The Paradym of the Last Days Church
The Paradym of the Last days Church
Note to the reader:
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, with some exceptions. Yet God is so gracious toward His people He gives us success even when we are outside of the original pattern He intended.
Successful or not, the question is not what we are, but what we could be or could have been.
It begs the question if we are successful why concern ourselves with our structural paradym? Recently I heard a well-known evangelical speaker and author describe how his organization has gone through a pruning process because of the hierarchal 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 is needed.
What I believe to be true is for the church to become what is needed as the last days church, a new paradigm overhaul is required. The pandemic showed us how the church can be derailed in a short amount of time. Churches who were primarily event-focused had their whole paradigm shaken. Nothing wrong with events, just not the primary focus for the last days church.
Do we have a pattern for the last days church? Yes, Paul gave it to us in the book of Ephesians chapter four. The best place to start is at the beginning.
I, therefore, the prisoner [a]of the Lord, [b]beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in [c]you all.
Paul put this at the beginning because if you don't get the truth in these first six verses, none of the rest of it will really work.
Perhaps after reading, you're having an aha moment, as in, "I know where you're going." Ok, let's put you to the test. Are you thinking he is talking about unity? If so, you would be wrong. What? The word is right there in the text. Everything Paul is saying here is centered around unity.
Yes, it is in the text, so let's look at how it is commonly defined. Unity is often defined in organizations as:
• Agreement
• Uniformity
• Compliance
• Loyalty to leadership
• Avoiding conflict
Many people talk about unity like they talk about faith, an abstract stand-alone idea. But both have to be based in something.
Most organizations, churches included, center around a mission statement. Unity comes from everyone conforming to the mission or the vision. Nothing wrong with a mission statement if it is giving the organization identity or direction, but don't mistake it as the unifying element.
Webster defines unity as "the quality or state of being one." The underlying assumption behind a mission statement is if we get everyone into compliance we have unity. Ironically, this is what the religious structure of Jesus' day believed: if we can get everyone in compliance to the law, we will have unity. The problem is 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."
So if Paul isn't talking about unity, what is he talking about? He is talking about oneness. 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.
With all those "one's" you might be asking yourself how is it that we struggle so much in the church with oneness. Make no mistake, we do struggle.
Because we don't understand what brings about oneness, and no, it does not come from gathering around a mission statement. It only comes from one thing: the unity of the Spirit.
Paul's use of the word beseech here is significant, in that it means to call alongside. We might say in modern vernacular, "come in line with this" or "line up behind this thing." Ironically, he is calling for compliance, but not with a mission statement, with something much larger. Come into compliance with this thing called the "Unity of the Spirit."
The word "Spirit" here is in the Greek genitive, which tells us what kind of unity, or unity from whom. It is not unity for unity's sake; it is unity which comes from the greatest of us to the least of us lining up with what He is saying and doing.
Next up: How to keep the Unity of the Spirit.