e were
few in number as we sat comfortably face to face in the living room of a godly couple's
house. I had something to share that Wednesday night. It was the first and most
significant revelation that I had received from the Holy Spirit since my conversion a
couple of years before.
I titled the teaching The Thing. A horror movie had been made
years before by that same title. I assured my audience that I was not going to be talking
about that. However, the Thing I talked about was just as monstrous. I began that teaching
by saying, "That which we call the church is not the church but is a
Thing." With that teaching, I began my personal journey in discovering the idolatry
of the church and the difference between it and the true bride of
Christ.
Years later, my wife and I were living in west Tennessee and were
waiting for direction from the Lord. While there, He led me to start a meeting on Sunday
mornings and invite some people I knew to come. Some of them came. We gathered in the name
of Jesus. We sang; I shared the revelations and teachings the Lord gave me; we prayed,
dismissed, and went our way. We were fairly close to one another and had some contact with
each other during the week. We were beginning to be the body of Christ to one
another.
Then, we bought a building, renovated it, opened the doors, and had our
gatherings there. We called the building "The Christian Teaching Center." I did
what I believed the Lord said to do and people began to come.
We were free of men's burdensome traditions, formalities, creeds, rules
and regulations, and programs. We were committed to following the Holy Spirit wherever He
chose to take us. His presence was powerfully felt in most of our gatherings in those
early days.
I insisted that we were not a church, that God had not called
me to start a church, and that I was not to be the pastor of a church. I
tried to make a distinction between the building, which we had given a name, and those of
us who gathered in that building, whom I refused to name. I explained that this was a
teaching center for the body of Christ in that area. Perhaps it was a mistake, but we held
Sunday morning meetings for those who chose not to go elsewhere. That Sunday morning
meeting became the main event of the week.
The pressure was on. Some who came there wanted it to be a church
and wanted me to be their pastor. I was pastoring individuals, but I insisted we were not
a church.
A local pastor disputed my contentions, insisting that we were a church.
He contended that there was no scriptural precedent for the para-church ministry
that we had. He said, "If you look like a duck, walk like a duck, and quack like a
duck, you must be a duck. You look like a church, walk like a church,
and talk like a church." I did not want to hear that then, but looking back
I had to admit he was right. This Thing we call church had weaseled its way into
our work. The work at the Teaching Center was never supposed to be a church.
Once we began to "have" church, we began seeking
something for ourselves. We created a Thing that had gone beyond what God had called me to
do. We went back to the very thing that we had come out of. We had Sunday morning and
Sunday evening services, Sunday School, and a youth program. We took up offerings and put
them in a bank account. Our group became known by the name I had put on the building.
I lost my vision to build up a people and began, instead, to build up a
Thing. We began to go after it instead of going after the Lord Jesus Christ. We
gathered around it instead of the presence of the Lord. People started leaving
and they did not know why. The more they left, the more I tried to hold on to them. I felt
abandoned. But it was I who had abandoned them by allowing the work to become a Thing. Not
long after that, Ichabod was written over our door, spiritually speaking. 1 Sam. 4:21. As
with Elijah, the brook dried up and the ravens ceased to bring their morsels. 1 Kings
17:3-7. It was time for us to move on. It took a year for me to muster enough courage to
finally shut it down.
While most of us know that the word "church" as it is used in
scripture refers to the people of God in Christ, we nevertheless have made a Thing of it.
It is an extension of ourselves and exists as an entity unto itself.
THE EVOLUTION OF CHURCH
How did this Thing we call church evolve?
Believers in the New Testament did not have such baggage. At first they
were simply called the followers of the way. They gathered spontaneously in the temple and
in some synagogues for a period of time. Mostly, however, they met in private homes and
went from house to house. They were drawn together by the presence of the Lord in their
midst.
Christians did not have church buildings until Constantine the Great,
Emperor of Rome from 306 to 337 A.D., embraced Christianity. His endorsement of the faith
created a free climate for men to erect buildings "to the glory of their God."
The earliest church buildings are believed to have been built after the
pattern of the Roman basilica--architecture that was firmly rooted in the traditions of
the Roman empire and has no basis in scripture. Church buildings became more elaborate
with the Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic influences. The layout of these cathedrals
often hid the monks and choirs from the people, advancing the idea of the separation of
clergy from laity which is unfounded in scripture.
During the reformation, Protestants halted the building of great
edifices. The reformers were content with simple, rectangular buildings. They were
primarily interested in gathering the people and having a place to preach. By the
nineteenth century, however, Protestant church architecture had likewise become elaborate
and consisted of elements from a variety of styles.
The enchantment with church buildings throughout the centuries has
contributed to the institutionalization of the church system as we now know it.
THE ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD "CHURCH"
With the inclination toward the construction of buildings for the
worship of God, it is little wonder that the translators of the King James Version of the
Bible chose to translate the Greek word ekklesia by using the English word
"church." A deeper look at the etymology of the word "church" is quite
revealing.
Moving backwards into time, the word "church" was derived
from the Old English word cirice which is related to the Norwegian/Scandinavian
word kirkja. These were derived from the Germanic word kirka; which was
derived from the late Greek word Kyrite; which was derived from the Greek word kurios which means "ruler," "lord,"
"master." In the Greek, Kuriake oika means "lord's
house." Thus, the word church came to mean "a building set apart or consecrated
for public worship."
A correct and quite
appropriate translation of ekklesia is "called-out-ones" although there
are times when the context demands that "assembly" or
"gathering-of-called-out-ones" be used. The word has to do with a people who are
called-out to be gathered together.
Perhaps the translators of the King James version of the Bible had in
mind that the body of Christ could be thought of as a spiritual kuriake oika (Lord's
house) since we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 3:16. Perhaps. But,
from that time to this, the word church is used to refer to more than people. Its
use has been so adulterated that we ought never to use it when we are referring to the
body of Christ. It is appropriate to use the word "church" when we are actually
talking about a building but not when we are talking about the body of Christ. What we
call church is a Thing. The ekklesia is a people.
THE THING
We organize this Thing. We name it, incorporate it,
elect officers to it, open bank accounts in its name, and train and hire
staff to run it. We take up money for it. We devise campaigns to recruit
more people to join it. We track attendance to it. We love it,
get mad at it, resign from it, and leave it. If we are
particularly fond of it, we make up brochures and buy ads to market it.
We evaluate the Thing to determine its success or failure.
"The praise service was good," we might say. "The sermon was okay."
"The offering was poor." "The attendance was down."
Ask a pastor how his church is coming along and he may answer
with such comments as: "Oh, our building program is great." "We're getting
in members left and right." "We've doubled our membership in the last
year." "We are losing people out of the back door as fast as they come in the
front." See where his heart is? He is evaluating the thing over which he is
likely the head. The growth of his church reflects upon his success or failure as
its leader. If, on the other hand, he answers regarding the spiritual well-being of the
people, he understands more of what it means to be the body of Christ. "Well, you
know, many of them have endured some affliction, but it has made them stronger in the
Lord."
If he talks about his people in a possessive sense, he is
snared by his own conceit. They are not his people. On the other hand, if he
talks about the sheep who belong to the good shepherd who is Jesus Christ, he may be free
and more likely to set God's people free.
FOR THE SAKE OF IT
Soon after a church is started, it nearly always
takes on an existence of its own and begins to exist for its own sake.
The people in it exist to serve it rather than it existing to
serve the people. Those dedicated to keeping the church going expect their
members to attend it, support it, and serve it. They plan
various programs that fit the model of what they think a full service church
ought to look like.
The Conners family had been supported by their church for
eight years of difficult but faithful duty on the mission field. After their return, they
attended their church for awhile before dropping out. The first pastoral or
administrative inquiry about them was by the church accountant. "Are the
Conners attending church?" "No," a friend of theirs answered.
"Why?" "For no particular reason." He was indignant. "After all
the money we've given them, now when they could help they're not around." Perhaps
that would have been a genuine concern under other circumstances, but his interest in them
came one and a half years after their return. As Mrs. Conners regretfully said, "I
was frustrated by the obvious fact that no one on staff seemed to notice we were no longer
going there and when they did notice, the first comment was about money." Had the
money been spent on the Conners? No. They were in another land to be spent by the Lord for
the sake of serving the saints there. It seems the Conners were expected to serve the
institution, but were themselves abandoned by the so-called leadership within that
institution.
Brother Billy became the pastor of West Side Church after his father
died. His father founded the church. Brother Billy announced one Sunday that he
was fulfilling his vision to have a jail and bus ministry. "We lack these things to
be a complete church," he explained. "We need volunteers for the jail
ministry and for the bus ministry. Sign-up sheets are on the back table." Many dear
hearts who felt no calling for such service signed on to make Brother Billy feel okay
about himself and his church. They had to serve him so he could fulfill his
vision for a Thing.
People often grow weary of these works of men and drop out. Leadership
is hard to find. If the services or programs were really meeting people's needs, people
would be more likely to support them. A lack of support may be a clear indication that the
event no longer meets a need worth supporting.
PROVOKING GUILT
If we do not provide the expected support for the Thing and its
programs, whether we want to or not, whether we are called to serve in a certain capacity
or not, we are made to feel guilty. Have you ever felt guilty for missing a function of
the church? Those little shame-based voices in your head whisper "naughty,
naughty." "It was my fault the program failed. I didn't give enough of my time
and money to it." You can know by those feelings of guilt that you are
serving a Thing and not the Master.
When we are asked by leadership in the church to make a
commitment to the church, we are actually being asked to make a commitment to the
Thing. Our loyalty is measured by how well we serve this Thing. We are thought to be
slothful Christians if we do not support it; and if we do not even attend a local
church, we are assumed to be backsliders.
On the other hand, when we "do" church, we have
expectations that it ought to be a certain way. It has to work according
to our expectations, or we will feel like it has failed.
If the Thing has to work a certain way before it is
successful, then those who support it will be pressured into performing in such a
way as to make it a success. If it is not a success, someone is to
blame. It is either the people's fault, the pastor's fault, the choir director's fault, or
the church board's fault.
What if you and I have different expectations about how a church
should work? We will have conflict. There will always be conflict in the church
because there will always be expectations in conflict. These are man's expectations, not
God's.
ADDICTED TO THE THING
Some people are clinically classified as religious addicts. I am a
recovering church-addict. Soon after my conversion in 1978, I saw how this church
Thing was an idolatrous system of men's traditions. I despised it (not the people
in it); yet, I felt a seductive pull back into it.
I needed it. I had previously found my identity in it.
I had presence, power, and position in it. As the pastor of it, I
thought I owned at least a part of it. My heart would secretly boast, "This
is mine!" It was my source of financial support. It was the only
thing I was trained to do. I was joined to it and it was joined to me.
We bond with that Thing we call church and thereby get in
bondage to it. We join it and it somehow takes possession of
us. We do, in fact, get addicted to it. As Dennis Loewen wrote, "It is
addictive. How do we know? One way is that we all go through withdrawal when we leave
it."
Some discerning believers who attend spiritually stagnant churches
realize they no longer need to be there. The Holy Spirit is absent. The services are dead.
The preacher is boring. People argue over petty, irrelevant issues. They feel their tithes
are wasted on worthless salaries, programs, and mortgages. Their huge buildings stand
empty more often than not. They feel obligated to serve on committees that serve the
institution more than they serve the people. They see the leadership trying one gimmick
after another to make the Thing relevant in order to get more people to join it
and be active in it.
These precious believers want to leave but find that they cannot.
Mother wouldn't understand. "Why, that stained glass window was dedicated in
grandpa's name. How can you even think about leaving?" They rationalize that they
have life-long friends there. "How can I leave them?" They are made to feel like
traitors, deserters, troublemakers, or mavericks. Some people disown their own family
members who leave their "faith." Some traditions believe that a person will go
to hell if they leave their particular brand of church.
So, they feel stuck in the system. They put on their Sunday morning
smiles and hide their secret resentments for feeling stuck. They shake and howdy down the
aisle, pretending, "Isn't it good to be in the house of the Lord?" They settle
into their familiar pews and begin again to fellowship with the backs of people's heads.
Many who dare to leave one church go down the street hoping
for a better "spiritual climate" only to find the same old whore in a brand new
dress. Only the rules are slightly different. They go from church to church
looking for that which is genuine only to find more phony religious facades; they go
looking for Spirit and truth only to find more flesh and hypocrisy. Yet, they continue
their search, because they are addicted to it. They bob up and down on their
wooden horses unable to dismount because of the velocity of that carousel--the church
system that perpetually spins round and round, going nowhere.
A few discerning persons are able to break away from the bondage of church,
but often leave damaged and resentful. Some of these attend anonymous groups, seeking
recovery from the religious abuses inflicted upon them by these religious systems of men's
traditions.
Church
, as we have come to experience it, permeates
every aspect of our society. It is the only thing we have seen and known that
supposedly represents Christ. In going after it, just as did Israel of old, we
have played the harlot and provoked the Lord to jealousy.
I hope you are praying for the Holy Spirit to lift the veil from over
your eyes to see how church is a counterfeit system, to see how we have made a
Thing out of who we are in Christ and gone after it instead of Jesus.