The vehicle through which the Eternal Purpose of God is being established in the earth until Christ's return is the local Church. Remember, the church is people, not a building structure. His followers in assembly and fellowship make up what is the church. What does this mean for sincere and passionate followers of Christ? It means we have to consider the local Church as our first priority, because it is [we are] God's primary focus on earth through which he is working out his plan for mankind (Ephesians 1:10-11; 3:10-11, Hebrews 13:20-21). Acknowledging that reality suggests we ought to learn to "be the church" in God's way.
Sometimes due to ignorance about the Word of God, or cultural thinking that says "I pick and choose where I go to church", or other factors like choosing a church because of what "it has to offer me" in the form of programs and departments, it can be easy to get caught up in a consumer's view of church.
It seems that the standard model of “doing church” in America today is primarily attractional rather than incarnational. It means this: “If we get our media right, our preaching right, our seating and our parking right… if we offer great children’s programs and a rocking worship band people will come. If we offer something for every member of the family then families will flock to our church. If we do all this and more, and we market it right, people will come and we will be successful.“ So, what’s the problem with that concept?
For starters, that’s not how Jesus wants his body of believers to work. Let’s go back to an important beginning point to see if we can get a sense of what’s wrong with the “consumers attitude” when it comes to the body of Christ.
It's was no accident that Jesus used the trade of fishing when he told his disciples that he would make them "fishers of men." He created the analogy to portray how the church would be stocked with followers. His analogy embodies every aspect of preaching the gospel... in the same manner that you go fishing for real fish in the sea, with blood, sweat and tears and all that you have, so you will also go fishing for real people in the world.
Jesus, not only gave the promise, "I will make you fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19), but also reinforced the analogy with word-pictures of what this endeavor would look like. In Matthew 13:47-50, Jesus tells a parable of what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. It's like a net being cast into the sea, gathering up fish of every kind. In essence, Jesus is saying that the Kingdom of Heaven is like going fishing. And when you fish, Jesus says, you bring in all kinds of fish. Some are desirable and edible, some are not. At the end of the day, when the job's done and you’re back on shore, you can separate the catch accordingly. Until then, the "fishermen" all stay in the boat together and keep on fishing. There's no use in trying to separate the good from the bad while you're still out fishing. As words in the ol' song the Gambler say, "You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table [playing cards for money]. There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealing's done."
What do we learn from Jesus analogy? Good fish and bad fish swim into the same nets. We preach the gospel to all people. That means the Church will exist in an environment of tension where there are believers and unbelievers hanging out under the same roof. For a variety of reasons they are part of the body of Christ, for now. It's a messy job. It can be a battle ground. Furthermore, there's no fool-proof technique to minister to both groups in equal portions, at the same time, all the time. Remember, there will be people active in the body of Christ who never fully embrace what God expects of them. For now, that makes little difference to God... they’re living among us in Christian community, calling themselves Christians and thinking they are doing what God wants them to be doing. Separating the “catch” when the time comes is God’s business not ours.
There is a lot of clutter that can come from loving and serving Christians and psuedo-Christians alike. It’s for that reason that the “consumers mentality” has crept into the workings of the body of Christ.
It’s striking that the Bible never measures a church’s maturity or strength or power or health or success by 1) it’s music, 2) it’s gifts, 3) it’s preacher, 4) it’s size, 5) what kind of ministries it offers or 6) it’s building. The Bible measures a church’s maturity by the way all God’s people are being equipped to serve. That preparation delivered in the forms of preaching and teaching, should stimulate real action on the part of those equipped... by visible demonstrations of their love for the Lord by serving Him in a variety of ways, mostly by being personally engaged in preaching the gospel to the unsaved.
If you will take time to read Ephesians 4:12-14 we’re reminded that there are two kinds of church communities ‘we’ are building. I use the word ‘we’ because the kind of church community ‘we’ become depends on each one of us. We read that the role of the pastor/teacher is to 12to equip the saints (believers) for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ (church), 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
You’ll notice that a church’s maturity, growth and success depends not just on believers being equipped for ministry, but believers carrying out the work of ministry. In fact the maturity of a church is directly proportional to the extent to which believers are equipped and serving.
And its precisely for this reason that we must all look within ourselves, constantly checking our expectations and motives against the standards God has set for us personally and in Christian community. When people find themselves unhappy with their church, frustrated by what it is or isn’t giving, what it lacks, what it needs to change... it’s important to remember that ‘you’ are the church. When you complain about the church, remember that you are part of the body. You are part of the ‘problem’ family.
So the solution lies first and foremost with us as believers. And our “attitudes” about what church is supposed to be will ultimately reveal who we are... a real believer with Christ as our focus, or a psuedo-believer with our expectations, wants and needs at the forefront. That's the essence of the "two" groups (churches) that exist within the body of Christ.
The great tragedy is that too many believers come to a church looking for the wrong things, because too many believers have a consumer view of church. The consumers view is always about what “church” can give me, what it offers me, what it can do for me, how it can benefit me, what it can do for my children … the expectations are endless and always flawed.
It’s a parasitic view of church that feeds a therapeutic faith. It’s the reason why the moment things don’t go your way, the moment your ego is bruised, the moment your needs are not met, the moment things no longer suit your lifestyle, the moment you don’t get anything out of the service, the moment things require commitment, you bail or look for another community you can feed off. Your faith is centered not in God, but in the things you get from church that make you feel good and satisfy your needs.
Here is the reality for many believers in their approach to church: I am here to feed off you, not to help you thrive or grow with you. Imagine approaching your personal relationships this way. Not only would it be unacceptable, it would be repulsive. The greater tragedy is that when we approach church in this way, we don’t come to make Jesus our focus and treasure, and neither do we come to make him the treasure of others, we come to be treasured and to align with those who have the same attitude. Such consumer minded Christians want to be the center of focus and attention, with their needs always preeminent.
If you’re coming to the realization that you might be thinking the way I’ve described, then you need to seriously change your views. Repentance is clearly an important first step in transforming your mind. Such a self-focused attitude, seeing the church as nothing more than a dispenser of services, steals God’s glory and replaces his worth with your own. It’s not about you. Jesus is the head, we are the parts, being equipped for the work of ministry, so that as we carry out the work of ministry, so that we might together grow to maturity in Christ.
God has saved you, redeemed you, forgiven you, adopted you into a community for the purpose of equipping you for the work of ministry and service so that together with others, Jesus might be our focus and shared treasure, to his praise and our joy. Do church His way. Love the church, the people of God, because you love Jesus more than anything else.
That’s what makes a ‘great’ church. Not a perfect one, but a great one because our God is great and we love Him more than anything else in our lives. It starts with YOU. The right attitude really does determine your altitude... heaven, or not.
