If anyone is wondering why I have been silent on this blog for the past two weeks or so, it is because my attentions have been demanded by a confusing time at my church.
I must explain that my church building holds two seemingly separate churches that are still part of one congregation. Strange? Yes, and a conversation with my father earlier this night provided me with more insight into the incredibly complicated relationships and dynamics of such a setup: when two bodies of worshipers with two differing styles of worship co-habit the same building with two independent leadership teams, there are bound to be disagreements and arguments and differences of vision for the future and the church's mission.
Because of this precarious balancing act of sharing space, the cooperation between the leaders of the church has become very strained. The pastor of one fellowship was asked to resign under the larger task of restructuring church governance and leadership, and as a result many of the new believers and recent members have been deeply shaken and saddened. Our departing pastor was a surrogate father to many of us and a dear friend during his time in ministry, and dealing with the sudden void in our spiritual lives has many of us asking whether God has abandoned us. Some members will undoubtedly leave the church following this event.
I wonder, however, if this may be a message from God for the smaller fellowship to finally leave the church building. For nearly thirteen years, a spirit of evangelism and mission has moved in our midst and if we are to be the church which God has called us to be, then might the time have finally arrived to truly GO as Jesus said to the disciples and make disciples of all men?
Understand that I am not advocating a church split. In fact, church splits seem to be the worst possible way for the church to grow; somehow, churches in the Anabaptist tradition seem to prefer this way of growing (masochistic, yes?) rather than by sending missionaries far and wide to tell people the Good News that Jesus has come to take away their sin and make them part of the Kingdom of God. Instead, I am pondering a new type of Mennonite church reaching out to a lost and hurting city in a lost and hurting nation in a lost and hurting world in the manner of the first missionaries: by calling everyone to join in the Great Commission to tell the whole world what Jesus has done for them in their own lives.
Many of the divisive and potentially explosive factors which can destroy a church seem to be in existence within our congregation: factions, attitudes of self-righteousness, comfortable numbness to the suffering of the world, and pride, which may be the most dangerous of all. If you can relate to any of these within your own congregation, reading through some of Paul's letters to the church in Corinth and to his friend Timothy may help you when you pray for your church. I might also suggest something incredibly gutsy: go to your pastor and tell she or he that the church is in danger of becoming divided against itself. Tell your pastor what you are observing. Tell your pastor that many of the same situations and factors worked to divide many First-Century churches (just read through the New Testament and a few church history books if you need citations). Beg for a united church which serves God by calling the lost to Christ both close to home and in places where the Gospel has never been heard of before.
I am writing this now to explain myself and warn others about the primary danger facing any congregation: losing sight of what God has called us to do here on Earth will destroy this family of brothers and sisters in Christ. I am passionate about this because I want to see lives changed by Christ and entire cities transformed by what He has done. I saw the beginnings of it in Costa Rica as a missionary several years ago, and I want to see it again.
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