How to be a Healthy Church or Not

     

Is Christianity losing ground in positively affecting our culture? Did it ever really have it? Is something wrong with the way we do church in the USA? Why do some churches grow in numbers but do not seem healthy? Because humans are involved! We have many large churches with many people attending. Are they growing as disciples and having an impact on society or just attenders? Have we made big churches merely fun social clubs for how to have a better life without needing the Holy Spirit?

Are small churches thriving or dying? Are they closing up shop? People like big and exciting things but little churches are a lot like a big family and sometimes a little cult. Big and small both have positive and negative aspects. They also are supposed to have a common link with God and a common enemy to be fought. We all are flawed people in process. We are growing and learning to look for the good and the gold in ourselves and others. The battle has already been won by The One Who is risen indeed. Do we hear from Him so He can lead His church through us?

Is God evangelical, reformed, fundamentalist, liberal, Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, charismatic, cessationist, some version of orthodox or any other of our varieties or non-denominational versions? Do we attempt to make God fit neatly in our little church box? Are our brains open to learning new things so we can be the church His way?

Why are so many Christians no longer part of any church? I know of lots of them. For many, it is because they were wounded by domineering leaders. It amazes me how often church leaders overlord their congregations in ways exactly like Jesus said not to. Why are fear, shame, power and control so strong in USA churches? Strong personalities create followers. Sometimes they also spit followers out the back door without meaning to. Can these leaders change?

Why are most churches led by a pastor/teacher or pastor/evangelist? This person is usually a dynamic speaker able to express a compelling vision. What about the apostle or prophet? It seems that these roles are often denied because they seem to be too spiritual or mystical so they must no longer exist and be relegated to Bible times. Are we too afraid of the Holy Spirit to allow these gifts/roles to exist and be part of the local church? What if church looked like this?

         

So many church organizational charts or structures merely mimic the business world. It seems difficult to find one that is biblical. Usually they just follow a top down structure like a typical corporate hierarchy made up of managers and worker bees. It’s difficult to draw an organizational diagram with Jesus as the head and the Holy Spirit as the director. That is implied in the one above. The church is the body of Jesus on earth. We are all His church and each little church is a member of the one universal church. So, how do we do life in the church different than in the business world where it seems like a requirement to have one boss running the whole show?

There are plenty of great business resources for learning how to be a better leader. Check out LinkedIn blogs, Forbes, Inc., Harvard Business Review, etc. Just make sure you read through a biblical lens with Jesus as the model. I personally am tired of the servant-leader phrase and think we all are to just be servants. Being a decision maker and influencer needs to come from how God designed us as we serve in our grace gifts pouring God’s love into people and calling them into the greatness of being a child of The King. The Holy Spirit needs to be released in and through us to be the leader in the church. If every believer has the Holy Spirit in them, we need to search for ways to follow biblical guidelines for deacons and elders and everyone a priest.

What if the Ephesians 4:11-13 and its so-called 5-fold ministry is really a model for how the church elder body is to function? No one is then really in charge. There are differing roles and functions where all are equal. All overseers work together for the common good of Jesus’ church. Defining these roles will be a brief summary. For more information see the writings of Graham Cooke, Paul Manwaring, Bill Johnson and Kris Vallaton.

·         The apostle: One sent with a message. This is not one of the original 12 but the task is similar. Go pioneer an evangelistic work in a new or mostly unreached area. Bring the gospel message to a new place or in a new way. Pioneer something different than what is happening currently. People are drawn toward this message, vision and this person.

·         The prophet: Speak forth the truth that God is revealing about a person, church, nation, etc. The content will be tested with Scripture. The content is specific information given at the right time which may not be seen in Scripture. The message is not like that of Old Testament prophets because things are different after the cross and empty tomb. The message is not always uplifting and positive but is primarily about digging for gold where little or none is being seen or acted out. This is calling people into a future they are not aware of or living out. This role is about going after people to give them a message they may not be drawn to, believe or want to hear. (This is why the arrows in the diagram have specific directions.)

·         The evangelist: Reaching the lost by sharing the gospel. Everyone is called to do this but some are definitely gifted by God for success in this role. This is bringing the good news to a bad news world. This is the rescue mission of bringing people lost in darkness into the light. Believers follow the evangelist as they learn how to go do similar outreach.

·         The pastor: The Greek word means shepherd. This is guiding the flock in safety, comfort and health. This care-giving role draws people in. People come for the protection of the shepherd. The pastor must guide them to trust in Jesus and grow while not being an enabler.

·         The teacher: This role focuses on expounding the Word of God and teaching from the Bible. They teach the truths that have been revealed in Scripture and train people to read and study it for themselves. They find the gold in the Bible to show Who God is and what He has done and will do in the future. This gift reveals they have eyes to see into the text and draw out things the rest of the body missed or has not yet seen.

It is very interesting that this list is different from the one given to the messed up Corinthian church. Chapter 12:27 “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. ²⁸ And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.” Where are the pastors and evangelists? Do these other gifts that are listed carry out those two roles? Healers, miracle workers and those speaking languages to lost people whose language they don’t know seem to function neatly in evangelism roles. This is not the prayer language tongue but one that is heard and understood by unbelievers. The message glorifies God and is prophetic and evangelical in content. The administrator is the one left that appears to function in a pastoral role or, at least, organizing people to shepherd one another. A diagram of that might look like the below.

It’s the same church! It must function the same. It must be directed the same way by Jesus, the Holy Spirit and worked out through the gifts/roles defined by God. It looks like a broader group of participants than the typical USA CEO visionary business model church. How does it function? How does it succeed, thrive, live, grow?

Can a church without one boss really function as a team so the local church is one body working together to accomplish God’s goals and purpose? How can differing ideas and visions/dreams work together and be accomplished as one.  Won’t shared leadership by the equipping leaders lead to chaos?

Apparently, this is God’s way for running His church. It conflicts with man’s way and certainly with the one, big dog USA charismatic leader way of church CEO servant-leadership. OK, that was pretty sarcastic. But, what if I am right and somewhat prophetic or a teacher? The way we function as a body needs to mirror how heaven functions with its cultures. This will lead us to re-think structure and organization so it doesn’t look like the sadly humorous dysfunctional mess shown below which fits with most businesses and some churches. Diagramming an Influence structure would look a lot different than the planned organizational one.   

     

      

To move toward a biblical model will take positions and authority out of the picture and place gifts and spiritual maturity as primary. Titles and job descriptions need to be replaced with the gifts, talents and abilities of the people who are a committed part of the local body. We must stop defining positions as jobs and endlessly looking for people to fit neatly into our view of a task oriented church. We must prayerfully look at the people who are here and look for the gold they can contribute if we unleash them with the Holy Spirit as the leader. Sounds scary to us … because it takes the control and vision out of our hands and spreads that and the responsibilities all around. Spiritual gift assessments may help a bit but mostly the right people in the right gift roles will come by prayer, observation and doing life together as a family. Here are some questions that can guide us toward being a healthy church:

·         Who lives a Jesus loving life?

·         Whom do we trust, respect and love?

·         Why do we admire them?

·         What gifts do we see them having?

·         How can we help them know who they really are in Jesus?

·         How can we help them be unleashed in their gifts and passions?

·         How can we honor Jesus by lifting others up?

·         What do I need to surrender so I am not being tempted, deceived or pushing my own agenda?

·         Will I listen when others shine a light on something I don’t want to hear about?

·         Am I teachable and transparent?

·         Do I love like Jesus? Where do I need work and healing?

·         …

Jesus, inspire us. Give us ears and eyes to hear and see as You do. Build Your church. Take us along for this wild ride. Make Your name great. Save souls. Pierce the darkness so Your light shines through. Pour Your salve on our wounds. Make us holy and loving. Remove our blind spots and temptations. Remove our agenda. Strip us of shame, guilt, negativity, despair, greed and selfishness. Unleash Your people to save and heal our church and neighbors and the world. Thank You for allowing us to participate with You in Your Kingdom building as Your holy children. Show us how to be the church Your way. You are AWESOME and we love You.