July 07, 2015
Don’t Bother Me
I’m running into more than a
few churches that have no listings in phonebooks or church directories; or when
there is a listing, there is no physical address to locate the church. I’ve
encountered incorrect phone numbers, listings that lack times of worship, and
web sites carrying a pastor’s name who has been gone for two years. Certainly
some of these are small congregations who may not have anyone capable of
maintaining a web site. However, you can’t expect to have any visitors if they can’t
find the church or make contact. It occurs to me that some churches may be happy
with the status quo and they really don’t want visitors. Jesus told his
disciples about a man who knocked on his friend’s door at midnight and asked
for some food to serve to an unexpected guest. Jesus said, “Then the one inside
answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with
me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you,
though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet
because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs” (Luke
11:7-8 NIV).
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----I never got comfortable with people’s need to bring their gathering to life like it was another human, like it needed a phone number, address, and a house for home. They even must define for it a purpose. And I bet at least some carefully make sure that it’s purpose is succinctly distinguished from any other’s. For our congregation must be clearly discernable from all the rest!
-----When I read God’s Word, I read it like He is talking to me and to you and to everyone else who gives it enough attention to learn what it actually says. It calls out to individuals, because individuals must make decisions. In that way it speaks to the church. And then I go out onto the secular streets and try to live the sense I’m learning of the Word there to shine around what little light I can. I know many others do, too. Wherever each of us go, the Lord’s body is contacting the world.
-----For many centuries the Word of God was Latin. If you tried to read it yourself you would become a marshmallow roasting on a stick. The clergy was given the duty of knowing the Bible and sprinkling its sense upon the laity. All the church’s rituals and rights and works were performed at the direction of the clergy. If you thought otherwise you became a chestnut roasting over an open fire. Sweethearts, these were. Nicolaitans. People destroyers.
-----Well. Eventually the fires were put out. But nobody thought to unstring the marshmallows and chestnuts from the roasting sticks. The clergy still handles the sense of the church. It still directs the church’s efforts, identifies its purposes, and defines its missions. We still follow their commands. This does get things done.
-----But it diminishes a church to the state of being just another people group, just another bag of marshmallows and chestnuts strung onto another stick. Of course a church is a people group, and people groups are chestnut/marshmallow sticks. Yet God designed the church to function differently from the rest. The more critical a group‘s purpose is, the more its members pay close regard to following and obeying the leaders and reflecting its aspects. The Bible even tells us to follow and obey our leaders. Then what’s so different?
-----The difference is that Jesus Christ is the head of the church. If there is any stick we are strung upon, it is that one alone. The Bible teaches “follow and obey leaders” a little, but it teaches “follow and obey Christ” a lot. It teaches personal relationship with Him, personal giftedness from Him, and personal obligation to others from obligation to Him. Our reflections are to be of Him through the Bible. Our work in Him is meant to be from our hearts, from who we are, done amongst others. We’re not grown by the Holy Spirit to be strung on various sticks.
-----The obedience to church leaders and following them is entirely secondary to personally following and obeying the Lord by His Word in His Spirit. Therefore “a church” is not an indelibly separate people group from any other church, at least as the Bible teaches it. Rather, we are all members of one another, and we are in that members of the church. If we were Biblical about our interrelationships, the “membership” of the various churches around a community would be very fluid, intermingling amongst one another all over, each reflecting the Lord, not a church. As it is, though, we use the “your church” “my church” mentality, first reflecting outwardly the theology and other aspects of “our church”, then secondly reflecting inwardly the Lord. I theorize we should reflect the Lord outwardly, and if there must be an “our church”, we should reflect it secretly.
-----Churchiness is just another form of thingyness. Christianity has become churchianity. Like my other mom says, we were just called Christians at Antioch, but we are disciples of Jesus everywhere.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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