Can't Stop Thinking!

So it's 4:45am on a Thursday in Tennessee and I am wide awake. I have been awake for the last several hours struggling to fall back asleep because of the thoughts racing through my head. I have been thinking about the church... what is its intended purpose? As I contemplate that question, here are some thoughts of mine that I will spit out based on years in ministry and hopefully the Scriptures. If you know me at all, you know that it is important to me that what I believe about what God designed comes from His revelation... The Bible. So I am going to type out my thoughts and we can evaluate together whether they are from the Scriptures or just simply my thoughts.

1. The church is organic in nature! What do I mean by that? What I mean is that the church is the people of God working together for the purposes of God. It is living, breathing, and has the power to forcibly advance the Kingdom of God (Matthew 11:12, Acts 8:1-4). It is not a building or an organization. I think we run the risk of turning something that was intended to be organic into simply an organization. I believe we move in that direction because there is organizational structures within the church that are biblical. So while it is true that that there is organization, we must be careful not to function primarily as an organization. This is why one of my core values is that people are more important than programs. When programs become more important in function than people, then what was intended to be organic, has just become an organization. We must guard from God's church slipping into that dangerous pit.

2. The church is the hope of the world! It is the embodiment of Christ! We are His heart, we are His feet, we are His hands, we are His voice to a world that so desperately needs to know the truth that will set them free. When Jesus came to earth, he said,

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already..." John 3:17-18

This world has both feet in a place of condemnation, and the church is God's tool to carry the Gospel (God's rescue plan) to the ends of the earth.

3. The church is designed for the believer! I will just come right out and say it... I struggle with the idea of a seeker sensitive church! When I look in the Scriptures, I see the church as a body of believers who gather together to be equipped, encouraged, and empowered to GO OUT to a world that is dying! When we gather together for the purpose of evangelism, we miss out on the heart of the church. Now don't get me wrong, I am all about evangelism, as a matter of fact, I am passionate about the Gospel, but we need to be clear about the purpose of the church. I am going to disagree with Saddleback's five purposes of the church for a minute... actually I would like to tweak them if you would allow. I see that the church's purposes always serve the mission of the church, not the other way around. I believe Christ set up His church for the purposes of corporate worship, corporate prayer, biblical community, and teaching God's word (Acts 2:42-47). All of this, when experienced, leads to the church (its people) toward fulling the great commission which is to make disciples as they go through life. Weak disciples breed weak disciple-makers. We cannot fall into the trap of using the church as a platform for evangelism at the detriment of the church's real purposes. I understand the intend and love the heart behind the seeker service model, but I disagree with its approach.

Well maybe that's enough thoughts for now...

Comments

David said…
Don't be drunk on the blood of saints but rather recall the Calvary during the crusades. No rock rolled without an Angel, which I know you understand.
June 23, 2011 at 1:45 PM
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