Thereâs only one way to do church. Thatâs right, you read that correctly; only one way. And, because Iâm a nice guy, Iâm going to tell you what that right way is. But first let me say, it is definitely NOT the way that âtraditionalâ institutional Sunday service focused church is doing it. Iâm talking about all those churches like Saddleback, Mars Hill, New Spring, National Community Church, The Village Church and all of those similar to that model; big or small. It is also definitely NOT all those small community based churches, and that includes organic home churches, like SOMA, 1Body, and all the ones that I canât mention because theyâre so small they donât have a webpage to link. None of them are doing it the right way. On the other hand, all of them could be doing it the right way.
You may be asking, âSo, whatâs the ârightâ way then?â Iâll get to that in a second, but first I need to clarify something and establish something else.
Clarifying: This post is NOT intended to dig at or cut down how any church is âdoingâ church. The model doesnât matter and Iâll make that point in a minute. This post is also NOT intended to say that institutional church is doing it wrong. I grew up and met Jesus in âbigâ church. If not for going on Sundays and hearing the word preached, Iâm not sitting here typing this.
Establishing: I want to be honest about where this post is coming from. Let me start by saying that I recently, with my wife and two long-time friends, started a small gospel centered community, all volunteer based neighborhood church. There are anywhere between 10 and 15 attenders (and that includes a lot of kids). So, my heart is for small church with big celebration. With that said, over the last few weeks Iâve heard and read a number of âinstitutionalâ church leaders, some from fairly large churches with decent influence, speak out about the topic that there is no ârightâ way to do church. A few of those posts/videos seemed really defensive and some even a little abrasive. Again, to to be honest, Iâm not sure where this defensiveness is coming from. I follow a number of bloggers (both in large and small church settings) and I rarely see posts from organic/small/house church leaders that suggest that they have the ârightâ way to do church and big church is wrong or bad. What I do see is small church leaders sharing the call and vision that God has placed in their heart. I see them beckoning to those that are not in gospel community to come and join. I see them trumpeting Godâs vision for church, for them, the same way I see large church leaders do it every Sunday. This post is not meant to put those leaders on blast. Itâs meant to shed some light, reframe perspective and hopefully show the ability and necessity to be unified in one body and one Spirit.
Itâs easy to point out what others are doing wrong. We can look at an individual, program or organization and see the little flaws that may be hurting them, whether they know or acknowledge them or not. Sometimes thatâs good. If youâre a part of that organization, have earned a trusted voice there and have a heart for the vision and mission, âfresh eyesâ are often welcomed. But, if youâre outside of that organization, arenât trusted or donât care about the vision, then voicing what you see is likely not helpful and will typically be taken as criticism for the sake of being a jerk and will often be disregarded. Itâs also easier to make it seem like what youâre doing is better or right, if you can point out othersâ errors. If thatâs what youâre doing, then chances are you donât actually believe what youâre doing is right or good. Thatâs whatâs been happening in the Church.
Lots of big and small church leaders have written books or blogs about the ârightâ way to âdoâ church. Some of them point out all of the âwrongâ stuff that the other is doing. I havenât spoken to most of those leaders, but I imagine that the ones that point out what other churches are doing wrong and then counter with how theyâre way is right, donât really believe, deep in their heart, that they are really called to it. Or at the least, they havenât spent time allowing God to cultivate the call in them.
As I mentioned, Iâm part of a team that just started a small neighborhood church. Itâs the culminated call of years of Godâs cultivation and the beginning of His pruning and harvesting. I have journals, upon journals with writings about what church could look like, outside of the larger institutional model and different than the organic house church model. The vision God has planted in my heart falls somewhere in between those two models. But, I believe in it. I believe in that call and vision. And because I believe in it, I write about it and I plan to write about it a lot more. In that writing I always try to take care to not say either side is doing church wrong. Like I said, without institutional church, Iâm not here. Itâs never been about anyone doing church ârightâ or âwrongâ. Itâs about doing church the way that you feel God calling YOU to do church. Ultimately I donât care how you do church as long as you do church. Realistically Iâd like every Christian to understand what it means that we are church, but Iâll settle for doing church together in the mean time. What I, and many others, write isnât an accusation toward big church âdoing it wrong.â
My articles like Rethinking the Churches Front Door and Itâs Not Your Pastorâs Job are not indications that I think institutional/big church models are wrong in the model theyâre using or the work theyâre doing. What it does mean is that Iâm pursuing Jesus in a way that honors the call and vision that God has placed in my heart. It means that I believe in what God has invited me, and many others, to be a part of. It means that God has shown me that it works; both through my life and in the lives of others that Iâve been a part of. It means that God has revealed to me that there are people that neither traditional Sunday service focused church, nor simple organic home church will ever reach, but that this model will. It means that I know there are people that we will never reach with this model of church and I thank God that there are traditional Sunday service focused churches and simple organic home churches to do that. It means that Iâm writing for those that God may be prompting to do something different or fresh.
My writing, and likely many others that are writing about the vision God has given them for church, is not a call to abandon the way that God has called you to be a part of or âdoâ church. It isnât the antithesis of your model of church; itâs complimentary to it. Itâs intended to be a different part of the same body. When you act offended at the notion that God may have shown someone else another way, youâre telling that part that theyâre unnecessary. But âThe eye cannot say to the hand, âI have no need of youâŚââ Iâve heard so many pastors and leaders in traditional Sunday service focused churches say something to the effect of, âOur way isnât the best or only way to do church, itâs a way and itâs the way that God has called us to.â If thatâs a true statement, then the words directed at other churches should be ones of encouragement and building up.
The only way to do church is to answer the call to the community that God has placed in you. As long as it’s biblical and Jesus centered, youâve got THE way to do church. Chances are, all of us have some aspect of church wrong. But, as long as weâre in a community of believers whoâs sole purpose it to glorify and worship God, then youâre doing church âright.â Your full ârockâ style band leading worship is no more wrong than your single guitar and djembe. Jesus said, the world will know we are his by our love for each other. Maybe we start by not being defensive toward one another and recognizing that weâre all doing the same work, His.
What are some ways that we can be unified as one body?
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