Ephesians 4:16 (NIV): 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
I love that verse. This and a few others like it are pretty often preached on Sunday morning. It occurred to me this week however that when it's preached, it's generally preached in the context of the individual or individuals within a church rather than the church as a body. Let me explain. We are often called as individuals to work together with other individuals within the church (the "little kingdom"); our body part called to action along with other body parts to serve a common purpose. It takes the proper working of each individual part in the body --saints equipped for service working together with everybody doing their part. The effectiveness mandates the following:
We've forgotten what makes a church, a church. She has gotten so inwardly focused that its become more about the building (little kingdom) than the community (The Kingdom). We need to change our view of church from that of a building to that of a community. By this I am not talking about a "community of faith" within our "little kingdom." I'm talking about this: Many churches, although distinct in views and beliefs, have the same needs and goals in the community. Since community is a strong element of most religions, this is a factor that enables many churches to come together to work toward a common goal with "The Kingdom" in mind rather than the predominant idea of community that is "the little kingdom." We are frequently encouraged as individuals to get to know other individuals both like us and unlike us and work together, serve together and worship together and do all the things a good "Acts 2" church does. So why doesn't the Acts 2 church take this to the next level? Why isn't the "little kingdom" pulling together more with other "little kingdoms" in the community, each a vital body part coming together to form a large body? Why aren't more churches working alongside other churches so that a HUGE impact can be achieved in their community? If our own church "little kingdom" understands the concept of "whole-body" efficiency within itself then why, why, why is that philosophy not getting across that the local church has failed to serve the Kingdom in an impacting way as a community of churches? Are we that introverted and overly focused on protectionism and even possessive? Do you suppose there is an unhealthy amount of "steeple envy" at work here as well?
The bottom line as I see it is this: the little kingdoms (local churches) do God a great disservice when they fail to come together with other churches in their community to serve the kingdom in a cooperative way that can achieve an impact that by no means within a "little kingdom" can be accomplished by herself; when she fails to do the good she knows in her heart that she can do and the difference that can make in the community. Simply put, the church needs to quit being selfish with her "little kingdom" and get serious about being "Kingdom-focused."
I love that verse. This and a few others like it are pretty often preached on Sunday morning. It occurred to me this week however that when it's preached, it's generally preached in the context of the individual or individuals within a church rather than the church as a body. Let me explain. We are often called as individuals to work together with other individuals within the church (the "little kingdom"); our body part called to action along with other body parts to serve a common purpose. It takes the proper working of each individual part in the body --saints equipped for service working together with everybody doing their part. The effectiveness mandates the following:
- an understanding of the priesthood of all believers versus a leader mentality
- being servant-oriented and interdependent versus self-centered and self-dependent
- working as a team versus a one-man show
- seeing the body as an organism versus an organization
We've forgotten what makes a church, a church. She has gotten so inwardly focused that its become more about the building (little kingdom) than the community (The Kingdom). We need to change our view of church from that of a building to that of a community. By this I am not talking about a "community of faith" within our "little kingdom." I'm talking about this: Many churches, although distinct in views and beliefs, have the same needs and goals in the community. Since community is a strong element of most religions, this is a factor that enables many churches to come together to work toward a common goal with "The Kingdom" in mind rather than the predominant idea of community that is "the little kingdom." We are frequently encouraged as individuals to get to know other individuals both like us and unlike us and work together, serve together and worship together and do all the things a good "Acts 2" church does. So why doesn't the Acts 2 church take this to the next level? Why isn't the "little kingdom" pulling together more with other "little kingdoms" in the community, each a vital body part coming together to form a large body? Why aren't more churches working alongside other churches so that a HUGE impact can be achieved in their community? If our own church "little kingdom" understands the concept of "whole-body" efficiency within itself then why, why, why is that philosophy not getting across that the local church has failed to serve the Kingdom in an impacting way as a community of churches? Are we that introverted and overly focused on protectionism and even possessive? Do you suppose there is an unhealthy amount of "steeple envy" at work here as well?
The bottom line as I see it is this: the little kingdoms (local churches) do God a great disservice when they fail to come together with other churches in their community to serve the kingdom in a cooperative way that can achieve an impact that by no means within a "little kingdom" can be accomplished by herself; when she fails to do the good she knows in her heart that she can do and the difference that can make in the community. Simply put, the church needs to quit being selfish with her "little kingdom" and get serious about being "Kingdom-focused."
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