The Paradigm of the Last Days Church
The Paradigm of the Last days Church
What should the body of Christ look like? Like corporate America, with a CEO and an organizational hierarchy built from one person down? Or a sporting event where there are those selected to play and the rest are spectators? This is what the majority of the church looks like. Yet God is so gracious toward His people that He gives us success even when we are outside the original pattern He intended. And yes, He has a pattern.
The question: if we are successful, why concern ourselves with our structural paradigm? Successful or not, the question is not what we are, but what we could be or could have been. The church in Ephesus was successful in many things but lacked the most important one, and Jesus threatened to remove their lampstand.
Recently I heard a well-known evangelical speaker and author describe how his organization has gone through a pruning process because of the hierarchical element that had crept into its culture. According to his own words, they have been pruned back 50%. If the grace had not been lifted, they would have remained the same, unaware a change was needed.
I believe that for the church to become what is needed as the last-days church, a paradigm overhaul is needed. The pandemic showed us how quickly the church can be derailed. Churches that were primarily event-focused had their whole paradigm shaken. There is nothing wrong with events; they are just not the primary focus for the last-days church. She must be unshakable.
Where is the pattern for the last-days church? Paul gave it to us in the book of Ephesians, chapter four. Let’s start at the beginning.
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Paul put this at the beginning of the chapter because if you don’t get the truth contained in these first six verses, none of the rest of what is in the chapter will really work.
Perhaps after reading those verses, you’re having an aha moment, as in, “I know where you’re going.” Are you thinking he is talking about unity? If so, you would be wrong. But isn't the word is right there in the text? Did even Jesus pray we would be one? Indeed He did.
Yes, it is in the text, so let’s talk about it. Unity is often defined in organizations as:
Agreement
Uniformity
Compliance
Loyalty to leadership
Avoiding conflict
Most organizations, churches included, create a mission statement hoping to achieve those things on the list. There is nothing wrong with a mission statement if it is giving the organization identity or direction, but don’t mistake it for the unifying element.
The underlying assumption behind a mission statement is that if we get everyone into compliance, unity will follow. At best, the end result is conformity, a sad substitute for real unity.
Ironically, this is what the religious structure of Jesus’ day believed: if we can get everyone into compliance with the law, we will have unity. The problem: the structure or organization becomes the thing everyone is serving.
The best example of this is Jesus being called out for healing on the Sabbath. His response: “Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man.” The entity finding its expression in the mission statement becomes the ruling power, and everything and everyone is subjected to it.
Yes, the word unity is in the text, but there is a greater truth here. Look again at the last verse.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
The greater truth here is oneness. This is the prayer Jesus prayed for us, that we would be one. Somehow, with all those “ones” on Paul’s list, you might be asking yourself how it is that we struggle so much in the church with oneness. Make no mistake, we do struggle.
Webster defines unity as “the quality or state of being one,” but it doesn’t come from compliance, conformity, or loyalty to leadership.
The problem: we think unity in and of itself brings oneness, so we build our mission statements and solicit agreement, thinking it gets us there. But there is only one thing that brings oneness, and Paul states it right there in the text: “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit.”
Oneness can only be achieved when we as a corporate body learn how to function in the unity of the Spirit. The job of leadership is to discern how the Spirit is moving and facilitate it but also equip the body to move in it not just a select few.
Next: How to function in the unity of the Spirit.