Posts by danieljkoren:
Major League Church? Not for me, thanks.
I’m worried about the condition of churches today. Let me illustrate what I see. Then, you can decide if I am worried about nothing or if we need to do something.
Major leagues, NFL, pro football—I don’t understand this phenomenon. People sit in the stands (an oxymoron?) and watch professionals play games. These spectators could be hanging out with buddies in the backyard, playing the same sports and interacting with their friends. Instead, they line up in rows and look around each others’ heads to see the action.
At the end, the fans of the winning team leave exhuberantly, saying things like, “We won!” “We showed them!” or “We did it again.” But they didn’t do anything other than yell, drink a few beers, and eat over-priced hot dogs. They are not participants yet by closely watching the pros, they feel engaged in the game. I wonder what percentage of spectators actually play ball with their own hands anymore.
This is a picture of what church has become.
Spectators attend church, see the well-rehearsed musicians and vocal artists (as we call them now) and are awed. We watch the major-league pastor preach a powerful sermon. We are moved. We laugh, we cry, we shout.
We leave the “church service” talking about “We had church today!” “My mind is blown!” and “Look at God, y’all!” We have tricked ourselves like the stadium fans to think we are participants. We gave our money, yelled, and wore the team Jersey. But that is not the game.
You see, to play football, you don’t need a seat, you need a football (I know this is hard to grasp, but stick with me). You need an open lot and you need a few people. Then you can truly say, “Let’s play ball!” Until then, you are just spectating as others use their skills.
To “have church” you do not need an organ, but we think we do. You do not need a platform, pulpit, altar bench, pews/chairs, or sound system. We have substituted that “stadium” style of church service for being church.
What happened to the original church model where everyone participated? I love our big services, great preaching, and excellent music. But attending those events cannot be all we know as church anymore than stadiums are all there is to football.
Ask any guy on the street what his position is. Are you a quarterback? A running back? A wide receiver? A kicker? What is your defense role? I wonder how many jersey wearing guys would know their place on the field.
In the church, I am afraid the situation is worse. People are better at knowing which pew is theirs than they are finding their place in the body of Christ. They have their spot marked in the stadium but have no clue what to do on the field.
You see, church is simply a gathering. That’s what the word means. It is a gathering of people who serve one another. They serve one another by the power of the Spirit who works through them to help each other.
“How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you:
- has a psalm,
- has a teaching,
- has a tongue,
- has a revelation,
- has an interpretation.
Let all things be done for edification.” (I Corinthians 14:26)
What do you contribute to the body? Are you an intercessor? Are you a safety? Is defense your main game? Are you looking out for brothers and sisters? Are you the encourager who helps them win? Where do you fit?
The brotherly love and heart-weaving of a true church cannot happen in front of spectators. But Jesus is glorified without colored lights and organ music. The Head connects with all the organs of His body, not just a Hammond B3.
I do not follow pro sports. I think people oversensationalize the QB (quarterback) or other all-star players as if they could do the job alone. It takes the whole team.
As a pastor, I do not want to develop a church with the QB effect. The Head has other members of His body He wants to use. Too many churches are full of eyes and have few hands, ears, livers, kidneys, or other necessary functions of the body.
“[We must] grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)
How can we get more people on the team of being a I Corinthians 14:26 church? What about I Corinthians 12? Romans 12:6-8?
Leave a comment below and describe church experiences where you have seen everyone “on the field” and not just “in the stands” (so to speak). When do you feel most involved?