"Yes, 'the church has a mission.' But it's better to say that 'God's mission has a church" -Ed Stetzer
One question I have been asking myself often over the last year has been an observation on what the purpose of the church is. Depending on who you ask this can be a very loaded question and I won't pretend like it's an easy question to answer. In fact I'm sure I'll be making adjustments to it for the rest of my life. I've already made some pretty substantial changes to my own views even in recent months.
Let's just go ahead and jump right into where I've landed on this. The purpose of the church is to:
1. Share the gospel with outsiders
2. Disciple insiders
3. Maintain accountability
4. Develop Community
Regardless of your views of the mission, every program your church uses should be an answer to a question that arises from that mission. How do we develop community? Introduce small groups. How do we maintain accountability? Introduce covenant membership and develop consistent church discipline. That may not be how you would choose to answer these questions, but they are an answer. This is what churches should do; continuously ask themselves how to actively chase after the mission that God has set before his church.
In that same vein, if one of your programs is not an answer to a "missional question" then that is an excellent excuse to kill the program. Many churches are willing to sacrifice themselves on the altar of their programs instead of crucifying their programs on the cross of God's mission. When we stop asking ourselves how to actively introduce the gospel to outsiders and instead try to figure out how to maintain a two hymnal songs per service quota, it's a good indication that your church has lost the plot.
A culture of change is paramount in a church. A church should constantly evaluate their programs to insure that everything they do is an answer to achieving the mission given the church. They shouldn't be afraid to flip the kill switch the moment a program no longer answers a need and instead becomes a comfortable tradition. When they don't, churches have a tendency to collect "ugly couches" (an Andy Stanley quote) furniture that worked well and looked great two houses, three paint jobs, and twenty years ago. The problem with an ugly couch is that everyone who visits you instantly recognizes that you own an ugly couch, but every time you see it all you recognize is a thousand great memories and a really comfortable butt groove.
It's important to recognize that even though the questions should never change, the way we answer those questions will constantly change. The way a question is answered right now is not necessarily how it will be answered next year. This is why evaluation is so important, so that answers do not become ugly couches.
I'd love to read your thoughts on the mission of the church. What do you agree with? Disagree with? What would you tweak, take away, or add? Feel free to share any other thoughts you may have, I'd love to hear them!
Jace, I love this post. It is so relevant to what is going on in so many churches whether you live in Seattle or Cleveland.
ReplyDelete"Many churches are willing to sacrifice themselves on the altar of their programs instead of crucifying their programs on the cross of God's mission."
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part..besides the whole thing. Calvary is really heading for alot of changes and I am curious as to what will happen when the people refuse to be mission minded. Change is difficult for many but all part of the process.. I also love how you point out the answers to these ?'s will change over time-so key! I enjoyed this very much!!
I read this and say, "Yes." Fear of the kill switch is what is hurting the overwhelming majority of churches in this nation. I've seen it first hand here in the midwest. Those questions that you mentioned that should motivate the driving force behind every church have been dropped, and in their place has risen the question that is killing Christianity in our nation: "How can we be most comfortable?" This mentality is costing us LIVES.
ReplyDeleteIf churches really want to fulfill the Great Commission they MUST embrace change. The war has changed. The enemy that we fight has not changed, nor are our orders different. But modern warfare must be fought with modern tactics, and that means a change in our strategies.
I totally agree with you. I've been to a ton of different chuches, and the churches that don't grow, are the ones that never want to change. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with sitting in pews, dressing up, or singing hymns. But if you want to bring people in, you're gonna have to change, atleast a little bit.
ReplyDeleteThis is so true!
ReplyDeleteThe one thing though I do see a lot even in our own church is that the programs that are needed are not being filled. There's always the side of programs that are unneeded, either at the time or just have lost their way, but there's another side of the programs that are needed can sometimes never be filled enough.I know that my dad has been wanting to have a book store for a long while within the church but it always has been the problem of people not realising that there's more to the church than the sermon.
I'm sure you know that I'm a traditional type -- wary of implementing new things. (if you didn't I guess it's on the table now hah).
ReplyDeleteI fully agree that the questions shouldn't change, but in the same category, churches can sacrifice themselves on the altar, as you've stated it, in attempts to get at answering the culture question. obviously the emergent church is an example of orthodoxy going out the window, and as a result it is a major failure. so adapting to the culture (in our case post-modernity) is no good. I don't think this is what you were saying, but I'm not entirely sure.
I guess I'm not really sure what you mean by culture. Philosophies change, fads come and go, church "movements" are fleeting. A church service with an organ, hymns, a choir, and expositional preaching may not cater to the dim-witted, pagans of today, but the Word clearly spoken is more powerful than anything.
Great thoughts, Jace! An additional thought that I'll throw out there is this: It is great to be willing to change, and to be willing to kill off a program that's heart stopped beating ages ago. But what's even more important is what you do after you throw the kill switch. What missional question did that killed program once answer, and what are we going to do to answer that question now?
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's easier to kill something off than start something new. Example: A children's program that was used for discipleship isn't reaching the kids of today. Children have lost their interest, parents and children aren't excited about it. The kids feel like they are dragged there and can't wait for youth group to come. So you kill the program. But what are you going to do to answer the need for discipleship of children? It's okay, and important to get rid of the ugly couches, but if you get rid of all the ugly couches and don't replace it with something functional, the church runs the risk of being filled with empty spaces. Which is maybe why churches stay complacent. Some churches today really seem to like the idea of change, and talk about changing constantly, but aren't committed enough to fulfilling God's mission for the church to sit down, evaluate, brainstorm, and come up with something that would better answer the questions.
Thanks for the post Jace! Short and to the point. I agree, i think the church has some "hoarding tendencies" with programs, culture, or habit that need to be checked in order to reach the lost. Miss ya man
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