Just as Jesus was sent into the world, so you were sent to your friends, neighbors, and coworkers. May the light of the world shine through you in all of your planned and unplanned interactions.
Love does not assume the worst of everyone. Love doesn't look for ways that everyone else can serve its interests. It simply believes that each person is worthy of love. And it believes that each person is capable of love. It's not afraid of being duped, because its only goal is to give itself away.
What is the Church when there is no building?
This question would be nonsense in many parts of the world for much of church history. It's like a gently lobbed softball to most missional church folk. But it's a question that many of us in more traditional churches had to seriously wrestle with for at least a few months during the Covid pandemic.
With the initial lockdown we were essentially evicted from our church buildings. (To me, that's not a statement regarding government overreach. At that point, it seemed most of us were united in doing what we could to slow the spread of the virus.) So we had to not only ask this question, but also answer it. Without judging anyone's hearts, you might have inferred from those digitally exporting church services from the stage of an empty worship center that their definition of church was "the one hour of programming that takes place on the stage every Sunday morning." From others you might have inferred that the definition of church is "one or more families watching a sermon together and discussing it." From still others you might have inferred that church is "a gathering of people who meet to encourage and pray for each other and find ways to serve the people around them." I don't say these things with any judgment. I think it's a fascinating experiment to ask what our Covid adaptations might suggest about our definition of "church."
As I'm writing this, it appears that most of us have inched back towards some version of a larger gathering. So here's my question now:
What have we learned (so far) in this season of being the church with limited use of our buildings?
Did any of us find life and inspiration from a simpler form of church gathering? Did any of us increase our focus on loving and serving our neighbors?
I don't want to suggest that modern church services are bad or unbiblical or ungodly. But I am convinced there’s more to the concept of church than what we have customarily squeezed onto a single stage and into a single hour on a Sunday morning. I’m neutral on whether or not it's a good idea to fully resume the worship services as we used to do them. But I do believe we should avoid equating those modern church services with church itself.
Here’s the biblical reality: we are the church. You won’t find a New Testament reference to the church as a building or a service. What you’ll find instead is that the church is a collection of people.
Given the fact that God launched his church 2,000 years ago in a setting that looks almost nothing like 21st century America, we should feel free to use our Bibles and our imaginations to pursue healthy and vibrant approaches to being the church in our cultural moment.
So what did it mean for us to live as the church when we were evicted from our buildings? One thing we can say for sure is that church has never actually fit onto a single stage or into a single hour. The temptation is huge to think that it does.
Try this as a thought experiment: Person A has never read the Bible, but has a lifetime of experience in attending a typical American worship service. Person B has never attended a typical American worship service, but reads the New Testament incessantly. Person A and Person B each set out to create a meaningful gathering with a handful of other people. What do you think is the likelihood that the gatherings crafted by A and B will look anything alike?
What if we could forget that we’ve ever seen a typical American worship service and to instead custom create church gatherings that are specifically designed for this cultural moment? Instead of masks and Covid regulations being a hindrance, what if we allowed ourselves all the freedom the New Testament gives on the nature of a church gathering?
The initial Covid lockdown was a moment for all of us to use our best creative energy to imagine what the church could look like during a season of eviction. What would vibrant gatherings entail? How would we empower mission and keep it at the forefront? What about engagement with Scripture, worship, prayer, and communion?
During the lockdown, I put together a short mini-book (32 pages) to help pastors, small group leaders, and church members imagine what church could look like in their small, unique settings. I called it The Evicted Church. While it's aimed at a cultural moment slightly in the past, I think it could still help us consider what we want to build or rebuild moving forward. It doesn't lay out a model, it just provides an exercise in critical thought regarding what church is designed to be. If you want to spend an hour reflecting, pick up the free ebook.
Blessings as you continue the endless task of reforming "church."
Mark Beuving has been serving in pastoral roles for nearly 20 years. After a decade in various teaching and administrative roles at Eternity Bible College, Mark is a pastor at Creekside Church in Rocklin, California. His books include ‘Resonate: Enjoying God’s Gift of Music’ and the New York Times bestseller ‘Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples,’ which he co-authored with Francis Chan.
If you have spent any time in the church culture you've heard some sort of conversation about spiritual gifting. You can't avoid it. Spiritual gifts are mentioned in scripture and we know that we should be empowering people to use their gifts and make a difference. Oftentimes there are spiritual gift tests and even classes. The problem is that most churches try to plug people in to use a "gift" in their church building. They connect them on a hospitality team, get them working in the nursery, or make them ushers. People are left wondering "is this it?" The Spirit of God filled me so that I could greet people at the door? I thought that was just something people did because they were nice.
The problem is that churches have mostly conceived of themselves as a Sunday Service with a large group of people. If you have a large group of people for a service that is mostly led by a few individuals what does everyone else do? Spectate. It's all they can really do. It's not that they don't care, it’s not that they don't want to take action, its that they are onboard a cruise ship.
Enter the missional, micro-church. These small expressions of the church involve everyone. Smaller expressions of the church enable each person to speak up, provide care, strategize mission, pray, and hear the voice of God together to multiply into new communities. When you are smaller you can organize in a way where everybody plays. You end up with a whole bunch of agile speed boats, kayaks, and canoes. This is the perfect environment for everyone to use their gifts.
A small group of people can organize to fight against sex trafficking, move furniture on a Saturday morning, pray over a friend that is sick, and hold a barbecue on a Friday night. A microchurch or missional community is just the right size to take action, its the secret sauce for agility and movement.
Don't rush to get big. Don't buy into the pressure that you must prove your worth as a church by how many people you can gather into a room or in a zoom meeting. Think small. Think slow. Think Healthy. Think Multiply.
Mike Jarrell oversees coaching, vision and training at Narrow Road Communities in Harrisburg, PA. He also serves as director of the Creo Collective.
The Spirit of God has brought fresh life and direction at key times throughout history. Many of us believe we are at just such a moment.
People love to think they are missional, innovative, and in touch with the world around them.
Many people in the church world have felt the call of God to engage the world around them. A lot of them "used to" live in bubbles... Christians are surrounded by only Christians. Telling "VeggieTales", and reminding each other of animal crackers in the nursery with flannelgraphs.
There’s something about the Holy Spirit that calls us back into the wild. We feel the need to engage with the outside world, to be good news, to extend the hope that we have to the world around us.
So many people who grew up in the church world are attempting to live a life that is on the mission of Jesus to the world around them. This is a new territory. Unfortunately, old habits die hard. many of these new adventurous pioneers resort to old habits of scheduling events and trying to invite their friends to some sort of event. They think the mission of God is something that can simply be planned and executed like an old school church outreach event.
If you plan it they will come. we don’t think that way, yet we sort of operate by that default. We plan events, go to homeless shelters, and expect that we’re somehow going to change the world.
You cannot “event” your way to Mission.
Jesus was a friend of sinners, a friend to all sorts of different people religious and irreligious alike. Since we are called to make disciples we have to remember that discipleship happens at the speed of relationship.
If you wanna know that you’re “Missional” let me see your text message history. If your last 20 text messages aren’t peppered with people outside of your Christian bubble then you probably aren’t missional at all. You’re probably just putting on events.
This isn’t meant as some sort of dig or attack, but rather an opportunity to repent, change our minds about the mission, and develop true friendships. If we are to make any sort of lasting impact as ambassadors of Jesus we must share tables, text messages, Memes, and carpools with the people that God has called us to. This is not about viewing people as targets, or objectives, but rather making real friends who you care about, and sharing real things that you care about with your real friends that you care about.
Look at your text messages, and then take some time to repent if need be.
Mike Jarrell oversees coaching, vision and training at Narrow Road Communities in Harrisburg, PA. He also serves as director of the Creo Collective.
Have you ever walked into someone’s house that resembles a mini mansion? Is everything neat and tidy? Those houses are gorgeous! There’s only one problem. I’m afraid to touch anything. When my kids were younger I remember being afraid that they would break something that I couldn’t afford to replace! Many churches are like that. They have great buildings and great programs. And they have tons of money that they spend on themselves and their own comfort. They sit in their nice buildings and have potlucks and Bible studies. Unfortunately, it’s like the mini mansion that’s too nice to actually use. People are afraid to touch stuff while they’re there. So they either don’t come back or don’t spend much time there! And not much mission happens (if any).
Anyone who has been to my house, either to visit or to come to a worship service, knows that we have four kids. They know that they will see dust bunnies. They know I only like to mow once every other week. They know I don’t weed whack much. We’re super busy! Perhaps someday we will hire a housekeeper. Our cups runneth over! Needless to say, we live in our house. We use it and thoroughly enjoy it! And we’re always inviting people over into our wonderful mess! Nobody cares about the mess. So what do you think church planting and/or mission should look like? Should it be the prim and proper house or the messy house? If we’re doing it right, the Christian life is messy and unpredictable! It’s anything but comfortable! As for my family, it resembles the spiritual version of an Indiana Jones movie! We’ve been chased by spiritual boulders, we’ve jumped out of spiritual planes, and we’ve almost fallen to our deaths many times over the past 8 years as we’ve LEAPED into the world of church planting.
Four years ago we decided to move to Maryland and tackle a second church plant. And this time it was going to be in a rural area. This time we were going to correct previous mistakes. This time we had a simple plan. This time we were going to do some things different (like start a flower farm and a flag football program)! What could be more adventurous than starting a flower farm? It was a leap of faith to drop everything and start over again. It was a leap of faith when we didn’t know what our income would be like. It was a leap of faith when things changed as soon as we hit the ground in our new area! But it has been an amazing ride. People can sit in their church pew and soak and sour if they want. But when I read the pages of the New Testament, Jesus didn’t have a place to lay his head. Paul was lowered from a city wall so he could run for his life. The New Testament describes a situation that is anything but safe!
Our flower farm has turned out to be riskier and more adventurous than we anticipated. After working like Paul Bunyan cutting down trees, clearing land, running out of money at times, and not knowing if it was all going to work out, God has pulled us through (stronger). A few weeks ago, after thinking that all of this might’ve been a massive failure, I felt like Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams! “If you plant it, they will come.” Well it took three years, but they finally started to come! And yesterday we even sold out of flowers for the first time! And believe me, we planted thousands of flowers! But it didn’t come easy. And we’re still not really promised anything. We just need to follow Jesus, keep trying new things, let the Spirit work, take risks, be adventurous, be patient, and trust that God will get the glory! After all, what are we called to? Are we called to comfort and ease? Or are we called to risk, adventure, and faith?
So pray about whatever crazy thing you think God is calling you to do! And if God says, “GO!” GO! And don’t look back. TAKE A CHANCE! RISK EVERYTHING FOR THE CAUSE OF CHRIST! INVEST EVERYTHING INTO GOD’S KINGDOM! People usually advise having a backup plan. However, a backup plan is the plan you go to when your main plan doesn’t work. But if there is no backup plan, you will rely fully on God to provide and make it happen! Trust me, YOUR plans will probably not work out the way you think they will. But jump in anyway! That’s living dangerously for Jesus! That’s a Jesus style adventure worthy of an Indiana Jones movie title! So let’s be Raiders of the Lost Art of Mission as we throw caution to the wind and try new things! Amen and Amen.
Keith Hartlaub serves as pastor of The Way Church of Harford County
Experiment. Innovate. Create. Play. Attempt things. Put on a helmet and some knee pads and go on mission.
Don’t limit your missional influence because of your political idolatry.
We can be a breath of fresh air. We can be the light of the world. Let’s be better!