The world is becoming increasingly polarised. Extreme theological positions and extreme practices are the order of the day. The right has gone further right; the left further left – many have fallen off the edge! The waters of the culture around us are changing rapidly. In some places they are boiling over, while others they are frozen solid. The frog is getting cooked or is freezing to death. In this problem of extremes, things die.
The more positions, opinions and doctrines become extreme, the more they become dislodged from common sense and sound, biblically defined, dogma. One such example of an unhinged extreme is in the area of ecclesiology. Let us describe two ecclesiological extremes. Let’s have fun doing it. Comedic relief will ensure we keep sober enough not to be drawn in to the alarming attractiveness of holding extreme views, beliefs and opinions … about church.
Super Mega Church
On the one hand, we have stadium sized mega churches. Usually with one, super charismatic CEO at the helm. His or her hand is always firmly on the helm. He is the executive power controller. This is the corporate church extreme, where you may struggle to find deacons filled with the Spirit but are sure to find armies of ushers and car guards doing traffic control. Here you do not find elders but advisory committees and finance excoms. Mass church attendance and money collection, after 30 minute giving sermons, are the liturgy of the day.
It runs as a well-oiled machine, a giga-institution of sorts, with members acting more like clients that want a service or performance (for which they are glad to pay, if the show is good) than hungry sheep. Its members often wear the corporation’s branded caps and t-shirts, evidencing the tragic side effect of this ecclesiastical extreme – the group think and cloning that comes from an institutional mindset. Individuality and creativity and inheritance are sacrificed on the altar of the CEO’s Altar of My Vision.
Accountability is near impossible because all power is concentrated at the top of the pyramid of power with the Chief Executive. It has power and influence politically, probably too much. Its social outreach programs are well advertised. They are all over the religious channels on DSTV. The latest revelation the Lord gives is filmed, written or evented rapidly and efficiently, monetising the gains within months to a wide distribution network in the form of tickets, book sales and online teaching courses. This is seeker sensitive big church in full, prosperous business mode. Products and services are mass produced for a willing client base.
Rolling Stone Church
On the opposite extreme of the ecclesiological spectrum, we have groupings of believers that randomly meet; mostly in convenient places, at convenient times. The peak of their worship and adoration is saying grace for the skinny latte and muffin, that is routinely enjoyed at their favourite bourgeoisie coffee shop. Some just listen to a YouTube Sunday sermon, pretending they belong. But they are lonely as hell. Their previous church experience also felt like hell, so they choose to keep rolling, like a rolling stone … gathering no moss, no family, no friendships, except, perhaps with a few people, they like, when they are available and fit in with their schedule. Faitful rooted availability is too much to ask.
This is a sad state of affairs. This is not ekklesia as Jesus ordained it. This is fatherless, motherless Christianity. The spiritual orphan, begotten at a crusade and now left to fend for themselves, struggles to grow up straight. Often eating spiritual dung unwittingly from a fast food conspiracy pusher peddling their YouTube doctrinal wares. Where are the parents, where are the shepherds? Forget deacons or elders or bishops because at the table of one or two, there is no space for a family of believers? This is the tow or more Rolling Stone Church. As Bob Dylan poked holes in all our hearts when he sang:
How does it feel How does it feel To be on your own With no direction home Like a complete unknown Just like a rolling stone?
How does it feel … well not good. Spiritual homelessness abounds.
Place to Gather
If you are called as follower of Jesus but do not gather with other followers of Jesus, but all you have with them are random social chats how can this be called church? Ecclesia means ‘gathering of called out ones’. Essentially, two things are required for a church, gathering and ‘called out ones’. This hyper-organic extreme is so organic that it disappears in the nebulous ether of religious casual conversation called fellowship. This is called ‘church’? Where is the glorious local and visible and unapologetic church standing strong as the lighthouse and pillar of truth in the world? In these random social gatherings of believers, misconstrued as church, if Jesus sent them a letter it would for sure go missing. They have no local address.
This extreme type of ‘church’ avoids ‘centralised control’ of the power-hungry elite, like the men of old did the bubonic plague. The doctrine of ‘no leadership but Christ’ i.e. unleadership, ensures such a letter will never arrive at the angel to the church in a thousand coffee shops. Address-less. Access-less. Hidden out of sight. Postbox-less church. Door-less church. The gospel comes with the front door key! What’s wrong with a fixed address for goodness’s sake? We are sojourners for sure but not vagabonds! Let a church meet in the same place at the same time of the week, like all over the scriptures. Maybe even on a Sunday! God forbid! Form is vilified and liturgy mocked, because none exist in public coffee shop chats. As Keller said “We demonize the opposite of what we idolize.”
These churches fall off the extreme side of organic-ness that even the leadership-vegans among them would refuse to eat a whole-grain-heirloom-seeded-granola-bar offered to them by a recognized church leader. A social gathering of friends is well err, just that … a social gathering. The church of Jesus Christ is not merely a social gathering. It is gathering of saved sinners that have been born again and live, move and breathe in Christ and for Christ. Christ is the glue that bonds a church, not friendship.
Armchair prophets and apostles with a knack for fantasy writing often push these forms of church, they themselves have not experienced, with any longevity or long term fruit. These Digital Prophets write hypothetical books that sell like hot cakes to an unwary but enthusiastic audience. Text books based on theories of church sell fast on the social media fed algorithm aimed at the unwary and sincere seekers of a deeper and better ecclesiology. Sales are artificially supercharged by the potent book selling machinery of Amazon.com and Google. Many unwary imbibe their ideas because they are are so wounded from their corporate big church experience that they conclude, the answer is ‘two or three’ type micro church. So they conclude size is the problem and swing to the other side, from macro to micro, in the hope they will find pain relief there. Size does not solve the problem Godly character and anointing should. Many babies die here at this deception and bathwater get’s wasted here!
Bare Minimum’s of Church
A few bare minimum things make up a healthy functioning New Testament church. A church is firstly a spiritual family of fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts. They do not need to be friends, even though that is nice. The church is the embassy of the Kingdom of God, it’s not a boy’s club of male privilege or woman’s tea party where the church functions as a care facility for emotionally broken women.
The church is supposed to be how the manifold wisdom of God is powerfully demonstrated to the evil principalities and powers of darkness of this age. Elders, deacons and bishops (or overseers) are not an optional extra, like aircon or electric windows. In the beginning stages of church formation these functions may be in embryo form, but healthy gospel DNA mature them in time.
Also, a church needs a locality, you must be able to send a letter to it. A constantly Rolling Stone Church is hard to send letters to. A family is family by virtue of fathers being fathers and mothers being mothers and kids being kids. Leadership is a blessing not a curse. Church discipline must also happen because Christ loves those He chastises. If church is based just friendship and people you like, how is love ever perfected?
Finding the Temperate Church
The scriptures teach we should avoid all extremes. Where is the Temperate Church that is hot toward Christ and cold toward worldliness? Where is the church that loves accountability but runs from pyramid scheme power structures? Where is the church that remembers the poor and widow and orphan but does not shout it from the roof tops or become a Christian UN?
Where is the face of grace with the Wonderful Gospel of Good News to the world type church, that are not merely moralistic busybodies? Where is the Temperate Church that longs for His appearing in the clouds but is equally effectively labouring with fervour and all contentment in the fields God has appointed her? God helps us His church!
“It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.”
Eccle 7:18
“The Church is looking for better methods, God is looking for better men.” EM Bounds