If you are a church member, you should probably read this. If you are a Church member, you probably already know this, but please read it anyway (and share it if it makes you feel anything). If you are not a member of any kind of church or don’t understand the first two sentences, absolutely continue reading…
I will start with a confession of sorts; I have not been a church “member” in my entire life (my parents have, and I attended with them, but I don’t count that). In fact, I have not regularly attended one church for over 12 years. The reasons for this are many, and I will not get into that here, but I will say, it wasn’t for lack of trying. Ultimately we didn’t find the Church we were looking for in any of the churches we visited. And unfortunately, until Covid took the option away, I hadn’t felt very convicted to keep seeking a church home. So, I continued seeking to be a member of the Church at home.
What a blessing that we live in this time where accessibility to the Truth is rampant. I can watch church from all over the world, several in a day if I want to, and I can have access to multiple copies and translations of God’s Word in my home and at my disposal at any moment. I think this strange pandemic time we are in (yes “are” not “were”) has offered a great spotlight on the state of the Church. Seeing how different ministries handled shut-downs and mandates has been fascinating and very telling of the purpose of those bodies. Before this turns into an entirely different post, I will leave it at this: Any church that points its members to the building or the pastor or even to the membership, in my estimation, is simply a business and has no part in the Church instituted by God in Scripture.
Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people.
Colossians 3:23
I remember very distinctly sitting in a pew in the balcony as a high-schooler and reading the survey our church had provided to gain insight on the desires of the congregants for what the new building would be. My heart sank as I read the first question, “What type of siding: brick, stone, plank, or other?” It appeared the focus had shifted from God to the building. Yes, when God commanded the tabernacle be built to His specifications it was to serve “as a reminder” of His Glory and our need for Him (Exodus 13:9, 17:14, 28:12, 29, 30:16). Even David’s desire for the building of the temple was that it “must be exceedingly great and famous and glorious in all the lands” for God’s Glory (1 Chronicles 22:5). Perhaps this was an honest question to best serve the purpose of creating a building to the Glory of God, but even as a teenager, I felt this was the wrong question.
In college, my family regularly attended a church that had special services and speakers around election time to present ‘the facts’ of the candidates and their platforms. Their focus seemed to have shifted from God to political influence. While we are called to be good stewards of our citizenship and to align ourselves in daily living with what the Bible teaches, there is no salvation in a political party. The focus should be that God be glorified, no matter who is in office and the Church should work to this end.
Currently, I am hearing about churches holding services to address and promote awareness of racial inequalities. The focus seems to have shifted from God to social justice. Yes, there are most certainly societal issues that the Church should bring to light and seek to right, but not at the cost of seeking the glorification of God. As the Church seeks to glorify God, these wrongs should naturally be repented of and reconciled to further His Glory.
When the focus of a church’s mission shifts away from the glorification of God, it ceases to be the Church. When a church seeks to serve (or gain) its members rather than to serve God, it ceases to be the Church. What a crafty deceiver satan is to attack the Church by replacing the glorification of God with the pursuit of truly noble purposes. This decentralizes Jesus for causes and calls to service. But causes and calls to what and for whom? If the answer is anything other than Jesus Christ first and foremost, this is not a church, it is no different than a social club seeking to promote social (not spiritual) change.
Israel was rejected by their Creator and Sustainer for replacing His glorification with their own. “But you trusted in your beauty and acted like a prostitute because of your fame.” (Ezekiel 16:15). The Church has prostituted herself to lesser gods (and lesser goals), thus denying herself fellowship with God and becoming the lowercase “church”. Charles Spurgeon comments that, “God will never withdraw His love from His own elect Church, but from the outward and visible church, He sometimes may.” If the focus of a body of believers is looking holy instead of being holy (set apart for the glorification of God), it is not the Church. Any church, regardless of size or influence, without the glorification of God as its chief means and end will be rejected. For, “It does not matter whom we please if God is not pleased, or who gets honor from what we give, if God is not glorified as a result” (Charles Spurgeon on Haggai 1:7-8).
The good news for us is that Church history is a series of broken vessels attempting to carry forth the Truth of the Glory of God in Jesus Christ. The church is no different from us as individuals, it can only obtain salvation (“Church” status) through the completed work of Jesus. The Church is not a social construct as some have claimed, the true Church is a divine institution defined and directed in Scripture. We are called to be united as a body of believers, to have fellowship with other Jesus-pursuers for the purpose of building each other up and glorifying God. It is important to be a member of a local church body. But even Jesus “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45) and the purpose of the Church is not to serve man, but to serve God.
So why are you at church? It would seem this boils down to a motive check (as many things do). If you find yourself church shopping as I have been, it is wise to examine your own heart and preferences. Even if your interest is not piqued by the style of music or method of baptism, as long as you are finding a body that is in pursuit of the glorification of God, it is a good place for you. If the function of the church is anything other than this, noble though its causes may be, this is not a body of the Church.
“When we realize and understand that the church is not about us and not about our own personal glory, but is about God and His glory and that the Church is a grace of God to his people, we don’t worry about matters of aesthetics, such as our feelings and our sensitivities with regard to how highly or how lowly others might esteem us. Because you and I aren’t the reason the Church exists in the first place.”
Just thinking podcast, episode 111 **
Fortunately, when it comes to individuals, it is not the church’s job to determine the members. God knows the members of His Church and these can never be taken from His hand (Romans 8:29-30, 38-39). I hope you know who you are (He does), and if you’re not sure, read your Bible to find out. I suggest Acts and Romans as a good place to start, but the whole thing is worth the read and points to Jesus (as He is the ultimate fulfillment of Gods glory as His life, death and resurrection allow us access to knowing the Glory of God). You could try this reading plan too. In your reading, I hope you will learn and see how and what the Church is supposed to be and can find a local body that is Being the Church and not just doing church.
**I very strongly recommend listening to this podcast. It’s a long one, but worth a listen!
P.S. This song came to mind during my rambling…If the subject doesn’t change the meaning, you’re doing it wrong.
