Why Church #2: In the Meanwhile

In the Meanwhile

"I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law (traditions of men), then Christ died in vain.” - Galatians 2:21 (brackets added)

     The bible is clear on a few things when it comes to church; firstly it makes it clear that we should never forsake the gathering of the saints (Heb 10:24-25). Living the Christian life is hard enough, but living it in isolation is spiritual suicide. The strengthening, support, council and wisdom that we receive from fellow believers play a vital part in us living the victorious Christian life and running the race until the end. The gifts of the Spirit should flow freely when the saints get together, that is prophecy, healing, miracles, words of knowledge and wisdom, thus encouraging the body of believers to perform the great commission.

     Secondly, when the saints get together, it is an ideal opportunity for the Christians to take advantage of the so-called fivefold ministry (Eph 4:11-15). That is individuals who are anointed (gifted) in certain areas of ministry, for the benefit of the church. These gifts include that of the prophet, the apostle, the teacher, the evangelist and the pastor; all of which are needed in their entirety in order to have a healthy and effective church.

     So, for all intense and purposes, as our culture has evolved, so has our definition of church. As our culture and way of doing life has started picking up pace and demanding more of our time, so Christians have become spiritually lazy, not wanting to take responsibility for their own spiritual growth. They thus make time once a week to get to a church building where a person stands in front telling them what God wants to tell them for the week. They may even sing a few songs, maybe some favourites, thus constituting the church-goers outward expression of worship for the week.

     This self-centred Christianity from believers has created a demand for spiritual leaders who just feed the people what they want to hear, knowing full well that the majority of people attending a church service are there for reasons other than wanting to be confronted with the truth of the gospel. This position that many spiritual leaders are placed in allows them to control and manipulate the saints as they see fit, because the saints never mature and don’t know any better. They have no idea that they are nowhere near the potential that God created them to reach.

     Thus, rather than blaming church institutions and leaders, for the current state of the church, I blame Christians. If enough Christians bothered to read their bibles and allowed God to speak to them in their personal times of worship and prayer, they would slowly begin to mature; they would start to ask mature questions that demand straight answers. A situation such as this would force church leaders to keep the main thing, the main thing – Jesus. It would stop the nonsense of placing pastors on pedestals, as super-humans, and the allowing o money to determine what God has called the body of Christ to do.

     If more Christians started seeing themselves as the church and understanding the responsibility that comes with it, then modern churches would look and operate a lot more differently. The manipulation, pressure and expectation that is created in a church environment, is unnatural and not what God intended for it to be. Churches would rather become places of gathering, where the fivefold ministry can equip and mature the saints into influencing the world. Church would not be seen as an impotent institution but rather as an effective and vibrant lifestyle, one that will catch the attention of the world and allow us to proclaim the good news of God’s love and grace to those who so badly need it.

     For those of you, who have become disorientated with church, don’t give up. Church is God’s plan A; you are God’s plan A. He is coming back for His bride, not a critical, cynical bride, but a pure and spotless one. Your mandate thus remains the same as always; tell the world how much Jesus loves them.

     I encourage those of you who have never questioned your church or the church in general on some of the issues I’ve alluded to above, start looking at what the bible says about the stuff that goes on, on a typical Sunday morning (or evening), does it fit with scripture? Are the traditions of men making the sacrifice of Christ a vain one?