Church is unlike any other organization on earth and yet we try to apply principles to the church that are inconsistent with it's purpose. It's like trying to play football on a baseball field with hockey sticks. You're like to come away with a lot of bloody and very confused players, to say nothing of the fans watching from the sidelines.

So I want to spend a few moment to help clarify what I believe the church is, where is should be played, and how we are to judge success.

First, however, let me share with you a few commonly beliefs about the church based on our cultural influences.  

The church of Jesus Christ is certainly not a ...

Business - there's simply no getting away from it, we're a consumer culture. As a result we see everything as being for sale, at a price. But running a business is really all about control, having the right product, at the right price, for the right market. Businesses often use a cost / benefit analysis to determine where to put limited resources and cut off areas that are no longer producing.  Success is measure in dollars, failure means termination from the organization.

Social Club -- social clubs have a valid place in our culture as a way to bring people together for various civic projects, meet new people, and reinforce the social structure of society. Some people go to see other and to be seen by others. There is an unstated expectation that wealth and privilege go hand in hand. People of means are expected to take the leadership rolls in these organizations and many people join in order to 'rub elbows' with the rich and powerful. Churches that protect and defend their personalized hymnals, pews, windows, or even their non-Christian traditions are all symptoms of status and privilege.

Theatre - every society needs art, philosophy, and entertainment to take the edge off the daily grind that is life. Many live by the old adage, "life fast, love hard, die young." Life is either work or play. Many come to the church to see the pastor give a performance and then rate the performance by their gifts as if it is the price of admission. Complaints about the music, the message style, the atmosphere, or the length of the time are all symptoms of this dreaded entertainment disease.

Since we now know what it is not, let's dig into what it really is!

The Church is the only place dedicated to those who currently do not belong. Church is not about membership and privilege, but mission and ministry to prodigals still "in a far away place". There is but one "owner" and that is Jesus Christ. When the church went public, Jesus purchased the rights to the church and all who claim to be part of it with His very own blood. The church does not run on a budget, but uses resources given to it by the 'owner' to wash feet, feed the hungry, and proclaim the Good News. NO cost / benefit analysis applies here for the product, salvation, hope, and love, for these gifts are off the scale in value. It is driven by passion and fueled by gratitude, and guided by the Holy Spirit.

The Church is an organization comprised of individuals drawn together and united by a common experience, redemption. Having been saved from the self-destructive habits of sin, members look for new creative ways to give their best to visitors. In the church there can be no class structure, only recovering addicts of self-absorption transforming into self-sacrificing disciples of Jesus. Joyfully members share a bond of redemption through Holy Communion and a call to surrender their lives, their social standings, their treasures, and talents to find that by serving others, their lives take on a deeper significance.

The church of today, however, is a mosaic of all of the above. We're a gamish of all of the above, for good and bad.

What other expressions of the church do you find most difficult to overcome?

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Marketing in the Church Who Needs Church? part 2 Who Needs Church? part 1 Mission Minded or Member Minded