Contrast: Church of 1st Century Fire vs Church in a Twentieth Century Mire
The stark contrast between the Church of First Century Fire and the Church in
a Twentieth Century Mire.
Contrast… church buildings for large, impersonal, non-participatory
gatherings in place of intimate full-participatory home gatherings. The
selection of only the most gifted to be the regular speakers in order to best
impress the guests. A platform on which to put the speaker so he can be seen
by all the people. A classification of Christians into two groups – clergy
and laity. Special clothing to differentiate the “minister” from the rest of
the crowd. A performance-based service that fosters spectatorism. An
organisational structure that requires larger and larger amounts of time,
money, and effort to maintain it. The creation of preaching into an art form
to be critiqued by the listener, and then judged on the basis of delivery
style, personality, charisma, and content.
Institutionalisation of the Church, Intellectualisation of the Bible,
Credalisation of our doctrines, Culturalisation of our approach,
Rationalisation of the supernatural, Compartmentalisation of God’s activity,
and Minimisation of holiness and obedience. James Rutz, in his book “The Open Church” says that the Church of the Lord
Jesus Christ lost three essential ingredients as a result of the
Constantinian era and the Reformation –
(1) Open Worship, where everyone participated in all aspects of worship
rather than selective participation by only the best or the assigned while
all others look on as spectators.
(2) Open Sharing, where everyone has the opportunity to share with others
what God had been showing him about the Christian experience.
(3) Open Ministry, where everyone is recognised as a qualified minister who
can serve, encourage, build up, pray for, and otherwise minister life to
others, instead of leaving the ministry up to the “real” minister, the pastor.
A church can have all the man-made trappings and appearances of spirituality
and vitality, and still be as dead as death itself. On the other hand, a
church can have the most basic of things, and yet be filled with life.
Somehow, in some way, we must break free from the chains of institutionalism.
We must put programs, structures, systems, buildings, and things in their
proper place – and rediscover the fact that the Church and the Gospel it
preaches are issues of Life and Relationships. Life generates relationships,
and relationships produce life. Any church that tries to function on a level
below that of Life and Relationships is, in my opinion, stuck in the muck and
mire of immobile institutionalism.
(Bob Tolliver, Life
Unlimited Ministries)