we started. Yet, the church is not something we can ever create. It's something God creates when His children meet around their mutual love of Christ and His Kingdom. The thing we have called the church is actually just a form of non-profit ministry or a charity.
2. Non-profit Ministry.
It's an origination that belongs to God's Kingdom. It's not trying to make a profit, but it is trying to advance the Kingdom of God through things like teaching, prayer, counseling, evangelizing, and so on. Or, they might take disabled people hunting, but they are Kingdom focused, so it's for the honor and glory of God, and the advancement of His Kingdom, As a non-profit, it relies on funding from businesses and for-profit ministries.
3. Charity.
It's a non-profit organization that works on what it believes are good causes but is not necessarily Kingdom ministry oriented. It might very well do the same things as a non-profit ministry. For example, a charity that makes accommodations to take disabled people hunting so that they might enjoy the thrill of the hunt is not trying to make money, and it is a good cause, but if it's not Kingdom focused, I am not prepared to call it ministry.
4. Business.
This is an organization that is for profit. This is the type of organization that gets started to accumulate personal wealth, to build a personal empire. To be rich, to be important. Greedy people abound at the heads of these organizations.
5. For-profit Ministry.
This is an organization that pretty much looks like a business, and in most ways, it is a business. Yet, there is one huge difference that makes all the difference. The management of this organization has given it to God and His Kingdom for His purposes. Practically speaking, this means that the organization cares about its people, both employees, and customers, as people, and not just as a means to profit. It also means this organization cares about raising funds for the Kingdom to give to Non-profit ministries, doing Kingdom things, and enabling the practical working of the hands and feet of Christ by His disciples.
So, now, we have discussed what the church is, and we have discussed the 4 different kinds of organizations people find themselves working in and operating, but what's that got to do with the provocative title? (It was suggested by a friend.) Well, at its core, the church is God's people meeting with and about Him. So, how can such a thing have problems? It can't. Now, the things we build, the organizations, and the people in them can have problems willy nilly, at any moment, without warning. So, there you go, that's the reason for the title, God's spotless bride has no problems. Our organizations sure do though...
So, at the outset, I said we made a big mistake. What's the mistake? I believe it goes something like this. We arrange a nice little 2-3 hour meeting on Sunday mornings, we appoint leaders for that meeting, and in so doing we create for ourselves either a very nice, average, downright boring, outrageously heretical, or even toxic weekly seminar. (Now, I personally go to one of these things, and I'm thankful it's one of the nice ones. However, it does have its problems.) Yet, our big mistake is taking it so seriously. Here are some of the ways:
We tend to think that a person who no longer attends one of these things will die spiritually.
We tend to give the leaders of these weekly seminars something that amounts to a life sentence, a lifetime call to do and be someone truly special and impossible.
We even give them special privileges and hold them up in high esteem as spiritual gurus who know God far better than us mere mortals can.
When this weekly seminar has a big schism or hiccup within its people group, we take the offense very personally and even at times leave God over it.
So, why do we do this with the weekly seminar and not so much with our other businesses, our other ministries, or our other charities? Because, we have, very arrogantly and presumptuously called the weekly seminar thing we created the church and even believed it to be true. Yet, it's very obvious if you think about it, that the church only resides within the weekly seminar. Want proof? How about this, if I called all of your congregation including the leaders to an outback steakhouse, by bribing them with free steaks, and they all showed up, then we would sing hymns and share testimonies to the Lord until the steakhouse kicked us out so they can go home and sleep. Would you be able to look me in the eye and straight-up honestly tell me? "The church is not here. Only the 2 hours on Sunday morning count" I didn't think so. In this case, your Sunday morning leaders would have gotten to be who they were this whole time, brothers in Christ. Who would have led this meeting of the church? Me, Because I had the idea and I paid for the steaks. Yet, the meal table at outback was not the church either, As a man, I created an event or occasion through my natural means, and God saw it, liked it, and supernaturally created church the way He wanted it. After this event was over, my leadership stopped, because this entire time, I was not a spiritual guru, I was also just another brother in Christ. So, I believe we should pray towards demystifying, simplifying, and humbling the way we look at our efforts, leaders, and Christ's church. How to get there? I don't know how to unpack generations upon generations of wrong thinking around this issue. I know that I am not the first person to wrestle with this dilemma at all. Many men who are much older and wiser than I have talked about this issue. Yet, I want to do my bit, to fellowship, and to see the church for what she truly is. I'm not quite sure what to call the Sunday morning thing now though.... 😕
Perhaps we can keep using the term church and remember that there are 2 definitions of it.
Definition 1: Church: The bride of Christ, the people of God, getting together around and about Him. Both locally, and globally.
Definition 2: Church: The meeting of the church as defined in definition 1. The organization, plan, structure, and ministry, are designed to give God the platform so that He can form the church as He wishes.
Ultimately, this whole entry was addressing the concern I have that we have made a 3rd terrible definition for the church that goes something like this: I will make the church, by my efforts at organizing, building, teaching, singing, etc I will make, start, or do church properly. Or, to put it another way, I will make Christ's bride for Him.
Whatever God calls us to organize, build, arrange, or otherwise do, let us remember that we are merely doing a ministry for Him. God will build the church. I believe as disciples of Christ, we should only ever do ministry. Either for-profit or non-profit. Let's let the world keep the businesses and the charities, and let's let the Lord build the church.
Photo Credit: Pastor Brian Moss.
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