If Jesus Was the Pastor At Your Church, Would You Still Attend?

I was deeply moved by Francis Chan's talk to a number of pastors in which he shared the concern many of us have who say we follow Jesus.

It is a 50 minute video and worth your time.

Take a look at it and then let's get a discussion going about what he has said.

CLICK HERE for the video.

Reflections On a Church Summit

Last week I attended a summit meeting of churches in the area of the church that I serve. My parish is small (20-25 is our Sunday average). But we keep a balanced budget. Help others. Do repairs. Share administrative tasks. And provide me with a weekly stipend to come and lead their worship, write a newsletter column, and do some teaching and pastoral work.

Members from seven of the nine churches showed up and shared what they were doing. It was interesting but I began to get a funny feeling. Have I not heard all this before? In spite of the candor, what we all heard were familiar themes: we need to grow, our numbers are diminishing, our children don’t attend our church, we have no youth, our buildings are old and need constant repair, and we can’t afford full-time clergy. Yes, I have been hearing this for each of the 20 years I have been serving the church. 

So what’s new? Very few of us today can afford full-time clergy and never will. So we need to get over it. We need to start thinking outside the church box and think creatively! This may mean clergy who agree to serve less than full-time, perhaps one-quarter time, even receiving a small weekly stipend and travel expenses. And, lo and behold, maybe even becoming a “tentmaker;” clergy who work outside the church for their primary support.

This will mean there will be tasks that parish members will have to assume; duties such as administration, visitation, evangelism, communications, and teaching. This will require new and bold and transformative thinking and acting on our part because I am suggesting that we consider a major re-structuring of the role of a clergy and congregation.

At the same time, this must be done with a clear understanding of the mission of the church in mind.

What is that mission? In my denomination, the mission of the Church is “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” The Church does this “as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love.”

There is nothing here about numbers. Instead, it is about restoration and it does this restoration through prayer, worship, proclaiming the Gospel and promoting justice, peace and love. If this was a “check list” for the activity of the church how would we rate?

Because if we seriously get on with the task of mission, we would most likely look and act in a much different way. If we did this, what kind of a church would we be?

We need to do some creative (and, if necessary, brutal) self-examination. We need to ask who and what are we today? Where are we going? And most of all, who’s going with us?

This will not be easy. The resurrection life Jesus shows us never is. Because in order for those of us who call ourselves disciples, we and our churches will have to die in order to be born again.

I am convinced that the Christian life is a life of continuous birthing and dying until the final day. As much as you and I would like to avoid this it is simply the way it is. It’s what we signed on for when we renew our baptismal vows each year. We know deep down this will lead us to , to new better lives for ourselves and for our churches.

Leaky Skins

Is it time to find new "wineskins?"  Jesus told us to put new wine into new skins because if we used the old skins for new wine they would burst (Matthew 9, Mark 2, and Luke 5).  Every vintner of his day knew this.  They knew the difference between old and new wine.

I have to admit that I see leaders of Christ's church today as sitting on a vat of new ideas (wine) and looking for the new place (wine skins) to pour them into.  But they remain reluctant to do so because they fear of breaking their "old wineskin" church open.  In their hesitation, the church as we know it (and most others don't) chugs on week after week and year after year with its old, tasteless, and undesirable "wine."  The only folks drinking the old wine are those who have always drunk that wine, and who simply don't have a curiosity or taste for God's new wine.  It's familiar wine, but not the great wine of the Kingdom of God.  All this goes on while the "old tasters" pray and pray that their children and grandchildren will somehow come and find the Jesus who, at Canaan, turned water into the very best wine imaginable.  But forward, Kingdom-thinking church leaders today know that the Jesus wine can't be served because it is too dangerous -- too explosive!

What is it that God expects of us?  Serve the new or stay with the old?  I suggest that God expects us to put the new wine of Jesus into new communities of people and invite those who love the old tasteless wine to join the party!  The new ideas that Jesus brought to us and taught us are still are new to most of his followers.  You and I know that to be a man or woman who actually follows Jesus is to be a cultural renegade -- a revolutionary wine taster!

So what is that which God asks?  God asks us to love God totally and to totally love other people that God has created -- our "neighbors" in the broadest of sense.

First, let's talk about that which God asks of us is NOT.  It is not using the majority of our "tithes/our giving" to maintain a building that is only used about 20% of the week.

It IS, however, about living in an authentic community/relationship with other Jesus followers and DOING Jesus to those outside this community.  It is serving and healing others while we, ourselves, grow more Christ-like; imitating Christ.  Inch by inch; day by day through the discipline of Christian living.  It is loving God through Jesus and letting our lives overflow and shine into the lives of others (mostly by not saying a word or getting in any one's face!).

This means we live a life of compassion, confession, forgiveness, and prayer -- and strive to see the face of Jesus in every other human being -- rich or poor, whatever race, ethnicity -- everyone!  We especially are called to not only see that Face but to especially serve those who are poor, ill, suffering, or in prison.

So, if this became the "church," the agenda, the practice (not the architecture) of a group of Jesus-followers how would that play out?  What would it look like?  But most importantly what would it BE and DO?

Brothers and sisters, this has been my spiritual/faith struggle.  I think I know what God wants of me, but I am too timid, too old, too insecure to act on it.  But if I were to actually PRACTICE my faith I would need a lot of prayer and support from others to do it.  I would need a lot of help from like-minded Jesus people who also find strength in community.

How would we begin?  Then how would we continue in this practice? About four centuries before Jesus, Aristotle (who also greatly informed Thomas Aquinas and other spiritual thinkers) said that it is not about what we do, but about the kind of person we become.

What do you think about all this?  What are your thoughts and about where the new wine should go?