Earlier this month, Andrew Jones posted an interesting article on church planting entitled 9 reasons NOT to plant a church in 2012. With a title like that, one can only imagine what kinda of response he would get (and did he get one!) The majority of the bloggers that I read seemed to deal only with the title and not what he was actually saying. They went something like this: "Andrew Jones says don't plant, he must be against the Great Commission, he must not like me (or my movement), I need to show him the error of his ways and justify my existence!" But what struck me in the article was not a rejection of church planting, but instead a challenge to the way we look at the Great Commission.
Being a Vineyard guy, I know the church planting argument by heart. "The best way to get people saved is to plant new churches!" When we think of Matthew 28, we think church planting. We are (were?) a church planting movement for goodness sake. I remember when I first came to the Vineyard, once I learned about healing the next step was to go and plant a church! I've based my entire life and my family's well being on this belief. And now, nine years after being sent out to actually plant a church, I'm wondering if I got it wrong.
Now, before you start yelling at me and thinking that I fell off the wagon, just hear me out for a minute. I love the church. I love all the different forms and traditions of the church. But I'm starting to wonder if we've lost some focus on what church was supposed to be (when I say church in this context, I'm meaning the local, organized, expression of the church, not the people of the church or the church universal.) Here is what I mean. When we start talking about "church", we in the west begin to place certain metrics around it to determine if it is successfully being the church. How big is it? What programs is it offering? What does the worship team look like? How good is the preacher? Is the Sunday event cool? Is it self-sustainable (that is a big one these days, especially when we westerner's plant churches in other cultures). Be honest here - this is how we determine if it is successful. So the bigger the church, the more programs for the people, the bigger budget and staff, the hipper the worship, the more charismatic the preacher, the better the church. Here is what is curious. These are the same metrics that we use when evaluating a successful business. But are they the same metrics that Jesus' used when he gave us the Great Commission?
A quick read of Matthew 28:18-20 may cause us to pause for a moment.
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
So what is the metric? You could make an argument that it is about the numbers, but it is not just numbers - it is about disciples. Are we actually making disciples?
Our goal should be disciples, not churches. The church is an effective tool for disciple making, but it is not the end result (Jesus did not say "Therefore, go and plant churches..."). If we are making disciples, then we are all working together in this. If we are growing churches, then it's my church verses your church. And it is in that spirit of competition that we tend to find ourselves here in the US.
In the nine years that I have pastored my church, we have had two large video venues plant in our area. Both of these churches are pastored by wonderful, God fearing people. And I know that God is using them to advance his Kingdom here in DeKalb county. But what was interesting to me is the way that they marketed themselves when they got here. They newest one put signs all around our town that said this:
Join us for dynamic children's ministry, awesome music, real-to-life messages, and authentic relationships. Beginning January 15th, experience a different kind of church.
So who is this being written to? I know that they want the un-churched, but the language is speaking directly to the churched. Does your church's children ministry suck? Tired of the organ? Pastor boring? The people of your church just don't accept who you really are? Then try us! Experience church the way it was meant to be (aka - not at the church you currently attend)!
The problem is that it is not just those "big churches" that are doing it. We are all doing it. Another church's success means my failure (be honest guys). This mentality works great for selling burgers. But we are not selling burgers, we are representing the Creator of the universe. Jesus is not a Big Mac!
So back to the article. If Jesus said make disciples and they are to obey what Jesus taught, what would that look like? I think it would look like a movement. If we actually did what Jesus commanded us to do we would be loving our neighbor, taking care of the poor, healing the sick, and making more disciples - being the church instead of playing church. Instead, we get saved and find our place in the safety of the sheep pen. We don't bring transformation into a community, instead we hide away in the safety of a Christian ghetto. I think what Andrew was trying to say was forget the institution of church and start being the church. If we just be the church, churches will get planted (we are called to come together for worship, teaching and the Lord's Supper). But the institution of the church isn't the end all. It is simply a tool that Jesus gave us to help fulfill His mission here on earth.
I know this may get me in trouble with some (especially in my tribe), but be patient with me. I really think there is something here that God wants to work through. I'll try to flesh some of this out some more over the next few days and weeks.
