Ekklesia

Recently, I've had some interesting experiences revolving around the state of the church and it's role in today's society. A lot of this stuff is not new, and it's been running through my head for a while, but I feel like I need to share this because it has shown up so much in the last few days.

The very word "church" comes from the Greek word "ekklesia" which means "a called-out assembly." We are called out of our broken, sinful, wicked nature to be followers of Christ, and to become an assembly together in this world of sin and darkness. The church is comprised of those who are called by God to be His own holy people, those who belong to Him and are dedicated to Him, and whom God has set apart for Himself through the saving work of His Son and their faith relationship to Him - “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.” –1 Corinthians 1:2. Right away it is clear God is desiring us, the church, to be different than this sinful world, to choose to follow His will, to listen and respond to His call. As called-out followers of Christ, we are commissioned to first and foremost make disciples - "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." -Matthew 28:19-20. Scripture refers to the church as the body of Christ - "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit." -1 Corinthians 12:12-13. As a part of the larger church, we are all uniquely called to our own roles - "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues." -1 Corinthians 12:27-28.  While the church is something I am more than familiar with (I grew up in the church, and have never been without it as a part of my life), actually analyzing and trying to grasp the concept of the church as it was intended is so amazing. That God created us to be relational beings, and provided an environment for those who follow Him to have those relationships, to challenge one another to dig deeper into relationship with Him, each with our own place and purpose in the body, all with the calling of sharing His love and making disciples of those who do not yet know His love. Praise God for the church!


Another analogy of the church that is common in Scripture is that of the bride of Christ. Ephesians 5:25-32 describes this relationship being just as a wife submits to her husband and as the husband loves and leads his wife, so the church must submit to Christ as Christ loves and leads His church. But an interesting point I've heard brought up about this analogy is that sadly, wives and husbands are not always faithful to each other. While there is no doubt in Christ's faithfulness to his church, I think there is some truth to the fact that the church is not always faithful to Christ. Let me explain...

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a service at one of the many "mega churches" located in the greater Chicagoland area. This was my first experience seeing firsthand a church like this in a Sunday morning setting. I have been to mega churches before, but only for Christian concert events, and I remember at those times sitting in a room that felt so much more like a concert hall than a sanctuary, and wondering what worship in a lazy-boy with armrests only missing a cup holder, air conditioning temperature controlled down to the tenth of a degree, and professional grade stage lights must be like. Well, although this particular weekend did feel more like a concert due to the guest worship leader (a 'famous' Christian music artist), I did get to experience a mega church on a Sunday morning. And it was shockingly eye-opening. While there were moments during the worship songs I was able to focus on God and worship Him from my heart, the rest of the morning was spent with my mind otherwise occupied. Now I do understand that mega churches do reach people for Jesus Christ and I believe God is present in their work for expanding His kingdom. They do offer a unique, comfortable environment for seekers who are unfamiliar with the average church experience, or have been damaged by a ‘regular’ church in the past. But there is so much that I saw that morning that disturbed me. The excessiveness of everything I was experiencing unnerved me and caused me to be concerned for what this church was doing. A ‘narthex’ that felt like a mall, complete with coffee shops and bookstores; a ‘sanctuary’ that was arranged like a theatre, with three tiers of plush, cushioned seats and a stage set up that could compete with most professional concert performances; a ‘building’ that cost millions of dollars, with landscaping (including waterfalls inside the building) and parking attendants necessary to guide the traffic jams on the multiple parking lots of the acres-large campus. While I understand that the church is not made up of the building, but rather the people of God (1 Corinthians 1:2), so much of the focus on this morning was not on what it should have been. Advertisements for upcoming fall programs geared toward my age group that made no mention of growing in faith (but rather finding ‘someone to marry’), taking offering with no mention of what the funds would go towards or the fact that they are not our own funds to begin with, and zero time spent in God’s Word beyond a mention in passing by the visiting worship leader (who gave a frustratingly self-centered testimony as the morning’s message, by the way). Because of the guest that this church was hosting that weekend, there was no normal sermon or Scripture reading and this service may have in fact been very different from the normal. But the overall emphasis and overall focus of this church did not seem to be about growing in relationship with God, but rather how we can benefit and gain from what that church had to offer. Classes, groups, childcare, programs centered on ‘how you can connect’ and ‘catalyze spiritual growth’ at this church. I even took the time to research a bit on the internet, and was not surprised that the words ‘I want’ appeared frequently on what the church literally ‘advertised’ itself to be focused on. This church felt so commercial, so inwardly focused, and so far away from being the Gospel-centered place the church should be in this broken world.
It was amazing to me that God gave me this experience on Sunday, and that it was laying so heavily on my heart, and just days later at Chapel at North Park I had the chance to hear Shane Claiborne speak. Shane Claiborne has written many books (Jesus for President, The Irresistible Revolution, and others on my ‘to read’ list), and he is an amazing and inspiring speaker. His background includes experiences from working with Mother Teresa for 10 weeks in India to interning for a year at the very mega church I visited days prior to hearing him at NPU. He spoke on God’s call on our lives (essentially, the calling of the church) and how our lives need to be oriented around the story of God, letting that influence us. One of the most poignant things he said was concerning our possessions. “The best thing to do with the best things in life is to give them away; the more we have, the less we are.” As I was sitting there, all I could think about the ‘more’ that I had witnessed just that Sunday, and how that truly gets in the way of fully living in relationship and communion with God. As the body of Christ, when one part suffers, we all suffer - “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” –1 Corinthians 12:26. On Sunday, the body of Christ I was experiencing had no hint of suffering – it was very much the opposite.
But as Shane was speaking, he made the point to say how as Christians, we need to be reading the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. We need to keep our eyes open to the suffering and need around us, instead of closing our eyes and living in such comfort. We have no right to keep more than we need when someone else has less. God will provide for our every need – we must turn to Him! The story of God providing manna for His people should remind us of his provision. We must remember to be rooted in God’s love and provision - “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth that He may confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” –Deuteronomy 8:17-18. I fear that some mega churches like the one I visited (and honestly, many church communities around the world) are loosing sight of the Gospel. Instead, they are beginning to glorify themselves as they are surrounded by ‘more’ in the forms of the comfort of large buildings and facilities and the easy, familiar anonymity in the church. However, there are those in this world suffering physically, emotionally, and spiritually because they do not yet know God and the blessings of His love. This is not just a problem with mega churches (though that is where it it most noticeable), but rather an issue in the church universal. Church-goers the world round put on masks out of fear of judgment while in turn judging those around them within the church and forgetting about the unsaved masses God calls us to be reaching. To be honest, I know I am guilty of this. Of not orienting my life around the radical story of God, but rather the comfort of the easy, inwardly-focused familiar. Instead, God calls us as His church to trust Him and share His gifts with this world – to be a light shining in the sinful darkness! We are invited to be Jesus’ hands and feet in this world! What if, then, we took seriously the command to ‘love thy neighbor?’ The gifts of God are so good – how can we keep them to ourselves?
God’s ultimate call is for us, the church, ekklesia, to do something with our lives that does not conform to the patterns of this world! It frustrates me when I see the church conforming to the patterns of this world – whether it be in the setting of a mega church or a small, local church body. We should be letting God transform our minds so that ‘our hope lies in nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness!’ As Shane Claiborne said, “We should ask ourselves, ‘How do my gifts intersect with the brokenness of the world?’ For it is then that the kingdom of God happens!”
If you want to hear more about this (which is doubtful considering how horribly long this post became!), check out and download Shane Claiborne’s message podcast from Chapel at this link: NPU-Chapel. There is so much more that he mentioned that was so timely to what God has been teaching me, I pray God speaks to you through all this as well.