A Dangerous Question and Organic Church by Neil Cole

To read the original article, visit Neil Cole’s website, CMAResources.org.

Think about what questions you’ve been asked about your church. Questions come up like “What church do you go to? How big is your church? Where is your church? What kind of music do you have at your church? What denomination is your church? Who is the pastor at your church?” I find that we often ask about things that may seem important, but we usually aren’t getting at what matters most. These are things about churches. But what is a church?

I came to a point, after trying to plant churches for some time, where I asked the Lord one of the most dangerous questions I have ever asked: “Okay, Lord, so what is a church anyway?” I say it was a dangerous question because asking it forced me to admit that I had been trying to grow something without knowing what it was.

Our Vision of Church: Limited by Our Experience
To help find the best answer, I went to my peers and leaders, asking them in all sincerity, “What is church?” When I asked the question, however, it caused others to reflect and realize that they might not really know what church is either. Oh sure, we all know what our experience is. We all know what our traditions are. We speak as though we obviously know the answer to this question. But in reality, we found that many of us hadn’t taken a moment to ask the question. Rather than starting with the question of what church is, we had been asking how we can make churches get bigger or better, or how we can start more of them.

The temptation is to define “church” according to our own experience. We think we know something because of familiarity. By defining “church” this way, we are assured that we are always right, but this is a cheap solution that perpetuates all our current problems. It is much more vital to look at the Scripture with honesty and courage as we try to define “church.” Once we ask the question, however, we must be ready to expect the unexpected.

While as seminary student, I was given a definition of church that was really more of a description. Church was explained as embodying these five characteristics:

1. A group of believers gathered together regularly…

2. That considers itself a church…

3. That has qualified elders present…

4. That regularly practices the ordinances of baptism and communion as well as church discipline…

5. And that has an agreed-on set of doctrinal beliefs and evangelistic purpose.

These are all good qualities for any church to have. Most of our churches, in fact, would meet these standards. But my question was still with me, so I turned the question inside out by asking what is missing from this list of five things. Since that time I’ve put the same list and question before a lot of groups. “What is missing?” After a few minutes of responses, I generally tell them what I think is missing if they haven’t already found it.

Jesus is missing!

One of my respected mentors, a theologian and career missionary, told me that Jesus is assumed to be in the definition because it is believers who are gathered. My response was, “Why would you verify that qualified elders are present but assume that Jesus is present?”

This assumption betrays a problem in our churches, a serious one. The church is often more about the people and the institutions that gather in the name of Jesus than it is about the reality of the risen Jesus, alive and active with His people.

Seeing Jesus
As the world looks at our churches, particularly in the West, it sees only what people have done or what programs they are doing. The world is not impressed. In response, we scheme and plot and plan, “What can we do to make our church more appealing to the people in our community?” This is, once again, the wrong question. It’s as if we we’re trying to boost God’s approval ratings. It is God’s name that is at risk, not ours, and we are not responsible for protecting His reputation. He can handle that, by Himself, just fine.

A better question is, “Where is Jesus seen at work in our midst?” Where do we see lives changing, and communities transforming simply by the power of the Gospel? Where do we see fathers restored to a life of holiness and responsibility? Where do we see daughters reconciling with fathers? Where do we see addicts who no longer live under the bondage of chemical dependency? Where are wealthy businessmen making restitution for past crimes that went unnoticed? These are the questions that lead people to recognize the living presence of Jesus, loving and governing people’s lives as their King. When people encounter Jesus, alive and present as King, they get a taste of God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

If Jesus is missing in our understanding of church, He will likely be missing in our expression of church as well.

What a Church is: Jesus Followed
I have come to understand church as this: the presence of Jesus among His people called out as a spiritual family to pursue His mission on this planet.

Granted, this is quite broad, but I like a broad definition of church. The Scriptures don’t give a precise definition, so I’m not going to do what God has not done. I want something that captures what the Scriptures say about the Kingdom of God. In one of only two places where Jesus mentions church in the Gospels, He says, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst” (Matt 18.20). His presence must be an important element of church.

To a church that has lost sight of its true love, Jesus says these harsh words: “The One who walks among the lampstands, says this…remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place–unless you repent” (Rev 2.1,5). To a disobedient and unhealthy church, Jesus threatens to remove the lampstand (representing the church) from the presence of Jesus. The presence of Jesus is crucial to what church is. His presence is life; His absence is death. He is the most essential portion of who and what we are. He should be the most important thing about us and the most recognizable aspect that the world sees.

In many of the churches in the West, ministry is done for Jesus, but not by Jesus–and therein lies a big difference. If we evaluated our churches not by attendance or buildings but by how recognizable Jesus is in our midst, our influence would be more far-reaching and our strategies would be far more dynamic. Unfortunately, it’s possible to do all of the things that make up the five qualities of traditional churches but fail to demonstrate anything of the person or work of Christ in a neighborhood. But if we start our entire understanding of church with Christ’s presence among and working with us, then we will expect to see much more.

Organic Church
We’ve come to refer to some of the ideals of church planting movements as an “organic church.” By organic, I don’t mean that it is pesticide free. It’s a matter of churches being alive and vibrant as living organisms.

The core reality is not how the followers are organized, discipled or helped. The core reality is Jesus Christ being followed, loved and obeyed. Christ alive, forming spiritual families and working with them to fulfill His mission, is the living reality of the organic church. The church really is an embodiment of the risen Jesus. No wonder the Bible refers to the church as the body of Christ.

Christ First
Mike Frost and Alan Hirsch have challenged the way we order our thinking about Jesus and the church. Typically, we think of church as something to mobilize so that people will come to Jesus. Instead, Jesus leads people in mission, who in turn bring forth fruitful churches. Frost and Hirsch show the right sequence for our thinking by beginning with Christ. They say that clear Christology will inform our best missiology, which in turn leads to the most fruitful ecclesiology.[i]

Christ comes first. He then commands us into His mission. The byproduct of our mission is His kingdom spread on earth via the building of His church.

I have come to realize that we should focus on planting Jesus, and let Jesus build His church and work through His church. Our command is to connect people to Jesus as their King. We are to extend the reign of Christ on earth. The byproduct of this work is church. Organic Churches Reproduce I think we are confusing the fruit with the seed. We must plant the seed of the gospel of the Kingdom and the fruit that will grow will be changed lives living out their faith together, and that’s exactly what we mean by “church.” The true fruit of an apple tree is not an apple, but more apple trees.Within the fruit is found the seed of the next generation. Christ in us is the seed of the next generation. The difference this seed can leave in the soil of a people group is significant. We all carry within us the seed of future generations of the church. We are to take that seed and plant it in the soil of every people group under the authority of our King. The difference this seed can leave in the soil of a people group is significant. If we put Christ and His kingdom first, we leave behind agents under submission to the reign of their King.

Cultivating Fruit in its own Culture
Our mission is to find and develop Christ followers rather than church members. There is a big difference in these two outcomes. The difference is seen in transformed lives that bring change to neighborhoods and nations. Simply gathering a group of people who subscribe to a common set of beliefs is not worthy of Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us.

We have planted religious organizations rather than planting the powerful presence of Christ. Often, that organization has very Western structure, with values not found in the indigenous soil. If we would simply plant Jesus in these cultures and help His church emerge indigenously from the soil, then a self-sustaining and reproducing church movement would emerge, not dependent upon the West and not removed from the culture in which it grows. Churches don’t always bear the fruit that they should without being challenged, so it’s important to “cultivate” them by equipping them to see Christ’s life flourish in their society. Instead of ending up with groups that strive to be separate and removed from their culture, organic churches can be engaged and transformative of their culture.

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[i] Frost, Michael and Alan Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come, Hendrickson, 2003, page 209.

Finding Organic Church

FINDING ORGANIC CHURCH is a comprehensive practical guide that follows all of Frank Viola’s other books on the church. It answers the following questions and more:

* Where do I find the kind of church life you describe in your other books — namely, Pagan Christianity, Reimagining Church, From Eternity to Here, and The Untold Story of the New Testament Church?

* How does one plant an organic church — a Christ-centered community that expresses God’s kingdom and fufills God’s eternal purpose and grand mission? * How are organic churches nurtured and sustained?

* In an organic church, how are children, giving (money), Bible study, evangelism, prayer, etc. all handled?

* What are the stages of development that an organic church passes through?

* What are the diseases, preventions, and treatments for organic churches?

* What are the bibilcal principles for organic church planting?

* If I’m a leader in an institutional church and I want to transition to an organic church, how do I go about doing that?

Early review:
The author of “Pagan Christianity?” (with George Barna), “Reimagining Church,” and the bestselling “From Eternity to Here” has written a detailed manual on how to start and sustain an organic church. Everything from what to do with the children, to the developmental stages of church growth, to the diseases of an organic church and their cures are all covered in this comprehensive volume. Church planting principles for organic styled churches are packed together with the author’s practical experience of living in and starting such churches. Each chapter is full of advice, outlining the unique problems that such churches will face and their solutions. Church planters of all types will benefit from this book as well as those wishing to explore an alternative way of church gathering. — Christian Book Reviews, 2009

I highly encourage to check Finding Organic Church and his other books out.

Some Helpful Advice If You’re Just Leaving The Institutional Church

I became a Facebook Fan of The Free Believers. Within their area there is this post. I thought I would share this with you all.

By Mike Myers

1. Leave graciously, not in pride or with a condescending attitude. Remember, there are many still in the IC that can teach you a thing or two. Just because you can see some things that they can’t doesn’t mean you have the monopoly on the Christian experience. Sometimes you being teachable is the best way to share something with others.

2. Leave on good terms with the members and staff as much as it is in your power to do so. Many free believers have left the IC due to outright abusive spiritual manipulation. Some people may never see their wrong doing, but that doesn’t mean we can’t forgive them still. If you are absolutely guiltless and never said a crossword to anyone, then be free in the Lord! But if you also contributed in the carnality that went on, you do need to go to those people and ask for their forgiveness. That’s absolutely necessary for you to walk free as a free believer. They are still our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Don’t leave any room for the enemy to plant bitterness in your heart.

3. Leave quietly! Never ever under any circumstances should we ever try and turn others against the IC they’re attending or the staff of that IC. We are not called to start a coo to dismantle the IC. Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit and >>>HE<<< would convict the world of sin. The Holy Spirit was able to speak to your heart, don’t you think He’s also capable to speak to others? If someone calls you and asks why you’re not going anymore, that’s different. But you shouldn’t be calling others to spread your dissatisfaction with the IC. And trust me, that never goes well anyway.

4. Find other free believers near you. Facebook is a great place to start! God did give us the body of Christ to edify us and strengthen us. You should be free in Christ, but not alone in Christ. You will be so healed when you find other believers who are “on the same page” as you! This will be the fellowship you always dreamed of!

5. Question everything! It’s OK to question all of the things you were taught to believe were essential to your Christian experience. But we don’t need to throw out the baby with the bath water. Take what is good and discard what isn’t needed. This process is sometimes called “detoxing”. You need to purge out all of the junk that the IC gave you that’s hindering your relationship with Christ. Be willing to let go of your misconceptions of God! This is the most exciting part about leaving the IC and being free in the wild!

6. You still need to be discerning. Just as there’s good and bad teachings within the IC, the same is true outside of it. Do your homework about the people you’re listening to. If they’re teaching polygamy and that Jesus is coming in 2012, they’re probably going to be toxic for your faith. Just because your belief system used to be rigid in the IC doesn’t mean you should do the exact opposite and accept anything from anyone. If it’s true, it’s not new. If it’s new, it’s not true.

7. Keep it to yourself. I know this sounds counterintuitive, but you’re not going to “win” anyone over with your words if they’re not looking for it. I know that you want to tell everyone, don’t you? Again, this is where the Holy Spirit is the only one who can reveal this stuff to them. You’ll find that you’re going to loose a lot of friends that you had in the IC. It may seem that the two of you don’t even worship the same God anymore. You’ll need to grieve the loss of those relationships and just pray that in time they’ll be open to the work of the Spirit in their lives. Let people come to you and ask you if they want to know. Just love people.

8. Get your hands on the “good stuff”! There are so many excellent resources out there for free believers. Thank God for the advent of the internet to find these invaluable books and teachings. You can find many books on Amazon, or if you’re an audible learner as I am, you can find most of the same books on iTunes and Audible.com. And most audio books are about $6! And you’ll find many podcasts to be just as rich with content as many books. And podcasts are free! You’ll find that your mind and heart will be like a sponge taking in your new-found freedom in Christ! Buckle up… this is an exciting ride!

Every list needs 10 things, but I think I’ll leave 9 and 10 up to you guys. What other advice would you give someone just leaving the IC?

Be free!
Mike

The First 45 Days

At the beginning of 2009, my wife and I made the decision to leave the traditional Sunday morning church services.  This was not a knee-jerk reaction, but one decision made through prayer over months.  I have no doubt in my mind that our decision is the correct one, though it has caused me to ask more questions.

At one social site I posted this comment, “How do you deprogram what you have known ‘as church’ for over 40 years?  It is quite a major paradigm shift.  I’ve stopped attending Sunday morning church services and the checkmarks (read Bible daily, pray a little, etc) are gone.  Not saying that I don’t read the Bible anymore, because I am reading it chronologically though.  I just haven’t put on the ‘Christian’ expectations; I need to do this and I need to do that so that I am ‘good to go’. Trying to follow Jesus as a lifestyle rather than be a part of a denomination. Trying to live one day at a time.”

And the beauty of it all, I have no regrets!

What About the Pastor? Part 2

Hierarchies did exist prior to Jesus and exist yet today.  The difference between hierarchies we understand today (in the West) and hierarchies amongst the first century church is the way it is structured.  Today it is title driven (positional mindset), one over another, in the first century church it was functional, tasks and services; your unique giftings.  “Reimagining Church” explains it best:  “Positional thinking is hung up on nouns, while functional thinking stresses verbs”.  “Whenever the New Testament describes people who are chiefly responsible for spiritual oversight, it does so by mentioning the work they do.  Functional language dominates.  Verbs are prominent”.

My concern with pastors (not the person but the system) of a traditional church is how people treat them.  They do put them up on a pedastal.  They leave it up to the pastors to teach them on a weekly basis.  What typically is the end result?  Passivity, spiritual immaturity, and being disengaged.  Yes that is ultimately an individual decision, but the question is how to break this cycle?

Now think about today’s traditional pastor.

• We go Sunday morning to hear pastor‘s message.
• When we are in crisis, we call pastor to comfort us and give us spiritual guidance.
• We rely on pastor to lead us in the direction that God is telling him.

Now let’s replace pastor with Jesus.  Can it be that simple?

What Do You For Church, Now That You Don’t Go To Church?

The assumption is that if you do not attend the Sunday morning service, you have to replace it with something else.  I’m not looking to replace it with the same thing at home.

I believe following Jesus is a lifestyle, not something you do only on Sunday mornings for about an hour or hour and a half.  Now don’t misread me, there is nothing wrong with going to a Sunday morning service for some good solid teaching.  I know of someone who does just that.  His wife still wants to go to Sunday morning services.  So they do both; go on Sunday mornings for teaching and meet with a group of people looking to be the church.  That works well for them; for us, it is just better to stop altogether and begin to deprogram what we have known our whole life.

We’re not exactly sure what we are going to do and are traveling on new territory.  We’re not going to force anything or try to make something happen that isn’t there.  The only thing we have planned right now is what we are calling “Sunday Supper”.  We’ll pray together for our up-coming evening, make the meal together on Sunday evening and invite some like-minded people.  No agenda, nothing pre-arranged, just have a good time together getting to know one another and see where it goes from there.

Matthew 18:20
For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.

Being that Kelley and I will be coming together in Jesus’ name, Jesus will be there with us!

Final thoughts.  What I have experienced since our decision to leave is an increased desire to pray, study the scriptures, and talk boldly about Jesus.  Now that’s not so bad, now is it.

Shouldn’t You be Going to Church!

Today, I am continuing the series of answering the questions given to me.  Today’s question/concern, which is a common one, is:

The Bible talks of going to church, “Do not forsake the assembly”.  Shouldn’t you be going to church?

Hebrews 10:25
25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

This verse is often quoted and referred to “going to the local church”.  So by not going to that church building for Sunday morning service, you are somewhat guilted or are committing some sort of sin.

I believe that verse is talking about the principle of coming together as the church body, which does not necessarily mean to a physical church building.  It could be at home or some other location, even a Starbucks for all that matter.  It does not give a set time either, like once a week, twice a week, or twice a month, just to meet.  The purpose of meeting or the coming together can be found in the preceding verse

Hebrews 10:24
24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

In other words, for edification, encouraging and building one another up.

I think informal locations are more conducive to that, rather than sitting in an hour to hour and half program looking at the backs of heads.  Then afterwards you maybe have 5-10 minutes where you can talk to one another before everyone leaves to go home.  I like coming together in small groups where everyone participates, you can laugh, you can cry, no set agenda, more informal, and can have intimate conversation.  For me, I can really get to know someone better in those types of environments.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on this subject!

Is the “Home Church” Concept Biblical?

Our decision to leave the institutional church (the Sunday morning pastor led church service) has been somewhat liberating for us.  To others, there is a degree of concern.  So, I have decided to do a blog series answering the questions that I have received via email, facebook, or through conversation.  I figure if I have been asked those questions, surely there are others with the same questions/concerns.

I am not an expert, we have only just begun this journey.  I will just share how we came to the conclusion that we did.  What I would like, however, is encourage readers to make comments on each question/concern I bring up.  I will answer one question per day, scripture verses where applicable, and will keep it brief.

I would love to read your comments regarding your experiences or to give another viewpoint.  I would like this to be a participatory as possible.

Today’s question/concern is:

I have never been able to Biblically support the “Home Church” concept.

I was actually pretty surprised by that comment (which I got via email), since the individual who stated it is well-versed with the Scriptures.  I’m not sure if I misread that or not, because the next sentence was “Being part of a local expression of the Body of Christ is simply part of God’s design” which will be answered in another post.

I know there are numerous verses that mention the church meeting in homes.  I have listed only 3 verses, but those are ones I came across initially.  Please share the ones you know.

1 Corinthians 16:19
The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.

Acts 20:20 (Paul speaking)
You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.

Romans 16:5a
Greet also the church that meets at their house.

Again, please participate.  I, and others, have a lot we can learn and understand from everyone.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Who is this Jesus?

For a good number of years my weekly schedule would be something like this:

• Go to church on Sunday morning … check
• Read your Bible a few times … check
• Say a few prayers … check
• Tuck in the kids and give a 15-second prayer … check

That routine should make me good to go, right?  Is there more to the Christian lifestyle?  Is that the Christian lifestyle?   Surely this is not what Jesus intended for us to be.  However, for years that is what I seemed to have learned from

The Church Bowl

attending church … the typical Sunday morning church service (the church bowl).  I would hear over and over to have a morning devotional time (read the Bible and pray), go to church each Sunday (don’t forsake the assembly), and don’t forget your tithe and offerings (don’t rob God).  If I didn’t do one of those things I would have failed, then guilt would set in for letting down the church.  Now don’t get me wrong, I take full responsibility for what I have done or not done, but the environment inside some church services that I have been in is not conducive to living something other than what my weekly routine was.

Ephesians 5:1-2 states:

” 1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

So I ask myself, which better reflects those verses in Ephesians, my weekly “checks” or the chorus from the song below, “Give Me Your Eyes” by Brandon Heath that talks of Jesus?

“Give Me Your Eyes”

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

So I, like numerous people, allowed the weekly Sunday morning church service to my guide so to speak.  Get right with the church and you’ll be, by default, right with God.  However, I’ve come to the conclusion that there must be more to cause Jesus to be so passionate in what he believed in and die a brutal death.  To do that, I must get out of the church bowl and explore what that is.

Skydiving

Below is a post my wife, Kelley, wrote regarding our recent decision to leave the institutional church (the typical church building with weekly services being led by a licensed minister).

I’ll post, in a future soon-to-be-released series, as to the “why”, the “are you nuts”, the “how we came to this conclusion”, the “what about this”, and the “what about that” questions.  In addition, if you leave comments I will be happy to answer those questions and incorporate them in my future posts.

To a large amount of people this is new so there will be numerous questions, you are not alone.  I did when I first looked into this.

Thank you for taking the time and following along!

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We’re taking the plunge.  Perry wrote our Pastor a letter a couple of days ago letting him know that our family was going to leave our institutional church to embark upon an organic journey in 2009.  I’ve known this was coming for quite some time now, as Perry has scoured book after book on the subject – paralleling his studies with an open Bible by his side.  He has acquired quite an extensive network of friends who are involved, to varying degrees, in the organic church ideology.  I say “ideology” for lack of a better description.  I don’t think the return to a more organic way of doing “church” is a movement or trend, as those terms feel subject to expiration.  Though in its infancy, I really believe that the organic way of communing with God and His people will endure and grow as time goes on.  It is not a fad.

Yet, I’m scared.  I’m scared to have to stand on my own two feet – just Perry and I – and not have the institutional church as backup to our efforts in raising our three teenagers to love God and want to serve Him.  I feel vulnerable.

I’ve talked to the kids about the idea of organic church and have asked them what it is that makes Jesus – and/or serving Him – most “real” or “alive” for them.  Nicole, our eldest, is an adult, and has chosen to continue attending an institutional church with her boyfriend of two years.  Melanie, age 17, feels most connected when she is connected with other believers, but has struggled in finding that “right fit” for awhile now.  She wants to try to make some new connections in a youth group she’s had her eye on (not our former church), while studying the Word individually and with her dad and I.  And Jon, age 14, told me he feels most excited about his Christianity through acts of service.  He likes the idea of “being the church” instead of just attending church programs.  He wants to serve meals at the Salvation Army and be on the lookout for a variety of ways to actively contribute through various projects.

I think my feelings of vulnerability are, in fact, one of my biggest spiritual problems – and something God will deal with me on through this whole endeavor.  I have to learn to trust HIM with my family.

Still, I can’t quite shake the feeling that I’m free falling.  My heart is pounding, my breathing’s labored and my hands are clammy.  But I’ve already jumped.  So my only choice now is whether to close my eyes and hold my breath in fear, or open them and focus on the beauty of the descent.  It’s a choice only I can make.  So I’m making a concerted effort to trust that He’ll direct the wind to land my feet exactly where He wants them.  I’m believing He’ll put me – and my family – on solid ground.