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The Perfect Church
The perfect church. If there is such a thing, I have not found it yet. And neither have you. But that hasn’t stopped us from trying, has it?
From the perspective of a church leader, it seems that just soon as we think a person has settled into the life of our church, they decide that our church is no longer the one they want to attend. Yes, we’re always doing something to run off someone.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in over 30 years in ministry, it’s how to please everyone. It’s simple really.
- Always keep the worship music at a high level so that the congregation can become immersed in the worship experience.
- Always keep the worship music at a low level so that the congregation can hear themselves and others sing.
- Never talk about money. It’s an uncomfortable subject. It just makes people think that you’re trying to empty their bank accounts.
- Always talk about money. If we don’t teach about it, how will the people know about the blessings that come through giving generously.
- Never preach in a way that may convict your congregation to change. They’re attending your church to be fed, not to be made to feel inadequate.
- Always preach in a way that convicts your congregation to change. After all, we’re responsible for their souls.
- Sing more hymns and less contemporary music. The contemporary choruses are theologically shallow and too repetitive.
- Sing more contemporary choruses and fewer hymns. Contemporary choruses are easier to understand and are more up-to-date musically. The hymns are too long and difficult to understand. What is an Ebenezer anyway, and why am I raising it?
- Always use the King James Bible. It has been the standard and proven translation for generations of Christians. Most of the scriptures we memorized as children were from the King James Bible. These newer translations can’t be trusted.
- Always use a contemporary version of the Bible. The King James Version is outdated and uses words that don’t have the same meaning in modern english. The Bible should be understood.
I think you get the picture. The problem with trying to please everyone is that you can’t please everyone. People have different tastes in music, theology, preaching styles and content, and which version of the Bible they prefer. But that is not the real problem. Those are only the symptoms of an underlying disease that is eating away at the core of the church.
The Real Problem
The real problem lies in our concept of church. Specifically, the local church. There are numerous verses in the Bible that talk about the purpose of the church, but I am only going to focus on a couple of them here.
1 Corinthians 12:18 ~But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.
1 Corinthians 12:27-28 ~ All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
Romans 12:4-8 ~ Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
In these verses, we find some concepts of the church that is foreign to our American culture.
- The church is compared to a human body, made up of different parts that are designed to function differently from each other.
- God places those body parts – both in the human body and the church body – where he wants them placed.
- He places them in the body based on how they function best to accomplish the purpose for which they were designed.
The Consumer Culture
The church we have created is in direct opposition to that line of reasoning. And we continue to perpetuate it.
Consumer Christians
Most Christians do not attend a church on the basis of being placed in that church by God. The overwhelming majority of church attending people – even Christians – choose which church to attend based on their perceived needs.
If a family has young children, they look for a church that has a great children’s ministry, sings the type of songs they like and where the pastor preaches the kind of sermons that they can relate to. If the family has teens, they search for a church with a dynamic youth ministry. If they are more evangelistic minded, they want a church that has a good outreach program. If one, or both of the parents are musical, they will look for a church that has a music program that they can become involved in. You get the picture.
Much like going to the store and shopping for food or clothing, most Christians “shop” for a church that will meet their needs. Their children must be fed, they must be fed, and the church must be the right size, have the right ministry opportunities in place, and be the type of church where they can feel comfortable.
Consumer Churches
In much the same way, churches create a consumer mentality among Christians by adopting a business model for their church. Instead of seeking God for direction, they create a culture in which the consumer feels welcome. We adopt contemporary music because it will attract younger people. We design our churches so that they will appeal to a certain “audience” of people. In essence, we market ourselves so that we will be more attractive to Christians in our area than the church down the street.
For clarification’s sake – I am not against attractive churches or contemporary music. In fact, I am of the opinion that if you have to call the music “contemporary” in 2018, then you are already culturally irrelevant. What I am saying, is that instead of trying to attract people to our church who don’t really belong there anyway, we should be doing what God has called us to do. Nothing else. Then rely on God to place the people in our local body who will help us accomplish the purpose that God has called us to.
A Different Way
What if, instead of trying to create a church culture that attracts people to our church, we simply did what God has called our local church body to do. The verses quoted above not only apply to local church bodies. They apply to The Church body. Just as God places members in local congregations to help those churches fulfill their mission, God places local church bodies in geographic locations to fulfill a regional mission, and churches in specific regions to accomplish a global mission.
What if, instead of seeing the church across the street, or across town, as competition, we saw them as God does: Different parts of the same body with a different purpose?
How would we do things differently if we adopted a “do what God says” attitude instead of simply adopting a “this is what churches do” mentality?
What if we stopped buying into the American business model of church that tells us that bigger is better? That growth is the objective of the church? That in order to be effective we need more people? What if, instead of needing more people, we just need the right people? What if, instead of having a consumer mindset, we had a Kingdom mindset? While the church must, by necessity, use some business principles, it is not a business. It is part of a Kingdom.
Ask, Seek, Knock
The first step toward becoming a Kingdom-based church instead of a Consumer-based church is finding your place in this body called The Church. God has placed you where you are for a reason. You have a specific purpose in the Body of Christ. Start by asking God what he wants you to do. Don’t stop asking until your purpose is clear. I go more in-depth about how to do that here.
The hard part begins once you have determined your purpose. Once you know what God wants you to do, do it. It sounds simple enough, but breaking the mold of a consumer church is not easily accomplished. The opposition may be great. People may leave your church. But doing what God wants you to do is how his kingdom becomes established. You will find that your reliance on God is greater. Your faith may be tested, but it will also become greater.
You will also find a greater sense of accomplishment and satisfaction by doing what God has called you to do instead of following the crowd. Church as usual is not working anyway. Will you continue to follow the crowd and be content in building a great business? Or do you have the courage to step away from the mass of churches who are “doing church” as usual and join God in building his Kingdom?
Tom Rawlings
Tom Rawlings is an author, speaker and church-development expert. Tom works with churches and church leaders to develop sound principles for church health. For questions, or to inquire about having Tom speak to your church or group, please click the button below.
