Is the church a club for Christians, or is it a force for Kingdom expansion? When Jesus said, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not stand against it" (Matthew 16:18), was He thinking of a Sunday morning service with 40 minutes of singing and 40 minutes of preaching? Was He thinking of an audience listening to one person talk at them? Was He referring to a building that would be mostly empty for 165 hours a week?
Is the church we see in Canada the same church Jesus said He is building?
I think we've turned a kingdom-building force for souls into a club for those that say they belong. And I see this by noting certain "club rules" in almost every church I've observed.
"Gathering" is the main thing we do. Any church I've ever been to is centred on its' weekly gathering. Even youth groups have weekly gatherings. And in this gathering, there are two activities that are pre-dominant: singing and preaching. We expect people to attribute their Christian experience and pattern their lives after these two things because this is what we do – we go to church. If you're not doing well in life, the question, "have you gone to church?" is what you'll be asked. And if we want to create momentum or get more people, what do we do? We hold a gathering. Sometimes we'll hold a week of gatherings or go to a camp where we will, you guessed it, gather for songs and a sermon. Is this all the church was supposed to do – come and gather? Or, were we meant to go and make?
The preacher is the most important person in your spiritual journey. It's uncanny when you think of it. One person stands up and tells the rest of the people what the Bible says. Most people don't read their Bibles for themselves all week and come back next week to listen to what the preacher says. The preacher often is placed as the primary figure in someone's spiritual journey. “I go to _______’s church”. Or, "I really like it when pastor________ preaches." And here's the thing, YOU are the main character in your own spiritual journey. Any pastor or preacher you come across is a fellow sojourner on their own journey. I would recommend to stop placing importance on the pastor and start placing importance on the Word of God and obedience to Christ.
Ministry is done by professionals. We give lip service to the idea of "the priesthood of all believers," but rarely do we mobilize members into ministers. The only people you usually see doing "spiritual stuff" are paid church members; this has to change. We need to see everyone praying, proclaiming, serving, loving, giving, organizing, and ministering to everyone. The idea was never to leave it to a small group of paid professionals. The idea was that everyone would go and make disciples of everyone. What are we doing to train, equip and release everyone into meaningful ministry in our church?
We are better than those outside the church. It's spiritual elitism at its finest. If you're a Christian, you've chosen the right path and done the right things. If you're not, you're probably getting what you deserve or about to. We fail to forget the depths from where we've come from and that we are all sinners in desperate need of a saviour. It is by grace that we have been saved, and that same grace is extended to anyone who receives it. When we form an "us and them" mentality, we're already off on the wrong foot because we've made ourselves better than them, and the truth is, we ALL need a saviour.
A Christian club mentality keeps the insider happy while ignoring the outsider. Christian club mentality believes outsiders can come in if they choose, but they don't actively seek them out. Christian club mentality is fine if everything outside goes to hell because it's nice inside.
A Kingdom expansion mentality sees every believer on a mission to expand the Kingdom and extend grace to everyone. A Kingdom expansion mentality views the church as a "mission outpost" that interacts, trades, and relates to everyone where it's located. A Kingdom expansion mentality is laser-focused on the fruit Jesus expects in John 15 and being obedient to Christ's commission.
In Canada, we need fewer clubs for Christians and more Kingdom Expansion Forces to mobilize Christians to fulfill the Great Commission.
Jeremiah works as an Effectiveness Coach with the ABNWT District of the PAOC. He is a passionate and creative leader who believes that the church is the hope of the world. He uses collaboration, innovation, and inspiration to challenge churches and their leadership to engage in the only mission Jesus ever sent his church on: making disciples.