The Elephant in the Room: Reflections on the Corporate Church

This past week I attended our denomination’s annual meeting. I am sure it was like the annual denominational meetings of most other Christians. I have attended these assemblies more or less since the early 1990s. Sadly, each time I go away disappointed. My disappointment comes from the fact that we do corporate culture so well (resolutions, amendments, parliamentarians, and amendments to the amendments) and Spirit so poorly . Each delegation from each parish seems to come with one (often unspoken) resolve: to make sure there are no increase in parish assessments (read: taxes). If our leaders are able to “hold the line” on parish taxes they buy peace for another year.

So this time I was again thinking: maybe I should just resolve myself to doing corporate; that is, act like a shareholder. But in that case, I would have to delve into the corporate report that tells us all is not well in our part of the Kingdom – after all, if 2/3 of our parishes have not grown perhaps we need some spiritual help. So, why not take some risks? Innovate, experiment! In the corporate world this kind of report would bring uneasiness to shareholders. 

So given where we are today what are we going to do about it? What’s is the plan of our CEO and board of directors to improve? Do things better? Bring about a better “bottom line” in the immediate future. For the “bottom line” in our business is not financial growth or reduced taxes  but rather the making of disciples. And of course there is God’s pronouncements in Matthew 25 as to who should receive our effort in case we are unsure: the hungry, those who thirsty, strangers, sick, or in prison. How have we acted on God’s preference for these people?  Not on outreach, but on “boots on the ground” mission? In the corporate world these could be goals whose performance could then be measured and then action demanded.

On the other hand, I can easily dismiss this corporate-focus of the church. Sure, some business needs to be transacted: positions filled, budgets approved and so on. But if I set aside things bureaucratic, then I am compelled to try and view this gathering in an entirely different way: the way Jesus would. But then I expect something different to happen. Really different.

Now I expect this because I have witnessed it before. I know what I read in the Bible (especially our church “how-to-do-it” manual called the Book of Acts). I expect big things to happen when Christ’s Spirit is invited in. I have seen it in mission-work, retreats, worship, and occasionally when teaching or preaching – and, yes, I have experienced it in my own life. This Spirit transforms lives, heals the sick, and turns hearts to God. I have seen “wonders and signs” and even miracles. And, yes, I expect them to happen -- even during annual church meetings.

Bear with me. Once a year we all get together in one big assembly – a body; to wit, Christ’s Body. To me, this is an immense opportunity for us to hear and share stories of God’s work in the world and be filled with his Spirit. How have we gone about carrying out the Great Commission? Brought the Reign of God closer? How have we fed the hungry, healed the sick and visited captives? How has the Spirit been working in and amongst us? Tell it and tell it out loud. When Christ’s Body comes together it should be a time of great witness, sharing and celebration.

And what about that celebration? When a group of Jesus’ disciples get together in one place for two days, big things ought to happen: heart-wringing celebration through worship and liturgy, unbridled praise, reinforced hope, and a glorious spiritual in-filling! This is Christ’s body here on earth. Yes, it happens! Remember, Christ has no hands, no feet, no voice, but ours. So, let’s clap hands, dance and sing!

But when we get together it is often apparent that we are not what God intended: for the most part, we are overwhelmingly white and we are grey. I feel that it is a condemnation that we have not gone out to the world with God’s message of reconciliation and hope and made manifest the prophecies in Joel 2 and Galatians 3 that we would be ONE in Christ Jesus – and a joyful ONE at that!  Our worship is often the “same-old, same-old.” Yes, cross-generational worship is difficult, but not impossible. Worship can also be a time for innovation, letting go and letting God. Today, we Christians must think outside the box and if the box is old and musty, then we need to open it up to spiritual winds. Those who have read the New Testament and believed it should not accept any less.

The post-communion hymn for our evening worship for that weekend meeting was, “I am the Bread of Life.” The words are powerful and I believe are written to move not only our hearts but our bodies as well. After all, we are talking about being raised up! We sang four verses of the hymn and four refrains of  “And I will raise them up, and I will raise them up, and I will raise them up on the last day.” We are singing about the process of being raised up; renewal, spiritual re-birth. For those of us who have experienced being raised up, how can this not move us? As I looked around, I noticed congregation assembled was either sitting or kneeling. As the verses progressed and the refrain repeated again, a few hands were raised, a few bodies were swayed by the Great Promise – that we will be raised “on the last day.”  Hey, that’s the Message! What does it mean? How does it move us?

I was in the back row and expecting that this, perhaps, would be the moment of spiritual filling I was hoping for; that we, as a body, would be moved as others have been moved in the past. And that we would begin to worship with our whole bodies -- “heart, mind, soul and strength;” We could do that by standing up and raising our hands in the ancient form of prayer to God.  But, we didn’t -- instead, we sat.

Then the words of Jesus in Luke 19 came to me. It was the time when the religious leaders of his time asked Jesus to tell his disciples to stop shouting his praises; literally, to quit causing a commotion, quit embarrassing themselves. But Jesus didn’t tell them to stop, instead, he told his critics, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” I didn’t want the stones in this church to cry out, so I stood up and raised my hands in praise.

Such is the nature of the Church -bureaucratic versus the Church-triumphant, we get mixed up as to who, whose we are, and what we should be doing. And the reason we become more bureaucratic than triumphant is that we keep on ignoring what Jesus said and did. He promised us great things, “Those who believe in me will do what I do—yes, they will do even greater things” (John 14:12). It is this Spirit which we ought to call into our midst at every gathering; empowering, teaching and leading us to do God’s work in the world. And when he shows up to welcome him!

So as we go about our corporate business, I notice the “elephant in the room” -- the obvious individual no one wants to notice. And, to me, that elephant is the Spirit Jesus promised to send to us.

I don’t know when or where we will ever welcome this “elephant” in our denomination. Maybe I am off-base on this. Maybe my heart has been made Pentecostal. And maybe all is well and it’s just me. But I am sensing that it is not -- and that if we do not start doing the things we know we should be doing, one day, someone, most likely old and white like me, will have to turn off the lights for the last time, say goodbye to a once grand and gallant assembly of Christians who sadly ignored, then forgot, the Third Person in God's household.