Pillars are Just Crutches

In thinking about Church (I mean the local church, unless I state otherwise) the obvious question – for me, at least – that needs to be settled first is, “Who is church for?”

If this seems like a dumb question to you, that’s because it is.  But it’s evident that a lot of churches are not asking themselves the question when they consider major church decisions.  And your audience is always the first thing that should be considered!

Who is Church for?  Christians. (Well, technically God, but we’ll get to that)

Is it a place where seeking people can find God, Yes.  Is that it’s purpose, No.

Is it a place where people can bring their unsaved friends, of course.  Is that it’s purpose, No.

Is it a place where everyone should feel comfortable, No.

I would challenge anyone to find a Biblical passage that indicates the church is for non-Christians.  The only verses I’ve found are ones that indicate if a non-Christian happens to be in the building (1 Corinthians), it’s always the exception, never the rule.

We are preoccupied with this idea that EVERYONE should be comfortable in church and that it should apply to non-Christians as much as Christians.  But what does it say about the churches answer to ‘Who is church for?’ when they start having church services that are primarily aimed at, not spiritual growth but making sure that non-Christians feel welcome.

I think this is incredibly damaging to the Church for a number of reasons:

1. It leads to ‘Fat’ Christians.  For some reason Christians come to church and take.  They take and take and take and don’t give anything.  They are not disciplined in their spiritual lives and therefore become spiritually lazy and fat.  But, lots of Christians do not know how to become fit because the messages are always tailored to trying to get people interested in fitness, not fitness itself.

It’s like I told my wife (who loves working out and the gym), I’d go to a gym, but once I get there I would not know what to do, how much to do and where to do it.  A lot of Christians suffer from the same ignorance because the pastor is a recruiter, not a trainer.

2. Although church is for Christian in a worldly sense, in another sense it’s not for Christians at all, it’s for God.  There is something about taking church away from Christians and giving it to non-Christians that makes it about the individual and not about God.  I don’t know if you’ve noticed.  Sermons aren’t about God, Worship song aren’t really about God anymore the focus has shifted, largely due to the Churches focus shift from Christians to non-Christians.

3. It has created the Celebrity Pastor.  You may think it’s not the case, but if point 1 and 2 are true I think point 3 has to be true as well.  The Christians aren’t disciplined, don’t know how to read their Bible, pray, or fast so all of their insights have to come from the pastor.  Therefore, the pastor is held in esteem because the Church was never shown any other way.

I’ve heard the defense before too: “Well, my church is ’seeker sensitive’ but they do bible study on Wednesday nights”

My question is always, “Oh, how do you like those?” – I’ve only met one person who has actually gone.

I wonder how well those services would do if the roles were switched.  So on Sunday the pastor has a bible study with the congregation and on Wednesday it’s ‘bring your friends day’.  I’m betting both would fail (in the worldly sense) miserably – at least in the short term.  Here’s why.  A lot of the congregation would leave either because a) they are being convicted (real Bible teaching will do that) OR b) it’s not about them anymore.

Very few would show up to the Wednesday nights because – very few showed up in the first place and those that did were interested in the Bible, not bringing their friends somewhere they probably didn’t want to go.

Here’s an interesting piece from Tullian Tchividjian on spirituality.  It’s interesting because being raised in a Pentecostal background has given me quite a different view on the subject.  So I hope this gives more people a new fresh perspective!!.  Enjoy.

Reformed people usually get charged with being doctrinal purists who are spiritually dry (hence the phrase “frozen chosen”). This charge depends, though, on one’s defintion of true spirituality. In the “Final Thoughts” column of the May/June edition of Modern Reformation magazine, Michael Horton describes Reformed spirituality by emphasizing that true spirituality is grounded first in what God has accomplished outside of us, not what he performs inside of us. “When we follow the opposite direction”, writes Horton, “we’re swimming upstream–against the current of God’s gracious condescension to sinners.” He explains:

Almost everything that is advocated as “spirituality” or “spiritual disciplines” today is private and focuses on the inner life of the individual, but Christianity is wildly, unashamedly, thoroughly public and focuses on Christ’s historical work and the way that he comes to us by his Spirit–not through private revelations or subjective experiences, but through ordinary human language (preaching), water (baptism), bread and wine (Lord’s Supper). God comes to us in Jesus Christ by his Spirit outside of our reason and experience. His visitation throws us off balance, surprising us instead of simply soothing us or confirming our piety.

So when someone asks us about our spirituality or piety, we typically talk about the public ministry of preaching and sacrament as well as prayer, Bible reading, catechism, and singing Psalms and hymns at home and at church. When the Westminster divines said that “God blesses the reading but especially the preaching of the Word as a means of grace,” they were highlighting this point. From a covenantal perspective, God works from the outside in, from that which God accomplished for us and outside of us to that which he performs within us and through us, from the public to the personal, from what has happened in the past to what is happening in the present. When we follow the opposite direction, we’re swimming upstream–against the current of God’s gracious condescension to sinners.

I just finished reading a remarkable little book by Henri J. M. Nouwen who was a Catholic priest who taught at Harvard and ended up being a Chaplin at Daybreak for the mentally handicapped and their helpers.  The book is entitled, ‘In the Name of Jesus’.  The book is about Christian leadership, but it’s unlike anyother Christian leadership book I have ever read.

In his introduction he sets the stage of how he arrived at Daybreak from Harvard and he shares how that transition had given him a new perspective on Christian leadership.  In doing so he uses the tempation of Jesus as his guide.  The first temptation being turning the stone to bread.

This is the temptation to be relevant, and what a temptation, Jesus was hungry, he hadn’t eaten in weeks!  Some bread would have hit the spot!  Mr. Nouwen shares that Jesus came into the world, and when He was tempted with what He could do (feed himself with food that he desperately needed) He responded with what he should do, feed himself with God’s word.

This has big applications within the church today!  Many churches have tried to be relevant and reach out to the lowest common denominator, in doing so they have taken away the gospel message so as not to offend people.  They are being completely relevant to the world and feeding their congregations self-help messages that have been stripped of the Word of God.  They are no longer preaching sermon, they are giving seminars.  As a result, souls are lost.

Instead of attempting to be relevant Nouwen asks the question, “Am I in love with Jesus?”  The answer to this question is more important than what people may think of me or whether I get the result I expect or want.  It will also determine how close I am to Him and what my spiritual life is like.  He encourages us to seek God through contemplative prayer, simply dwelling in the presence of God.

To the churches great demise, prayer has become synonymous with ‘doing nothing’.  Churches are more focused on programs than spiritual disciplines and they have created a culture where busyness, noise, and attendance is often linked to success.  Whereas often the opposite is need, stillness, silence and solitude.

Instead of seeking relevance we should be prayerfully seeking God.