Organic Church - 1

You can take the person out of the institution, but you can't take the institution out of the person.

At least - not very easily.

From my eight or so years on the journey outside of institutional church, I have learned that the only way for someone to graduate from an institutional church mindset, when they've grown up in it, is for it to be a divine work of God. Anything less, and the person either reverts back to the old mindset, or just gives up on church completely. It's like taking a lion who grew up in the zoo and trying to teach them to survive out in the wild. Out in the wild is the way God meant it to be for the lion - but if they've only ever known captivity, their chances of survival out in the open are slim. They don't know what to expect, and they are very ill-equipped.

Saints who have only ever know institutional church systems and methods are usually marked by the following:

-They are used to being spoon-fed the word of God on a constant basis, rather than laboring to feed themselves and on the feeding of one another

-They are used to a pastor or other leader seeking God on behalf of the whole church, rather than each member of the whole body seeking Christ together on its own behalf

-Used to leaning on a traditional church service order of events when the body comes together to worship, rather than leaning on the spontaneous and often subtle moving and directing of the Holy Spirit and on one-another

-Their kids receive the vast majority of their spiritual training from Sunday school and youth groups, rather than the parents being the main source of their kid's discipleship and spiritual training

-They are accustomed to sending any new converts to new convert classes or to a paid minister to care for, nurture, and teach them the ways of the Lord- rather than each saint shouldering this responsibility together with the living Christ for those the Lord has sent their way

-To paying a pastor to do the teaching, preaching, counseling, planning, church budget, raising up of leaders for the church, baptizing, preaching funerals, marrying folks, etc - rather than shouldering these responsibilities together as a body as the various members use their varying giftings and callings in these areas

-They are used to knowing exactly what to expect every Sunday, and there not being any surprises - when in fact the divine shared life of the body is anything but predictable, and full of surprises (as well as hard conversations, long nights, crises, frustrations - as well as a lot of joy)

To take a tame lion - and nurture and teach them into being a wild one - is virtually impossible.

Unless the Lord is doing it.

I believe that this is what the Lord is doing in us, and I challenge you to stick it out as we boldly hack through this new wild and unexplored jungle called organic church.

In coming blogposts (as the Lord leads and blesses me to do so), I will start talking about what this thing that I am referring to as "Organic church" really is, as well as what it is not, and why it is worth fighting for. As we do, we will be looking at the natural and organic life of the first-century Christians - through their history and letters in the New Testament. Stay tuned!