Okay it’s been a long time since I’ve written anything on this blog so here is my excuse. My family has been in the middle of a big decision regarding relocating to a very different part of the country (this is not the only excuse, but it is probably the main one). The purpose of this relocation is to help with a small church that is being formed in Wyoming. I will most likely be involved in the formation and leadership of this church, therefore my mind has been on church a lot lately, and it’s been difficult to focus on the theme of this blog. It occurred to me recently, however, that church really has a lot to do with healing and should not be left out of or separated from the aspect of Christianity that deals with people who are hurting and broken. The unfortunate side of this is that not only has church been largely left out, but it has become a place where the hurting takes place. Many seem to have given up on church because they have been devastated by the activities of fellow believers who do not seem to understand some very key principles of church and Christianity.
Let me explain by giving my perspective on what church was designed to be. The local church was and is a God-given gift to His people. It is for the express purpose of glorifying Christ by modeling true brotherhood, friendship, and unity among people – people who have put their faith in Christ, people who have the common goal and vision of making His name famous. It is a place where these believers can come together and put to use their various giftings for the growth and strengthening of the body (Ephesians 4:12). It is a place for corporate worship, Biblical teaching, accountability, encouragement, and edification. Although it must be zealously guarded against impurity, it should also always be a place of safety, protection, and help for those who are struggling. In short it is a place where the gospel is proclaimed, people are led to Christ, and discipleship is administered. This discipleship should include making a place where the most battered, broken, and torn individuals who are seeking Christ can come, be loved unconditionally, counseled, encouraged, and given the time to heal. This part of church seems to have largely been forfeited. We seem to have basically given up on this aspect of ministry because it is too hard, too scary, or maybe we simply don’t know how.
Unfortunately many seem to have given up on the church in whole or at least in part because they have sensed this almost complete avoidance of what should be a vital part of church. They go to a parachurch counseling center and find a beautiful place of hope and encouragement, a place where they are not judged, pressured or criticized, a place where they have a listening ear and kind encouragement. It feels so good they are often willing to give large sums of money to get these benefits, never giving thought to the fact that if they stop giving money they may stop getting the listening ear and kind encouragement.*
Let me just say something about parachurch counseling organizations before I go on. I am not against them. I have been greatly helped by counselors myself and have seen the fruit that has come forth in others. I do have concerns about many counseling practices that are not Biblical and ultimately not helpful to the counselee. Often these places are swallowed hook, line, and sinker by those who are starving for the kind of love and acceptance that is given them, but they then are fed a steady diet of unsound teaching. (To read more about this see my article “Theology & Christian Counseling”)
I believe that parachurch organizations should always exist to strengthen the church by discipling believers to Biblical maturity. If this is not happening then they need to reevaluate their goals and practices. I believe we need more of a connection between counseling ministries and churches. I would like to see churches start Biblical counseling ministries that are directly tied to, supported by, held accountable to, trained, and directed by that local church.
This all comes back to our belief in the power and sufficiency of Scripture – a doctrine that has been largely undermined by late 20th century Christianity. Do we believe that the beautiful message of forgiveness, redemption, & restoration contained in the ancient words of this incredible book is really adequate for man’s greatest needs and dilemmas, or do we feel that this message needs to be buoyed by extra-biblical methodology and practice? Do we believe that the local church is the primary “base camp” from which this message should be proclaimed? Or do we view the church and the Bible as somewhat inferior to modern counseling and therapy?
Most of us would probably never say that the Bible and the church are less important than parachurch ministries, but often we give this impression by the way we respond to these two organizations. All of the vision, the fire, the passion, seems to be in the parachurch organizations. We go there to get refueled when we get tired of church. We come back to church with a renewed, but sometimes skewed vision of what church should be. This vision usually cools when we just can’t seem to get others to share it. We don’t see any hope so we begin the process of giving up. Often this giving up either takes the form of leaving and committing ourselves to a lifetime of parachurch ministry or by just accepting this as the way church is and nothing can be done about it.
Too many American Christians have forgotten that the church is the primary organization by which the Kingdom of God is advanced. God did not give clear biblical instructions for counseling centers, Bible schools, or support groups. He did give us clear instructions about church. This is not to say that these other institutions do not have there place, but their place always needs to be secondary to the organized church and they should always exist for the betterment of the church.
Some would say that this is just not reality. Yes the church should be primary, but we are just not there. If this is the case I would argue that this person has lost their vision for the Biblical church and are guilty of supporting an unhealthy separation between the church and its ministry. For far too many of us church and ministry have become two different functions. To many Christians, ministry is what church leaders, missionaries, and parachurch organizations do, or it is organized activities within the church that we may or may not choose to participate in (i.e. VBS, tract distribution, relief work, etc.). Somehow ministry has been divorced from the everyday life and activity of the body of Christ. We forget that ministry is something we all can and should do regardless of our role or position.
For far too many the church is nothing more than a social club that hopefully upholds our preferences regarding dress and behavior. It is a place where we can get together with people with whom we agree about a lot of things, a place where we can at least feel like we are worshipping God, a place of exclusivity and comfort, a place where those who do not fit our ecumenical mold are held at arms length until they hopefully leave.
I am not arguing for watering down or compromising the clear instructions of what God has given regarding a pure church. What I am arguing for is a renewed vision of what God has really called the church to be. We are in a war and we need a warfare mentality. War can get ugly, hard and uncomfortable, but we are fighting for a cause that transcends the discomfort. We are, or should be, striving to fulfill the call of Christ. We have been entrusted with the beautiful message of the gospel. It is a message of love, hope, redemption, and healing. This love, hope, redemption, and healing was made possible, by the person Jesus Christ through His unfathomable act of selflessness– His death on a cross and subsequent resurrection. He deserves all the glory and praise that we as humans can possibly muster, and the more we take His name to the hurting and the broken the more these battered lives will be redeemed and renewed, and the more the name of Christ will be magnified.
This is the call of the church and should be her mission. May we have our eyes opened to the beauty of the bride of Christ and the importance of her work here on earth. She is not perfect so let us not get distracted or discouraged by a desire for idealism. She is made up of fallible human beings, but she is being purified by her husband. So let us not give up on the church. If we do we will be the ones who are the worse for it.
*not all parachurch counseling centers function this way
