When the prophets of old spoke out against the people they often asked, “How did we offend God?” Blinded by cultural norms, social customs and institutionalized religion they had lost touch with personal faith and spiritual imperative.
So when I say the Church is weak today because of its focus on buildings, budgets, boards and bylaws the response is almost always justifying these as though they were spiritually necessary! Yet the early Church had none of these and spread the Gospel far and wide in one generation.
The buildings used as church today are monuments to human pride and cultural expectation. When Peter wanted to built monuments to Jesus, Moses and Elijah on the Mount of the Transfiguration Luke reports, “Peter did not know what he was saying” (Luke 9:33). The same applies everywhere because structures do not help in “bringing in the sheaves”.
Congregations focus on the budget. How many arguments I have listened to about a few dollars someone wants removed or moved to another line. When the early Church appointed The Seven to look after money (Acts 6:3-5), least two (Philip and Stephen) were amazing witnesses of the Gospel, even to the martyrdom of Stephen. What finance committee in our time is chosen for the evangelistic zeal of its members?
Indeed, most Congregations end up begging people to be on Boards and committees because Canada Revenue Agency, or the denomination, specify how many people must be on the Board. So Boards have members who are simply a body count, but who do not have the calling or gifts for a job of oversight and planning, or “bringing in the sheaves”. They make decisions by a vote, not prayer and fasting. The Church was never intended to be a democracy, but rather a theocracy, where our love for God and others permeates everything discussed and decided without politics or hidden or personal agendas to do what God appoints of us, “bringing in the sheaves”.
The Manuals of churches are hundreds of pages long. Canon Law is volumes. These bylaws to the Bible cover how to present a motion, magic words for ordination, how to fill in reports, and membership so that undesirables are excluded… The Councils of Jerusalem, however, presented this as Church rules (Acts 15:28-29): “The Holy Spirit and we have agreed not to place any additional burdens on you. Do only what is necessary by keeping away from food sacrificed to false gods, from eating bloody meat, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual sins. If you avoid these things, you will be doing what’s right” (God’s Word Translation©, see also Acts 15:20 and 21:25).
Bylaws also state at length what you must believe, yet Paul stated clearly: “I passed on to you the most important points of doctrine that I had received: Christ died to take away our sins as the Scriptures predicted. He was placed in a tomb. He was brought back to life on the third day as the Scriptures predicted” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4 God’s Word Translation©), no elaborate statements of faith or theological brain exercises.
Now if I told you this, what would you reply?

In this blog I make a distinction between religion and spirituality. Religion is a “unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things” (Emil Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life). Biblical spirituality is the real and personal encounter with the real and living Jesus. Read more…