Over at One Man Revival, High Calling Blogger Frank Jenkins is thinking through the divisions between church culture and the wider culture.
His most recent post Hate, Hate, Hate, The Epilogue asks a pretty blunt question to Christians:
…what are things that bug or irritate you about the church not your own specifically, but in general? What would you like to see the church do to help you bring your Christian or non-Christian friends?
I started to leave a comment at Frank’s site, but what I want to say is bigger than a comment box. Metaphorically, if not literally. (Having written that, I’m now thinking my own ego must be bigger than the comment box if I think so highly of my own opinions.)
Seriously, though. This issue is something we’re always talking about at the H. E. Butt Foundation. (That’s the parent organization behind our programs TheHighCalling.org, HighCallingBlogs.com, Laity Lodge, Laity Lodge Youth Camp, Laity Lodge Family Camps, and the Foundation Free Camps.)
One of the most helpful things I’ve learned is to distinguish between the Kingdom of God and the institution of the church that we often encounter in our current culture. Much of the church is doing the work of the Kingdom of God. But other institutions are doing this work too. And some corners of what we call the church are not doing Kingdom work at all. It’s a little bit of a semantic argument sometimes, but it’s an important distinction.
Yesterday in a meeting, Howard Butt spoke to this particular issue. I do my best to paraphrase some of the incredible things he says. This is almost a direct quote from yesterday,
I believe Jesus came and intentionally set up an institution–the church. But society is full of institutions and those models of institutionalism filter into the organization of the church. Instead, we want the Kingdom of God to be empowered and created within all of the institutions and organizations of the world.
He also said, “There has been a lot of intellectual noise lately about individualism vs. community. But community is expressed through institutions.”
Institutions like marriage for instance. Or a corporation. Or a family. Or a church group.
And there’s the problem. We have let our understanding of the church as an institution define our understanding of the universal church that C. S. Lewis talked about. God’s Kingdom is bigger than the church where I worship on Sunday. It is certainly bigger than my pastor or the paid staff. Those people are helpful servants, but they are not leading the Kingdom of God any more than I am.
So, Frank, when you ask what would I like to see the church do to help me bring my Christian or non-Christian friends, I’m thinking you’re asking about my fellowship at First Baptist Church of Kerrville.
What I’d like to see them do is get out of the freaking building more! Serve the community. Engage the community. Do so with grace, love, and selflessness that doesn’t turn every activity into a cheap pitch to boost membership.
I’m not saying my church acts that way all the time. And if it does, shame on me. Because I am part of that church.
I am saying, that is what too many of our churches have become. Somehow we started thinking that the Kingdom of God is about us. How in the world can we be so stupid!?
I’m grateful right now for the staff at my church who constantly fight this way of thinking. This is not a quick fix. People understand the Kingdom of God with their head. But when it comes down to our daily actions in a church body, we turn to the pastor, cede all authority in a way that disempowers pastors (because they need volunteers to help) and disempowers us (because we somehow think the church is about the programs that are funded by our Sunday donations).
I could keep ranting about this, but I want to hear your thoughts. Go over to Frank’s site if you’ve got things that bug you. That’s a good conversation to have.
In the comments here, I’d like the opposite though. Where have you personally encountered the Kingdom of God working well in the world? I’m not looking for abstract examples of big organizations. I want to hear about your personal involvement with it.
