;)
Loveless Deeds Form a Commercial Ecclesiology
Posted by Chris Johnson in Bible & Theology, Church & Missions
A Common Blight in the American church is selfishness. And from this selfishness, a certain form of ecclesiology will emerge quickly and stubbornly. This form of church arrangement is more prevalent today than ever before and it begs the question of why? Why does an ecclesiology materialize from the acts of its constituents and not from a deliberate well thought out corporate plan? It seems to be understandable that the deliberate act of constituting a church with an agreement by democratic processes to form bylaws, and a well formed constitution, and a suitable statement of faith, and consistent programming should give it adequate protection, should it not.
Yet it is not often these days that much effort is exhibited by church members in an attempt to love their brothers and sisters within the fellowship. Love is often mistaken though as an expression of homogeny. So, if my fellow brothers or sisters conform or endeavor to acquiesce to my ideas …then our charade of sameness soon becomes our definition of an expression of love. But if there is any “small difference” of opinion provoked in our relationship that may result in an attitude leading to sin, we are more apt to remain loveless and will be willing to train others in the fellowship to do the same. This is the trend in the churches today; a trend toward a homogenous atmosphere where dead faith is mastered and a commercial ecclesiology is firmly in place. An ecclesiology more concerned with performance to orthodoxy than genuine acts of love; a church that has formed the habit of pushing back the obedient call of Jesus in order to settle for a corporate and more sterile atmosphere of conventionality.
A Test in Love
Jesus said,…. “So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish. (15) “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. (16) “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. (17) “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. (18) “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. (19) “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. (20) “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” Matthew 18:14-20
Is there any better way than the words of Christ? The church is the only institution with a one hundred percent guarantee for Christ’s presence in their midst as He mends relationships broken by sin. Yet the contemporary church would rather have a slick marketing presence than to have to deal with Christ in their midst as a brother or sister is won back. So in many ways like the Ephesian church, the contemporary church jettisons Christ for a more corporate appealing way, where sin is never confronted and relationships are never truly won. It is no wonder that the eighteenth chapter of Matthew is such a struggle within the churches of the SBC and rarely enjoyed,… since many of the churches have allowed this obvious “loveless attitude” to mold its ecclesiology; having become bound to corporate initiatives, working the plan. Shouldn’t Christ be in our midst though…. leading and demonstrating through us a divine love for our brothers and sisters?
Toward a Biblical Ecclesiology
Andrew Strauch wrote of love …. “There is no substitute for wholehearted, growing love for the Lord Jesus Christ. It is our first and most fundamental duty. The Ephesian believers thought their doctrinal orthodoxy was sufficient. But it was not. If we do not actively protect and cultivate our love for God and Christ, all other loves wane: Our love for fellow Christians, our love for the needy, our love for the lost, and our love for the truth.”
Revelation 2:2-5 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; (3) and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. (4) ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. (5) ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place–unless you repent.
The Christian apologist Francis Schaeffer commented on love….. “We must ask, Do I fight merely for doctrinal faithfulness? This is like the wife who never sleeps with anybody else but never shows love to her own husband. Is that a sufficient relationship in marriage? No, ten thousand times no. Yet if I am a Christian who speaks and acts for doctrinal faithfulness but do not show love to my divine bridegroom, I am in the same place as such a wife. What God wants from us is not only doctrinal faithfulness, but our love day by day. Not in theory, mind you, but in practice”.
Leanings in Ecclesiology
So which way are you inclined to move? Are you comfortable with an ecclesiology born out of conformity and orthodoxy, where the lack of love is evident as you tolerate the sin of your brothers and sisters…. never experiencing the wonders of Christ in the midst of relationships in the church? Comfortable with the corporate church gig….the right programs…and professional staff. Pretending that sin does not exist or conveniently overlooking sin for fear of losing friendship with your fellow believer?
Or … Is your ecclesiology formed from a love for your brothers and sisters. A relationship established on Christ in your midst, and repentance, and renewal. To understand that an ecclesiology established on Christ’s words for his body is costly, and those that love Him count the cost, …. A church body where the love and return to Christ is well worn…. where the lampstand is firmly planted and burning bright.
Pray with me, that the churches of the SBC begin to understand those important promises given to us by our Lord in Matthew’s letter.
Blessings,
Chris
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
The cancer of the spirit of Anti-Christ has gotten in the limp nodes of the church and the chemotherapy of God’s Word is weakened as the so-called believer continues to allow the very thing that counteracts against the truth with fleshly lukewarm lies; the media and visual entertainment. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life are constantly revived through our visual receptors that allow our dead spirit to maintain life on death support and there is no end in sight. The TV and everything it stands for has the American church in its flesh grip and will not release. When we read our bibles even our faith cannot be free of worldly contaminants because of this.
I wish more preachers, like many on sbcIMPACT, would take Acts 6:4 seriously, “but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” We know the church needs to do something; on the other hand, the church needs to see, at least on Sunday, men who have stepped out of the Holy of Holies free of all contaminants and full of the Spirit to speak in behalf of God Himself.
You are on point with this one Chris.
Chris, you said:
“It seems to be understandable that the deliberate act of constituting a church with an agreement by democratic processes to form bylaws, and a well formed constitution, and a suitable statement of faith, and consistent programming…”
I realize this is the traditional method of establishing Baptist churches and has been for centuries. However, I don’t recall that such is ever mandated by either precept or example in the NT. I know that your article is not meant to call this practice into question, but looking at the net effect of a loveless church formed of sterile relationships that promote a conformist homogeneity, can we not suppose that part of the problem is in the constitution of such a body?
Are we set on a foundation of corporate practice with the chief cornerstone being formalized practice? I would like to think not. I would like to believe that the formation of a church is accompanied by a passionate commitment of sincere believers to bond together in the cause of Christ, for the accomplishing of His work in this world, to the honor and glory of the Father and the redemption of local individuals and families. But the description you provide doesn’t seem to capture that. I’m not saying the two are mutually exclusive, just that it is possible to constitute a church as you describe and have it void of any features we find in a NT congregation. Perhaps we are emphasizing the wrong things when we constitute churches to begin with? Maybe that is contributing to the lovelessness you see. If we don’t put love in at the beginning, how can we expect it to come out in the end?
Bruce,
That is a very clear analogy. Certainly it is prayer that keeps us at the feet of Jesus and you have given us the best remedy that leads us back to love for one another.
Thank you,
Chris
Rick,
The quote you pointed out is to ask the same question you have ask me in your response…. In other words,…many churches seem to “depend” or sit at the feet of the “constitution” and not at the feet of Christ. The test is Matthew 18. If a church is prone to sweep relationships under the rug for the sake of a commercial ecclesiology, then they continually answer that question …. In other words, they love the Commercial accouterments and are comfortable with ignoring the Christ, thus continually mold and form a commercial ecclesiology.
That is not to say that they may have some wonderful people and ministry within the ranks,…but those small obedient factions are the “only life” within the sea of commercialized thinking….and may even sustain the façade of success to some extent. This stillborn success is attractive…Why, because if folks have been trained to look for and are longing for a commercialized ecclesiology, there is little expectation to Christ derived obedience and love is a second thought.
So love in the beginning, the middle, and the end is critical, according to Christ, and does continually form a right ecclesiology.
Blessings,
Chris
Thanks, Chris.
Brother Rick,
I want to be careful to not give the impression that a constitution is worthless….when it can exist and may possibly help a congregation with the corporate laws that exist in their country or state. Yet, when we find the constitution mitigating “how” love is meted out in the congregation, I believe that type of ecclesiology is foreign to the commands of Christ informing us of love. The tension that is so clearly lived out in much of the SBC relative to Matthew 18 is an obvious example of how love is misunderstood when commercial ecclesiology is formed.
Thank you for the thought provoking comment,
Chris