See, there's this funny view of church that has emerged in our culture. It's one that can be seen by the amount of churches on one street. It's epitomized by the phrase, "church shopping." This view of church feeds off of debates on music choices and preaching styles or whether or not video clips have any place in church.
I call it the "Have it YOUR Way" model.
Basically it's the idea that church is for me. It's where I go to get spiritually fed. I should be able to choose which church I want to attend based on whether or not I like the music, how comfortable their seats are and if I find the pastor engaging enough. Like being able to choose how I want my hamburger from Burger King, I should be able to choose how I want to experience church.
I've fallen into this trap myself. I've done the church shopping, picking churches based on style rather than theology. It makes sense in our individualistic culture, but compared to the scriptural depictions of church, this "Have it YOUR Way" method is clearly missing the point.
Paul's first letter to the Corinthians presents a clear picture of what the church is to be. From the very beginning, Paul is calling them out on the ways they are divided. The Corinthians are arguing over whose teachings they follow whether it's Paul's or Peter's and so on. Paul makes it clear; Christ is not divided. As Christians we follow Christ and Christ alone and we are to be united in doing so. Further on in this very same letter, Paul addresses another problem within their church meetings. Once again they are divided, and not only are they divided but they are not caring for one another. When they partake in the Lord's Supper, which was more a meal and not our little wafer and cup of juice model, people were looking to their own desires and not to the needs of others. Some would eat their fill while others went away hungry. Paul reminds the Corinthians that this is not the point of gathering as a church. He says,
"So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If you are hungry, eat at home, so that when you come together it will not be for your condemnation." (1 Corinthians 11:33-34).Paul is stating quite plainly that church is to be a place of looking to the needs of others and filling them. It is not a place where you come to get your fill, to satisfy your needs, but rather it is to be a place where you come to serve others. That is what church is about. The church, the body of Christ, is to be a picture to the world of the Kingdom of God on earth. It is to act as an alternative community inviting people to experience the redemption and reconciliation of Jesus Christ. How can the church fulfill this purpose if it lives divided over things like coffee hour and projection screens?
As I was thinking about this topic, the words of Jesus came to mind when He says,
"For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).We are called to be like Jesus; He calls us to make ourselves the least instead of striving to be the greatest. What would happen if we as Christians entered church each Sunday thinking, " I am here not to be served but to serve."? How much more of a community of reconciliation would we be if that was our attitude? Instead of getting frustrated because the pastor is boring us, or we feel like the songs are too fast or too slow, what if we looked around and the people sitting next to us and thought about how we could act as a servant in their lives. What if we came to church to see how our pastor was doing instead of critiquing him or her throughout the whole service. What if instead of coming to see what we could get out of the service, we entered to see what we could give.
Let's stop viewing church as a fast-food restaurant where we can have it our way, and instead start seeing it as a family of believers dedicated to serving one another that the world might see that we serve the God of reconciled and redeemed relationships.
Let's start coming to church not to be served but to serve.
