The Church We Need
In the midst of dealing with all my medical issues and personal challenges, I’m haunted by two theological issues that are diametrically opposed.
One is a theological fact, one is very informed speculation.
The fact is that there is a rock solid expectation in the New Testament that every Christian will belong and be committed to a local assembly of believers…a church.
The second, which is informed speculation, is that most of what comprises the American church are unconverted people and some are actually apostate.
That’s what I think, I didn’t stutter.
The real problem begins when I know that everyone should be part of a church, but there are very few churches I would want someone I love to attend.
If we are to use the NT and in particular the book of Acts as both prescriptive and descriptive of what church life should look like, we will understand how far the current scene is from what was intended.
“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”
(Acts 2:42-47 NLT-SE)
Let’s note some things from the text and borrow from the surrounding context as well.
First, they were all genuinely converted and filled with The Holy Spirit.
They had undergone a change in nature and the “Holy” Spirit had separated them out from the world as a people for God.
That’s what God always does when He calls someone out of darkness to the light.
Secondly, their lives were marked out in terms of what they chose to prioritize in their daily lives.
They lived communally so that they could worship together, learn together,eat together, and pray together.
They did life together for the glory of God.
Third, and most importantly, they were utterly committed to God and each other…to the degree that (while they still owned private property and had personal belongings) they would liquidate extra resources to care for those in the Body who were in need.
They were committed to their faith and the family that God created.
Now, without a doubt, the 21st Century version of the 1st century church would look different in many respects…but the underlying foundations would be the same.
Instead we have cesspools of corruption fueled by political and sexual angst led by unconverted speakers speaking to unconverted people.
Many of the truly converted have fled to save their souls and work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.
Why do I need to talk about this?
The church I pastor has been a source of life and hope for me.
Many of you here have acted as part of the church universal in extending help to me and countless others here.
I know what it means to belong to a group of people committed to Jesus and to each other’s well being.
I want each one of you to experience this…and I want to be clear that these are the expectations that the New Testament has for us.
The big, almost too big question, is…what do we do now?
Thank you for sharing these thoughts, Michael, especially given your current health crisis. I’m sorry to hear about your downturn. Praying for your recovery and rest.
I certainly agree with your assessment of much of the American church. It is demoralizing and hard to see the way forward in some cases. I agree that many who claim to be “churches” have nothing to do with the heart of God or the truths of His word.
Like you, I would say the church I’m a part of is not dominated by the unconverted or apostate. I see our church full of faithful believers and their families who are bearing spiritual fruit. Of course, there are unconverted among us, too, but no church is free of unbelievers.
When I am discouraged by the discrepancy between even faithful American churches and what we see in Acts, I hold out hope for some of the following reasons:
I totally agree with your sentiment that there are few churches I would want loved ones to attend. But, if I’m honest, there are few churches in the book of Acts or the New Testament I’d want to attend either.
The church at Jerusalem seemed to have serious and long-term interracial conflicts. By the time of Paul, they had become so partisan that their groups may have had names! (Acts 11:2, “the circumcision party.”) And by the time Paul was arrested in the temple, we see the leadership in Jerusalem playing dangerous political games that resulted in violence.
The church at Corinth was incredibly worldly – full of inequality, debauchery, partisanship, and personality worship.
The church at Galatia slipped into formalistic legalism.
The church at Antioch would probably be a great place for a Gentile like me to go…then again sometimes their pastors got into ministry-splitting arguments.
And yet, all these churches are designated as full of “saints,” “faithful” and “sanctified” in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Really??? Corinth??? I wouldn’t tell a friend to go there!
I also take comfort in the fact that when Jesus wrote to His people in Revelation, He seemed to think we’d be able to recognize the synagogues of Satan and avoid them.
The fact that so many people *don’t* avoid them is disheartening, but I don’t think this is a uniquely 20th/21st century American phenomenon.
I don’t pretend to suggest that these thoughts are the answer to such a big question. They’re not a silver bullet.
However, I do take comfort that there are faithful groups. We still don’t seem to have the miraculous power demonstrated in Acts, but I’m not convinced that’s always because my local church family has failed. The faithful may have little power, but we can still keep the Lord’s word and not deny His name.
Gene,
Thank you for the kind words and the thoughtful response.
We do tend to forget that the early years were not without difficulties and the need for apostolic authority to step in…
With the stories of abuse after abuse that keep getting exposed, with the heavy emphases on heterodox, if not heretical doctrines such as the prosperity gospel, with the widespread enslavement to partisan politics, and with the denial of essential Christian doctrines such as the deity and bodily resurrection of Christ by many liberal Protestant pastors, it is not hard to believe that there are many unregenerate in the pulpit.
With the way that many in the pews then parrot these same ways, teachings, and attitudes, along with many flocking to churches more so for entertainment value or how it makes them “feel”, over any real commitment to the Body of Christ, it is not hard to believe that there are many unregenerate in the pews.
Yet at the same time, yes, God does call us to be part of the Church, and not just the Church, but also a localized or intimate church body.
For years I attended a church that I had a good many difficulties with because it was still good for my family to be part of a church. For all the negatives I was aware of, it was still good for my family to receive (mostly) good teaching about the faith, to see other Christians sacrifice for them and others, to learn how to sacrifice themselves for the good of others in the body, etc. I believe that God worked in our lives and in the lives of others despite some of the troubling aspects of the church.
Since moving on, we have found a wonderful church that I believe faithfully (although obviously not perfectly) embodies what it is to be a church body. Even as some in my family have had some difficulties in adapting to a significantly different environment and different way of doing things than they are used to, and I, myself, even have some differences on secondary doctrines, the church at its core does a really good job at keeping a focus on the essentials of the faith and in caring for its members and its community.
I know it may be quite difficult for some to seek out and find a church body due to treatment, even abuse, they have received from the Church or have seen done onto others, and the hypocrisy as a whole they have witnessed. I don’t at all dismiss that and empathize with those feelings, as I myself, often get disgusted by such things. But I do also want to encourage that there are truly church bodies out there who are faithful in seeking and following after Christ, no matter how imperfectly. They may not always be found right away, they may feel uncomfortable at first, if not even for a while, but in the end I believe they are where God desires us to be and will work a good work in us and through us to others, even if there are still occasional hypocrisies and offenses.
Kevin H,
I think the situation is more dire.
After 20 some years here and a decade before that being torched by a certain non denominational denomination, I’m pretty convinced that a very high percentage of pulpits are manned by people who want the position and the power but know not Christ.
I used to think I was simply dealing with regenerate men in sin…I don’t believe that anymore.
Look at the response whenever someone on social media posts a statement comparing the teachings of Jesus to some political issue…look at what has happened here when we have done the same.
There are many who despise the biblical Christ…
Oh, I think the situation is dire, too; see my first comment. Maybe your “direness” level is just a bit higher than mine. 🙂
My wife and I had lunch with a person yesterday who is new to our congregation. This person told us that when visiting other, larger churches in the area, they were immediately confronted with a church polity that wanted them to sign a membership statement and “plug them in” to some type of ministry. Without knowing, they were describing the church that my son and his family attend. The church is growing—busting out the seams actually—and appears to have some gospel impact in their community. It is a church that is on the shortlist once we finish our work in our current ministry assignment, although having listened to our son’s description of the church, there will be much I’ll need to adjust to or ignore. I worry that I won’t find a church that really works for us when I leave the pastorate, and I will probably have to settle for something less than ideal if I want to be involved at any level.
It is not my preference to enlist new people quickly, although I do so more readily than I did in my earlier years here. I watched and listened to the laments of some of my colleagues who were hesitant to place newer people in ministry roles, and they ended up leaving because they saw no opportunity to serve other than picking up a broom.
Yes, the church has changed dramatically since my youth, and for the most part, not for the better, in my opinion. But God still has his people, even in those churches that we—who are the sole bearers of the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth—have deemed apostate.
I have several friends who love the Lord, and attend churches that, if forced with the choice, would stay home rather than show up. It doesn’t make much sense to me, but a few have shared their sense of mission and ministry toward those churches.
“For he who is not against us is on our side.” – Mark 9:40
I miss my faith. I wish it wouldn’t have left me.
Church felt like I was involved in something important. A larger cause. Now it only bores me or annoys me. My life is really good, peaceful, and happy, but the faith evades me. I’m afraid God will crush me again to bring me back…but it doesn’t seem necessary. I’m willing, there’s just no answer on the other end.
Josh,
What do you want to hear?
pstrmike,
I will never deny that there is a remnant…but I think that we don’t even know how to define what church is for the most part.
I don’t know. I don’t know if I want to hear something or feel something. Like things I used to think about often and care about deeply just make no sense whatsoever now.
A couple of questions:
Would we recognize church if we saw it?
Do we recognize what is not church when we see it?
I think a lot of it has to do with what we expect church to be. Added to that is the fact that church is hard work. Much of the time, church is a mess because it is filled with messy people, including ourselves. It is hard work dealing with a mess. Yet that is an essential aspect of church life from the New Testament through to today. Navigating personalities is much more difficult than navigating doctrine.
Michael, the questions you pose are profound. Much of the American evangelical world has apostatized, preferring politics and culture wars to the faith once delivered. Established denominations have not fared any better. I believe however that church is not optional for the believer, it is essential and, dare I say it, is obligatory in the Christian life. Unfortunately, most of us have opted for a Chinese menu approach to the faith – one from column A, two from column B, nothing from column C..
I do believe there is the remnant but I have become convinced that they are probably found in the quiet back pews of small churches. Finding them is difficult, but it can be done.
Michael,
Somehow I’ve always managed to find a church. Usually it hasn’t been a huge one, and often it has not been that prestigious. However, they have all worked out for me as they had a good balance of worship and service. Two of the churches I attended imploded over poor leadership after I moved away, which made me sad. But, I do believe that Christ is building his church. I just don’t think it’s necessarily through flashy megas and programs. I also think part of it might be what part of the country you live in. If the area is not economically well-off and people really think there is a mandate to make America the greatest nation in the world, churches may be more militant about the economy and not about the One who gives every good and perfect thing.