I've been reading this book called Reimaging Church by Frank Viola. He explains and convinces me how today's image of the church has strayed too far away from the original image of the New Testament church. The picture of the New Testament church is that of community and relationships. They met at homes, shared meal or the real Lord's Supper which is composed of a hearty banquet eaten with reverence to the Lord's work. Each house church is small enough to do the Bible's one-another commands. One-anothering as he calls it. And when time comes that the group becomes too large, they just simply divide into groups and meet in different homes thus making the movement larger and more influential. This is the picture of the NT church. Today's church owes its image to the West--as a business enterprise, where the pastor is the CEO, volunteers are the employees, the congregation are its customers and evangelism is a marketing strategy to make the enterprise bigger.
The church needs a desperate make-over. How can we do church without putting premium on relationship building? How long can I endure the pain of seeing people come in and go out of the church unfazed, barely impacted by church life when the church are made up of living stones--a living organism that thrives with life? A body that does not foremost blesses itself but pursues the pleasure of the head which is Christ.
Viola likens church today as to the temple of Chronicles and Kings in contrast to the Exodus' tabernacle. When the Spirit of the Lord is on the move, Moses just unpitch the tabernacle and follows where the Lord takes them. This is the picture of early church--humble, lowly... temporal in a sense that they see themselves as aliens of this world. But as the temple was built, it was as good as the presence of the Lord that dwelt in it. But when the presence moves out because of their sin it's as worthless as an empty shell. Moreover, they didn't notice that the Spirit was already gone, the truth is that, the Spirit was a non-essential to their hollow rituals and traditions. Have we become an empty shell and have become calloused, insensitive now to the leadership of the Holy Spirit just like the temple of a disobedient nation?
This realization hurts when it affects people closest to you. When you bleed for your old people because they are in search of life, for someone to reach out and to reach out to, for real friendships and not just church acquaintances. Someone to share their life with, their struggles, their pain and their dreams. Who is willing to listen to them? It ignites in me a holy anger--holy discontent.. a passion. I don't want them to just fade away into shadows but let their lives a living testimony and a legacy.
I have this idea in holy frustration that for sometime perhaps a month or two we should just stop "church" and just begin to meet in small groups and do one-anothering. After all, if we strip it all to the basic essentials, these things are important--Christ's headship, relationships/one-anothering, impacting one's oikos and community-- a journey of broken pilgrims enroute towards the image of the bride destined for the Bridegroom.
Lord, may I see it with my own eyes.