One of the issues that can hinder a church from growing is “legalism”. Now, before your thought process goes too far by associating a specific university or some non-denominational group of churches with the word, please let me explain. In the context of church growth, legalism is defined this way: “We do church the right way and if you don’t do church the way we do then you do church the wrong way”.
Though someone might not agree with what I am about to say, I must say it: There is no one way to do church! May I repeat myself?
THERE IS NO ONE WAY TO DO CHURCH!
As we research and study the New Testament, it is very obvious that there is no descriptive nor prescriptive formula on how a church should fulfill its “marching orders” in the kingdom of God.
From the very beginning of what we call the “early church” in the book of Acts to our present day culture of kingdom work, “doing church” has never been static (that is, it has never come to a point of rest or standstill). Just as society and culture are in constant states of change, so is the church. That is why we must constantly adapt the way we do church in order to reach out to people who live in a constantly changing culture and world.
Legalism, in its purest form regarding church growth, is a strict adherence to a specific way of doing church and being critical of churches that don’t adhere to that same form of structure. Now, before you start thinking that you and your church are not like that please be very careful. It doesn’t matter how you do church. Any church can be guilty of legalism.
Your church might be the most extreme, radical, contemporary, “in your face” church on planet earth. You don’t belong to any denomination. You don’t subscribe to any form of church government. You don’t even do church the same way week by week. Your claim to fame is: “We wrote the book on non-traditional church."
Yet, even if this describes your church, if you and your church have the attitude that you do church the right way and everyone else does it the wrong way because they don’t do it like you, then you are guilty of legalism. When a church has this approach to other churches, you will find that the church will begin to become a stagnant and closed society only for those who are like-minded. Or, your church might still use Bach and Beethoven, for example, but you can be guilty of legalism if you are critical of any other church that doesn’t do church the way you do church.
It doesn’t matter if your church uses bluegrass, rock and roll, acid rock, punk rock, rap, disco, high-church, low-church, mid-church, country & western, do-wop, be-bop, hip-hop, contemporary, blended, reggae, traditional, gospel, classical, head-banger metal, jazz, or polka music (let's see: did cover I it all?) Any church can have the attitude that it does church the right way and any other church that doesn’t do church that way is doing it wrong.
What should be our approach to other churches that don’t do church the way we think they ought to? Let me say this very succinctly:
ALL OF US SHOULD STAY OUT OF EVERY OTHER CHURCH’S BUSINESS!
We must come to an understanding that, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we can, and must, accept one another for who we are: Christ followers, who do church in myriad numbers of different ways but are on the same team with the same captain and His name is JESUS!
Acceptance of one another is biblical but our acceptance of each other doesn’t mean that we have to approve of each other’s way of doing church. We can accept another group of Christians, who make up a body of local believers in a local church, because we belong to Christ but that doesn’t mean that we have to approve of the way they do church. We just need to keep our opinions to ourselves. It is wrong for us to criticize and judge other believers for how they conduct themselves as a church in the kingdom of God.
In recent years, one of the most highly criticized churches in the USA has been Willow Creek Community Church. There have been countless numbers of pastors, church leaders, and web sites displaying their legalistic attitudes, by not only criticizing Willow Creek but engaging in an all-out attack on this church and its founding pastor, Bill Hybels.
Recently, the church conducted a three year self-study to examine how well it has fulfilled its purpose as a church. Results showed that Willow Creek had room for improvement and the results were published in a book titled “Reveal”.
Can you hear the silent laughter of legalism? I can. Those same pastors and church leaders who have attacked Willow Creek in the past are probably saying, “I told you so. I knew they were doing it all wrong!”
But, what a wonderful example of humility for Willow Creek to reveal to everyone in “Christian Nation” that it had fallen short of its goals and objectives and that the church and staff were determined to address the areas in which they saw the need for improvement. Willow Creek didn’t have to publish the results of their self-study. They could have kept the results to themselves. Yet, Hybels and Willow Creek humbly admitted to themselves, and to the rest of us, that they could do a better job at how they “do church”, thereby, opening themselves up to even greater attacks.
But, isn’t it interesting? From those same critics of Willow Creek I have yet to hear any pastor or any church admit their own shortcomings and failures and reveal to the rest of us that quite possibly they weren’t doing church as well as they thought they were.
Ah, legalism.
Hmmm….now, what was that we were saying about those churches that do things a little differently than we do?
Church Growth BR549
Perry Noble, pastor of NewSpring Church, was asked the following question by Ed Setzer of the Lifeway Research Team:
What advice would you give to churches in America? What elements would you say are a must in any church?
I would say two things. Number one, you must keep your focus on Jesus. Don't lose sight of the gospel. Don't lose sight of the fact that people are dying and going to go to hell unless they know Jesus. If the church loses the centrality and the urgency of that message, I think the church dies.
And I think the reason that churches all over America today are closing their doors and shutting down is because they forget the gospel. They have forgotten that Jesus Christ died on a cross not so we could have a holy huddle or a stained glass fortress or us four and no more. He died on a cross so that we could reach the world.
They have got sin in their lives. And because of that they are separated from God. They go to hell. That is not necessary. Jesus died on the cross to make forgiveness and redemption completely possible.
Number two, don't try to be anything except who God called you to be. Maybe God didn't call you to go multi-site. Maybe God called you to one location. You need to be completely content with that. Maybe God called you to go plant churches instead of doing video venues. You need to do that.
Maybe God told you to do video venues and plant churches. You need to do that. You don't ever, every need to feel pressure because another church somewhere else in America or somewhere else in the world is doing something to think, "Oh, wow, we have got do that." Our call as a church is to do exactly what God called us to do. In the book of Revelation chapter two and chapter three Jesus gives seven different messages to seven different churches.
If he wanted every church to be the same he would have just said, "All right. Here is my message to every church and it is just the same." But he addressed seven churches specifically and said, "Here is what is going on with you. Here is what is going on with you. Here is what is going on with you." I just think that each church has a unique DNA that it needs to focus on. The gospel should be central, but the strategy and the structure of the church should be completely open to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
(end of interview)
_____________________________________________________________________________
My advice? Find out where God is working, find out who God wants you to be as a church and find out who God wants you to reach.
Don’t try to be like everybody else. God stopped creating the universe on day six but He did not stop being creative. He is very capable of giving every church a unique identity and creative ways to help fulfill their assignment in the kingdom of God.
The churches and pastors that we put on pedestals, and we try to copy, didn’t copy some other church and pastor. No, these pastors, in their intimate love relationship with God, were undoubtedly hungry and thirsty enough to seek after God and ask Him to give them His unique, creative way to reach people.
God doesn’t play favorites. But, He does have His intimates-those who sincerely seek after Him in a love relationship that is real and personal.
Don’t go seeking after what other pastors and churches are doing to try to copy them. Seek after God and lead your congregation to seek after Him with all of their “heart, soul, mind, and strength” and to “love one another”.
Be willing to be obedient to God in whatever He leads you and your church to do. Your church doesn’t have to look like every other church. Your church only has to be what God desires for it to be.
There is no one way to “do” church. What works in one church may not work in another church. That’s why we don’t need to copy one another. I am not saying that we can’t learn from each other. But, ultimately, every pastor and every church must go to God, privately and corporately, in a love relationship with Him to seek His face and find out what He wants the church to be and to do.
The “doing” part of church (i.e., the heart of the church accomplished primarily in evangelism and serving) is important but the “being” part of church (i.e., the health of the church accomplished primarily through discipleship) is equally important. The goal should be to have a balanced church:
A balanced will look like this:
Heart/Health: evangelism/discipleship, reaching/teaching, going/growing, addition/multiplication, how many/what kind, loving one another/loving God.
As a pastor and church seek to fulfill the mission God has called them to, I think the following might be helpful in discovering this unique and creative journey.
To find God’s mission for each individual church:
God pursues an intimate love relationship with every believer in every church and with every pastor.
In the love relationship with God, He reveals to a pastor and church where He is working.
In the love relationship with God, He invites a pastor and church to join Him in His work.
In the love relationship with God, He speaks to a pastor and church through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church body to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
To fulfill God’s mission for each individual church:
Every pastor and every church will be faced with a crisis of belief that will require faith and action.
Every pastor and every church must make major adjustments in order to join God in what He is doing.
Every pastor and every church will come to know God more intimately by experience as they obey Him and He accomplishes His work through them.
(Adapted from “Experiencing God’, Henry Blackaby)
What advice would you give to churches in America? What elements would you say are a must in any church?
I would say two things. Number one, you must keep your focus on Jesus. Don't lose sight of the gospel. Don't lose sight of the fact that people are dying and going to go to hell unless they know Jesus. If the church loses the centrality and the urgency of that message, I think the church dies.
And I think the reason that churches all over America today are closing their doors and shutting down is because they forget the gospel. They have forgotten that Jesus Christ died on a cross not so we could have a holy huddle or a stained glass fortress or us four and no more. He died on a cross so that we could reach the world.
They have got sin in their lives. And because of that they are separated from God. They go to hell. That is not necessary. Jesus died on the cross to make forgiveness and redemption completely possible.
Number two, don't try to be anything except who God called you to be. Maybe God didn't call you to go multi-site. Maybe God called you to one location. You need to be completely content with that. Maybe God called you to go plant churches instead of doing video venues. You need to do that.
Maybe God told you to do video venues and plant churches. You need to do that. You don't ever, every need to feel pressure because another church somewhere else in America or somewhere else in the world is doing something to think, "Oh, wow, we have got do that." Our call as a church is to do exactly what God called us to do. In the book of Revelation chapter two and chapter three Jesus gives seven different messages to seven different churches.
If he wanted every church to be the same he would have just said, "All right. Here is my message to every church and it is just the same." But he addressed seven churches specifically and said, "Here is what is going on with you. Here is what is going on with you. Here is what is going on with you." I just think that each church has a unique DNA that it needs to focus on. The gospel should be central, but the strategy and the structure of the church should be completely open to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
(end of interview)
_____________________________________________________________________________
My advice? Find out where God is working, find out who God wants you to be as a church and find out who God wants you to reach.
Don’t try to be like everybody else. God stopped creating the universe on day six but He did not stop being creative. He is very capable of giving every church a unique identity and creative ways to help fulfill their assignment in the kingdom of God.
The churches and pastors that we put on pedestals, and we try to copy, didn’t copy some other church and pastor. No, these pastors, in their intimate love relationship with God, were undoubtedly hungry and thirsty enough to seek after God and ask Him to give them His unique, creative way to reach people.
God doesn’t play favorites. But, He does have His intimates-those who sincerely seek after Him in a love relationship that is real and personal.
Don’t go seeking after what other pastors and churches are doing to try to copy them. Seek after God and lead your congregation to seek after Him with all of their “heart, soul, mind, and strength” and to “love one another”.
Be willing to be obedient to God in whatever He leads you and your church to do. Your church doesn’t have to look like every other church. Your church only has to be what God desires for it to be.
There is no one way to “do” church. What works in one church may not work in another church. That’s why we don’t need to copy one another. I am not saying that we can’t learn from each other. But, ultimately, every pastor and every church must go to God, privately and corporately, in a love relationship with Him to seek His face and find out what He wants the church to be and to do.
The “doing” part of church (i.e., the heart of the church accomplished primarily in evangelism and serving) is important but the “being” part of church (i.e., the health of the church accomplished primarily through discipleship) is equally important. The goal should be to have a balanced church:
A balanced will look like this:
Heart/Health: evangelism/discipleship, reaching/teaching, going/growing, addition/multiplication, how many/what kind, loving one another/loving God.
As a pastor and church seek to fulfill the mission God has called them to, I think the following might be helpful in discovering this unique and creative journey.
To find God’s mission for each individual church:
God pursues an intimate love relationship with every believer in every church and with every pastor.
In the love relationship with God, He reveals to a pastor and church where He is working.
In the love relationship with God, He invites a pastor and church to join Him in His work.
In the love relationship with God, He speaks to a pastor and church through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church body to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
To fulfill God’s mission for each individual church:
Every pastor and every church will be faced with a crisis of belief that will require faith and action.
Every pastor and every church must make major adjustments in order to join God in what He is doing.
Every pastor and every church will come to know God more intimately by experience as they obey Him and He accomplishes His work through them.
(Adapted from “Experiencing God’, Henry Blackaby)
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