March 15, 2021 – Click here to listen
I hear many people today complaining about how our American culture has slipped into a morass of amoral behavior. Some blame it on the church, stating that they have become institutionalized and are no longer serving their purpose. People attend for an hour or so a week and then head for the golf course.
When I founded The Jesus Alliance, I tried for several years to organize church leaders to unite. It reminded me of a football game I was in. Back when I played football, we had steel pipes serving as goal posts and they not padded and were located right on the edge of the goal line. We also had single-bar football helmets instead of the face masks of today. I was a tight end and went out for a pass. I was running as fast as I could and turned to look for the ball and it had been slightly overthrown. I sped up and caught it and when I turned back around, I promptly ran head on into that metal goal post. My head was still slightly elevated so it knocked my helmet off and my face slammed into the steel pipe. It knocked me out and is a wonder it didn’t break my neck. Talking to some of the pastors was akin to running into that goal post.
I was successful with a few but the majority had their own ideas and did not seem interested in uniting. Finally I gave up on that strategy and started trying to unite individuals. Today I see others who are as frustrated as I was and are trying to essentially do the same thing. They are appealing directly to the followers of Christ in an effort to bring about global transformation of lives and urging them on to individual ministries.
While I applaud any effort to reach people for Christ and be a part of fulfilling the Great Commission one thing I did not do and don’t advocate is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I did indeed find many fine churches who were as diligent and even more diligent than me in trying to urge people to follow the teachings of Jesus. I discovered that the problem was not always the church. Indeed some of them had so many different programs that literally anyone who had a heart for most any cause could find a place to work and shine God’s light on the community and the world. One church had nearly 300 programs such as feeding the homeless, missionary work, fighting abortion, teaching Bible study, mentoring, helping the abused and so on.
It is amazing that with all of those choices so many church members did not participate. I would be the first to say that some pastors are not preaching the word of God and sadly some seem to be in it for the money, prestige, and power, but not all of them. I believe it is totally unfair to stereotype all of them for the misdeeds of the bad actors.
The Bible is clear that Jesus Christ is the head of the church and the church is comprised of His followers. Buildings are not the church any more than denominations are; people, God’s elect, comprise the church. We all need to work together as God intended. In all four Gospels just prior to His ascension into heaven Jesus commanded us to preach the Gospel and disciple all of the nations. Institutionalized churches, ministries such as The Jesus Alliance, individuals, et al should be working in unison to follow His command.
I read a book recently that all but wrote institutionalized churches off and it seemed to me the author advocated simply bypassing them and doing our own thing. Though the author tries to make a case for his position it simply is not biblical. I was reminded of Jesus wearing out the steps to enter the temples and synagogues wherever He was as He went in to teach, and Paul risking his life to plant churches in Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica, and virtually everywhere he went. Other disciples did the same thing. If churches were not important why would Christ have ordained this?
The Bible states that an important part of putting on the “full armor of God” is not to forsake the gathering together of each other. We need churches and we need to gather together and fellowship with each other to successfully fight Satan and his horde. Jesus did not send His 72 disciples out alone, He sent them out in twos. We are less likely to stumble or fall if we work together. That being said individual ministries are needed too including one on one testimonies.
How can you find a church that is Spirit filled? Well look for them silly . . .
Hebrews 10:24
And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.