Skip to main content

Love the Church

A couple of weeks ago I attended an ordination service in east Tennessee. Loyd Allen, professor at McAfee School of Theology, brought the "charge" to the young woman who was being ordained. He presented some excellent comments, but one stuck in my mind. He said, "Love the church but don't worship the church." He reminded the candidate (and all of those present) that the full allegiance for the believer is to God alone. He was warning us that worship of the church can become an idol.

We may accept the fact that we are to love our spouse, or our children, or our work, and not to worship any of those, but can we accept that warning when it comes to the church? Are there times when we really seem to be worshipping the church?

I think we worship the church when we are not willing to acknowledge its failures. Failure is not bad, but if we do not learn from failure, we are missing an opportunity for growth. I think we worship the church when we allow church activities to take the place of time with God. Just because we are busy with "religious" things does not mean that we are about God's business. I think we worship the church when we make preservation of the church the primary motivation for serving the church. The church has survived a long time without me, and it will without me.

Allen also made the comment that "the church is not the kingdom but it witnesses to the kingdom." This is good missional church thinking. The church is part of God's kingdom, but it does not encompass all that God is doing in the world. The people of God need to be alert to all of the ways that God is acting for redemption and reconciliation in our time.

I love the church and have committed my life to "building up the body of Christ," but I must always remember that the church is not an end in itself and its work is ultimately in God's hands.

Comments

Cally said…
I think your last paragraph said it all, and something I need to be reminded of periodically. Pastors are leaders in the church, but cannot fix everything or change it all singlehandedly. We also have to guard against making things worse.

It is a load off to realize that it all belongs to the Lord anyway. I just try not to screw things up too much. The wheat and chaff parable comes to mind when dealing with folks in the local church. Jesus commanded us to love one another, not change one another. That's the Holy Spirit's job I think.

It's hard enough getting that loving part right. I've never thought of worshipping the church though. I have friends who have been hurt so much by the church that it keeps things in perspective.
12:21 AM
Post a Comment

Check these out

Confessions of a Recovering Southern Baptist

I am grateful for my heritage as a Southern Baptist.  I was exposed to the Bible and worship from a very young age.  I grew up in a church in south Alabama that supported the Cooperative Program of missions giving.  This meant that our church had the benefit of being part of a supportive group of local churches and the educational opportunities that afforded. Our state convention provided varied and effective ministries with groups like orphans, ethnic groups, and college students.  We supported missionaries at home and abroad.  We had good Bible study and training literature (which we paid for, of course).  I went to an accredited seminary and paid a remarkably low tuition.  Wherever you went on a Sunday morning (in the Southeast and Southwest, at least), you could find a church that sang the familiar hymns and studied the same Bible lesson. In hindsight, I realize that this Southern Baptist utopia was imperfect.  There were significant...
1 comment
Read more

The Bible Tells Me So

As I read the story of the Good Samaritan during my devotional today, I was reminded of the times that I have heard the story in the Christian education setting of the local church--as a youngster in primary and intermediate classes (old terminology), as a young adult in college classes, and then as an adult, often teaching the passage myself.     The characters and story line are very familiar due to these experiences of Christian education. These are challenging times for Christian education in the church.  Like so much of what is happening in the church today, the old forms do not seem to support present needs.  What once worked no longer seems to be effective.  Christian education or the formation of believers is in a state of flux. In an article on ethicsdaily.com , retired professor Colin Harris addresses this issue. He points out that the period of the 60’s and 70’s  “saw the beginnings of a loss of vitality within the educa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Metaphors of the Kingdom of God

In a recent blog , consultant Seth Godin addresses the power of metaphor.   He points out, “The best way to learn a complex idea is to find it living inside something else you already understand.”   In other words, “this” is like “that.” “When you see a story, an example, a wonderment,” says Godin, “take a moment to look for the metaphor inside.”   Jesus turned this around.   In the use of parables, he told a story or provided a metaphor and challenged his hearers to see the truth within. For example, in his teaching on the Kingdom (or Reign) of God in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom to such things as a mustard seed, yeast, a hidden treasure, a net, a king, and a landowner.   His hearers are encouraged to use their imaginations to understand something that they had never experienced.   He also attempted to shift their perspective so that they might see signs of the Kingdom breaking into their present reality.  These are metapho...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Tragedy of Willow Creek Community Church

File photo of Steve Carter, Heather Larson, and Bill Hybels As Christian brothers and sisters, we need to pray for Willow Creek Community Church.   On the eve of the Global Leadership Summit, a worldwide conference sponsored by the church in cooperation with the Willow Creek Association, church leadership imploded as a result of further allegations against former pastor Bill Hybels. Last year, Hybels introduced the team who would assume church leadership upon his retirement--lead pastor Heather Larson and teaching pastor Steve Carter.  Although the founding pastor planned to stay on to assist in a time of transition, reports of sexual impropriety involving Hybels surfaced early this year.  He accelerated his departure from the church and left the board of the Willow Creek Association. When other charges emerged last week, teaching pastor Carter resigned. On Wednesday evening, Larson and the entire elder board--lay leaders who provide accountability ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Future for the Global Leadership Summit?

Craig Groeschel, the founder and senior pastor of Life.Church. The Global Leadership Summit which began as a project of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, and its founding pastor, Bill Hybels, over 25 years ago was held this week without Hybels. For several years, the GLS has been now produced by the Willow Creek Association, a spin-off organization and a loose network of churches but Hybels has been its driving force. Attended by thousands at the church facility in South Barrington and broadcast to thousands more at satellite locations, the annual meeting brings together not only evangelical leaders but outstanding speakers from business, charitable organizations, politics, and business.  For the first time, Hybels did not appear due to allegations of sexual impropriety brought against him over the past year by former employees, staff members, and business associates.  He has already left the church and resigned from the board of t...
Post a Comment
Read more