The 2 Sides of Church

In the realm of the Church, we have 2 biblical examples, one that came after Pentecost in Paul’s apostolic work, and one that Jesus modeled, in His physical time here before the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost. I will lay them out as follows. Part of the reason for publicly writing this is to rethink the whole idea some more that church is a building you go to, as in, "Look at that beautiful old wooden church!" The church is actually the people, gathering in the name of Christ, so, below, I want to write of the 2 kinds of the church I see in the New Testament, and I hope by the end you can see that I love the church and do not desire to see either kind hurt or marginalized in any way, but rather, I would love for all of us to experience all the wonders the Lord would have for us to experience in life as His Bride.

Paul’s Institutional Example.

When I speak of institutional, I am speaking of the idea that this kind of church has enough organization to be a church that you can regularly and consistently go to at a given time and place each week with a fairly straightforward agenda. If your church has no membership, meets in a home, is closed to the public, etc. I am still defining it as institutional for the sake of this article. Now, that is not the same as a religious system. That's a different discussion for a different time.

This is the younger example of the 2, but I am covering it first because it seems to be the one that caught on more in the western world where the mind is so prized. This type of church can be seen forming in the letters written by Paul to churches in the New Testament. It is a multitude concept, people are collected into one location at the same time. Then they are fed a ration of spiritual food. This spiritual food varies from Sunday to Sunday, but everyone there gets the same basic dish from the worship, the teaching, and discussions in Sunday school, testimonies, etc. As this type of church grows, it tends to get more and more organized and streamlined to ward off chaos. Some of these get so big, that they start being run like a business with a board of directors and everything. If you are going to a church every Sunday, it is probably one of these churches. This is the type of church that can be “gone to”. The other type cannot be “gone to”.  

Pros:

Consistency, if the worship and teaching are good, it can be experienced every Sunday, because usually, it is the same worship team and the same teaching team. For example, the early church took communion seriously. Well, if you incorporate communion into your institutional church. You can partake regularly, like even weekly with very little planning on an individual level if the responsibilities are spread out appropriately.

Quantity, it is hard to find a better place to meet a bunch of good people, and catch up with a bunch of friends at once than a church.

Knowledge, if a gifted teacher in the group has a deep word that is very beneficial for all Christians to know, that teaching lands on more ears in this setting. 

Music and Worship, A multitude of people can often make more, and often nicer joyful noises to the Lord than a few. A gifted worship leader can lead more people into “God’s Presence” in this setting. 

Cons: 

The priesthood of all believers, If in a group of 100, the best teachers and worshipers emerge, what are the rest to do? Where are the individual heart cry and giftings explored or cultivated in a setting where most sit and listen? This is a huge challenge facing this type of the church today, some of the house church types have made big strides in solving this by shrinking the church into houses where it is easier to transition from conversation and teaching. Others have done well by opening their pulpits and worship teams to let all who have a heart for it cultivate God-given gifting. Yet this problem remains a constant danger to be on guard against. 

Finances, If you commit yourself to the tithe the Lord introduced in the old testament, for example, it gets swallowed up by your church, and you don’t directly see it again, you can give above and beyond the tithe, to the needs, you actually cross in your life, but any money you give to the church is often used to prop up the system. 

Relationships, It is very difficult to dig deep into people’s biggest struggles, passions, and fears in this church form. Almost always, this happens in the other church form, often by people who deny the existence of the other church form, and with that, it is time to look at…

Jesus’ Relational Example. 

This type of church is hard to find, it is not something you go to, it is something that happens, whenever 2 or more gather in the name of Christ, which is to collectively learn of, worship, and talk with or about Christ. This type of church can be seen in scripture in the way that Christ relationally and spontaneously talked with, dined with, and taught, his 12 disciples, other friends, and the multitudes. Today, it can be likened to a wheel. You are the hub, and the outer rim of the wheel is formed by all your Christian friends who you share the name of Christ with frequently. The relational bonds between you and them are the spokes. Again, you cannot “find” this church, you can experience it by being a hub. To be a hub, you must “farm friendships.” For example, who is someone you enjoy visiting with? Invite them to your house for dinner, and lead the conversation towards the spiritual, that is like preparing the ground, and planting the seed. If the other person is of a spiritual bent, the Holy Spirit in him and in you will bless this effort and the church will show up in whatever way it is supposed to. So, this is not a church to go to, it is a church that comes forth in the harvest of planting the right seeds. God brings it forth in the harvest. You do not get to create or plant the church, you prepare the spiritual soil, in the same way, a farmer prepares for corn, with soil preparation and seed planting. 

Pros:

True religious freedom, your routines, your exercises, and ways of worship are uniquely driven, expressed, and formed from the relationship you, and your family has with the Lord. There is no religious obligation placed on you by a church system/institution. 

Deep lasting friendships, a lot of relational church is just that, you actually get to hear from others as time passes, you actually hear what they are struggling with, and what they are passionate about, you actually know how to pray for them, and how to physically help them. 

Finances, Tithe, and whatever generosity you have beyond that, are all collected and saved by you, and not given over to a treasurer who may spend it for pew cushions or for a widow lady, and so your personal ability to help others directly is at least doubled in the relational church. 

Cons:

Worship and Music can be harder to make in a relational setting if you don’t have a lot of people, if this is important to you, you may have to spend more effort shopping for Christian concerts and perhaps organizing independent worship nights.

Intentionality, this thing of being a hub and planting for a church to happen is not a suggestion with the relational church, it is a necessary natural act to release God’s supernatural. God can transcend our natural efforts, but most times it seems, that He does want us to naturally work and walk towards His miracles. If you do not find in you the ability or desire to be a hub, then stick with the institution. For example, the early church took communion seriously and had it every week. Well, if you want to do so as well, this will require some serious planning on your part, who to invite? When does it suit them? Making the bread and finding the wine, all on your own.

Quantity, it is pretty hard to get together with more than say 3 families at a time while still being true to the relational model. Oftentimes, things become structured and organized to ward off chaos if the gathering grows. Or things just devolve into a non-spiritual party, which is ok, but not a church, for you are not meeting in the name of Christ. 

We can observe that the cons of one, are the pros of another. So, neither form of the church should be condemned and done away with. In fact, they complement each other beautifully. It is extremely troubling to see the “fans” of one snipe at and try to snuff out the other. If you find it within yourself, it is probably wise to experience both. Your institutional church that meets on Sunday mornings really should give you the space to be a relational hub during the week, they should not overload you with obligations. In this way, you can experience both. On the flip side, most of your “relational rim” people are sitting in a church pew or chair Sunday morning, so rather than sitting alone and pouting, maybe find yourself a chair or pew to sit in as well? God can speak very powerfully through the anointing of people on stage who are placed there in the will of God, and not for their own fame. If you cannot find it within yourself to live in both, seek the Lord as to which one is right for you, and do not condemn, steal, kill, or destroy the other. That is the enemy’s work. 

I want to make a few comments about all this now. This is a reality that I felt and observed for years but a dear friend of mine pointed me to a book called The Other Half of Church by Jim Wilder & Michael Hendricks. It kind of clinched everything for me and played a part in helping me put words to these thoughts. Then we have the church book writings of Marc Carrier, Gene Edwards, Finny Kuruvilla, and Frank Viola. In my view, those should be read as ways to improve the institutional church by gleaning ideas from the early church, ie what worked for them? Finally, we also have the church book writings of Wayne Jacobsen, he does a great job of exposing and pointing out the beauty of the relational church. Yet, I would caution you to not write off the institutional church when you read his work. In ALL cases, spit out the bones.

So you might ask, is this pragmatic analysis of the 2 sides of the church a biblical concept? Well...no..not as far as if you were to ask me to provide a verse, no, I can't. However, it is observable for the early church experienced it all. They would meet in ways that allowed for all forms of church to flourish. There was teaching which is what the institutional church of today gives (sort of) and discipleship which is what the relational church of today gives (sort of). There was a place to go to, to get taught, and to be served communion every week, and yet, the event lingered, and the relationships happened. There was a close-knit wholeness that they had and we lack it. I want that back. Would to God, that we could have that back, but until then, what I wrote above is my encouragement for you and me to get closer to the church God intended for us. To go to church, take what is good and eschew the rest, (side 1) and then intentionally connect with people during the week (side 2).

Some notes about the early church:

1. They met on Sunday, twice, in the morning and the evening. Sunday was not a holiday in those days so many of them had to work. The apostles didn't teach them to keep Sunday as the Lord's day where no work is allowed etc.

2. They had communion every week. When Jesus said, this is my body, eat, this is my blood, drink. They believed Him. Not in a weird cannibalistic sort of way, but in a spiritual way, they believed they were partaking of Christ.

3. They believed just about every principle Jesus taught and actively did them for they didn't have theologians that "knew better" to explain the uncomfortable things away.

Source Material: Church Life A.D. 150 By David Bercot.

Edited and updated.

Why Ping Pong Ye 'Tween 2 Religions?

 The blog is back, the project I was working on is not done, but I have found a routine that will allow it to continue with some blogging on the side, and so without further ado...

 The man Moses never forgot where he came from. He was a Hebrew boy, a people of slave people in Egypt. Yet, he was raised in the house of Pharaoh. His mom had spent a good deal of time instilling the Hebrew life in the boy before he was sent to the house of Pharaoh and raised to manhood by a princess. So it was one day the young man riding about in his princely chariot from the house of Pharaoh, saw an abuse happen. An Egyptian was harshly striking one of Moses' people, this could not, would not, stand. So, looking around, and seeing no one who would witness and cause him trouble, the strong young man ended the Egyptian and buried him in the sands. Unfortunately word got out in Egypt and Moses found himself no longer an adopted prince but a man on the run. He ran to Midian. There he found a well, and sat by it. After some time he saw some girls coming to draw water for stock. Other people tried to bully them away from the well but Moses intervened. This made him popular with their father, a religious leader in the area. He eventually took a job working the man's livestock and married one of the girls. He had settled into this new life until one day he was interrupted by a strange fire. The fire was in a bush, and yet the bush was not burning. The voice of God came from the fire and told Moses it was time to go to Egypt again. He resisted vehemently, he pointed out his inadequacies, his inability to speak. The Lord had to deal with him, in conversation and miracles to bring him around. The bold Egyptian killer was gone, and in it's place was a shy farmer. Moses had gone from one extreme of drastic violent action, to another extreme of hiding, and no action. The Lord called him at the appropriate time and gave him the correct approach, a middle strategy, where the Lord did the violent miracles, Aaron did the talking, and Moses listened to God and led the people. 

 Today, people still tend to flop between 2 extremes of which both tend to be partly good and yet tragically miss the point completely. So let's say you grow up in a very conservative setting. You are taught to dress a certain way, to not drink or smoke or swear. You are taught to work hard and are generally raised to be a good meek fellow, living under the radar and not doing anything wrong. There is a lot of good in such an upbringing, but let's say you have a spiritual awakening, and God reveals himself to you in a fresh way you haven't considered before, so you decide the values you have learned are incomplete. You leave your church and go to another one that has "it together." This church stresses spiritual gifts, like, speaking in tongues. They love to pray aloud in a language (or is it gibberish?) you don't understand, and there seems to be no hope of ever understanding it. They love to talk of 5fold ministry, in fact, they may even have a real apostle right there running the place, your old church wasn't so cool, they had a bishop instead..... ;) Anyway, you have found the "true way", so it is, you settle down and learn a few cool ratatattatblueshebows of your own to pray with. They also believe in people having the gift of healing, and put a lot of emphasis on prayer, and you do to, you also look for that gift of healing in your own hands, that you might lay on people and heal them with. Yet, after some time on the treadmill of new higher ways, you begin to get tired and the lights begin to dim, in fact, you start to have nostalgic memories of your old church, back there people prayed in English, but they did scrutinize your language and clothes a lot, so do you really want to go back though?....hm. 

 So what was the point of that rant? Well, I am weary of the treadmill, and yes I did make the 2 churches a little ridiculous just to show "texture". I believe the enemy loves to trick us into taking the things and ways of God we learn from reading the Bible and using the things to create a religion. We spend our energies and time trying to do the 5 things or so of God's way that we personally find the most compelling, and as a we do so better, we believe that we have gotten ourselves closer to God somehow, and we feel good. Then we get tired. The answer is to stop the religious charade, be authentic, a friend of God, learn to listen to Him when you pray, start your days asking Him what He is up to. Let his ways stamp themselves on you as a lifestyle; for you are becoming so close to God, you can't keep from acting and smelling like God as a mini me of His. Worship Him, ponder Him, do His things and His ways because they are His, not as a religion you have constructed in your head to get a something or be someone. You focus on God, then you don't have a religion, but God inside. So, if God is enough, stop it with the "religion shopping" already. Oh, and by the way, when someone gets healed, that is God, in His sovereign will and mercy. We do not have anything special in our ways of talking or laying on of hands to heal people. We just do that for it is the natural way to ask God to heal. So don't let another person convince you they have a high gift of healing or anything else that you don't have but could get if you drank of their religious cup or gave money to their ministry.