There is a new and dangerous religion sweeping through the
"mainstream" Christian community. It has many names but perhaps the
most descriptive and accurate is "Churchianity". It is dangerous
because to the unwary it looks so deceptively and seductively similar to
Christianity that it can covertly invade even well established churches
virtually undetected but its final effects can be very destructive. But first a
brief history lesson…
In 70 AD The Lord allowed the Temple in Jerusalem to be destroyed
for the second and final time. He put mankind on notice that He was done with
bricks and mortar and with "doing church". Something new was coming,
something huge. Something that didn't need buildings, didn't need corporate
structures and corporate hierarchies, job descriptions, intricate rituals, elaborate
vestments, etc.. That which was but a poor shadow of things to come was being
replaced by the real thing. The people of God were about to enter the decidedly
unworldly, and indeed unearthly, Kingdom of God. The legalistic and physical
"do this and do that" ways of the Old Covenant were about to be
replaced but Grace and the spiritual "BE this and BE that" ways of
the New Covenant. God's Church was about to be born again!
The power and unity of the Church of Christ Jesus would not come
from big buildings, accumulated wealth, fancy robes, elaborate organisational
structures, corporate strategies, policies and procedures, etc.. Its growth
would not come from slick, popularity seeking marketing and promotional
campaigns, psychological profiling and consumer surveys. It would come from God
Himself by the outpouring and infilling of His Holy Spirit on all of His
people. Church was no longer something you belonged to for all in it belong to
Christ alone. It was not to be about church ownership and control, it was to be
about relationship and fellowship among those who are owned and controlled by
Christ.. A place where the children of God met together and worked together as
brothers and sisters, equal before God and fellow servants of Christ. A
believer no longer belonged to a church, they were the church, each and every
one of them. Their power and authority did not come from those in the church,
it came direct from Christ Himself. The Holy Spirit of God no longer dwelt in a
place or in an organisation, He dwelt within each and EVERY believer. Even if
only 2 or 3 believers gathered in His name Christ Himself would be there,
working in them and through them.
From that time on God's only place of worship was to be in the
redeemed souls of men and women. Men and women born of the Spirit were now the
living stones of His living Temple as befits a living God. To those who
believed, God gave the power to be more than merely the Sons and daughters of
men . He gave each and every one of them the power to become the Sons of God.
In this world but no longer OF this world or its ways. As Jesus had told the
Samaritan woman at the well over 30 years before, the time had come in which
those who belonged to Him would worship Him neither here nor there but in
Spirit and in truth wherever and WHENEVER they may be.
But let's go back a little further and ask the question, whose
temple was really destroyed in 70 AD? The truth is that by 70AD it was ... yet
again ... no longer the Lord's temple. The Temple that was destroyed was in
fact HEROD's temple. (And here is something to ponder for all
"millennialists", pre-, post- and "A-" as well as all who
may have succumbed to the teachings of the 70th Week of Daniel Theology.)
To stamp HIS mark on Israel the Rome appointed King Herod
embarked on an ambitious project to totally rebuild the Temple to HIS own
flamboyant design complete with the golden Eagle of Rome mounted on a WING of
the Temple. The Abomination that causes desolation mounted on a WING of
the Temple as spoken of in Daniel 9:27 "He will confirm a
covenant with many for one 'seven'. In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an
end to sacrifice and offering. And on a WING of the temple he will set
up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is
poured out on him."
Significantly this brand new, extravagant Temple was officially
opened with all sorts of pomp and ceremony in 63AD just SEVEN years before its
total desolation and a mere 3 and a half years before the daily sacrifices on
behalf of Caesar were stopped due to severe provocation by the Roman procurator
Gessius Florus. It would seem
reasonable to me that among the pomp and ceremony of the opening of a rebuilt
Temple Rome might be expected to renew its special covenant with Israel that
allowed the Temple to be used exclusively for the worship of the God of Israel
and not for Caesar and the Gods of Rome as was required in most countries ruled
by Rome at that time. Part of that covenant was the offering of daily
sacrifices on the behalf of the Roman Emperor. But I digress…
The Temple at Jerusalem had once again ceased to be dedicated to
the reverence and worship of The Lord alone and had become nothing more than a
stage and a backdrop upon which Herod and the self styled "representatives
of God" could dress up and "strut THEIR stuff" before the
nations and the eyes of men.
Sadly this propensity for men and women to use God to bring glory
upon themselves and THEIR "church" was not destroyed along with the
Temple. Ever since 70AD we have been adept at building our own temples, be they
big or small, old and ornate or sleek and modern. But what is it that causes
believers to constantly build temples and religious empires God neither wants
nor asked for?
It begins when a group of people want to belong to something
other than just God. The Bible encourages believers to come together often, but
not to build temples or create corporate empires. The purpose of coming together
is to encourage and support one another as people and fellow servants belonging
to God. How is it then that our coming together does not unite all who belong
to Christ but rather divides and separates them one from another in an endless
parade of denominations and parochial, isolationist or empire building churches
and "movements"? Especially when the writer of Hebrews says:-
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards
love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the
habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see
the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10: 24-25)
It is because we have forgotten that in the Kingdom of Heaven
there is one, and only one, "body corporate". There is only one
church, one body. We are not a body of churches, we are a single body of
individual BELIEVERS in a single church with only one Father, only one teacher
and master, only one Spirit, and only one Word. And in that church all members
are equal before God. No earthly church stands between a believer and God. No
earthly church will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, only individual
believers accountable for their own actions, not those of their churches. There
is one and only one name by which ANY man or woman comes to God the Father and
that is through Christ Jesus. There is no other name, not even the name of a
church or denomination by which a person can be saved. The judgment of God is
not about your church, - it is about you.
So what goes so terribly wrong?
It happens like this, when a group of people get together they
will at some point feel the urge to create a vision, a purpose and a plan for
themselves in addition to the vision, purpose and plan Christ has already given
them in the word of God. So no longer are they merely a group of believers in
and followers of Christ Jesus abiding in and obeying the Word of God together,
but they are also now joint believers in and followers of a corporate vision, a
purpose and a plan for the group. As those who do not believe in or follow the
vision, the purpose, and "the plan" (or perhaps the methods to
achieve them) leave the church, those who do stay to pursue the vision, purpose
and plan progressively enshrine it as their corporate identity. They are now a
people who have come together with a plan for the purpose of achieving a
vision, of their own making. They are now a people with a corporate identity
that has a corporate name and a corporate plan, purpose and vision other than
simply being children of God in the corporate identity of Christ Jesus Himself.
And like Nimrod and the very first Babylonians they begin to seek to make a
name for their church and to measure themselves by the size and
"success" of the church they plan and build for themselves.
Pretty soon you find that the sermons are all about the church
and seldom about Christ and the Word of God, or the mission of God. The focus
subtly changes away from Christ and onto the church itself. It ceases to be all
about Christ and becomes all about the church. How to make it bigger (more
bricks and mortar and more flesh and blood), "better", more inviting,
more financially successful, more influential, more prestigious, more socially
active, and on and on. Pretty soon you end up with a church that is caught up
in itself rather than caught up in Christ. Self centered rather than Christ
centered. Even those who boast about how “Christ centered” their church is are
actually still focusing everybody's attention on their church, not on Christ. The
very boast of being Christ centered is, in reality, self-centered.
Corporate identities also have a way of eventually taking control
and demanding obedience and subservience. They have a way of claiming ownership
and control of those who "belong" to them. And pretty soon they begin
to demand that those who serve them create for them ... A corporate image! And
before long will have everybody serving it, and sacrificing to it. For now
their church has an image to maintain, a reputation to upkeep and the bigger
the image and name becomes the more will be sacrificed to maintain it. Like
Nimrod and the Babylonians they have made a name for themselves and they want
the world to love it. They want to grow it, promote it, protect it, raise it up
as high as they can, draw as many people to it as they can, be an example of
success for others to follow and emulate. But it is THEIR church they are
serving, devoting their life to and lifting up, not Jesus. It is the leaders of
THEIR church they look to for the vision, purpose and plan for their lives, not
Jesus. But as Jesus said we cannot serve 2 masters. Those who are in Christ
have only one master and they will serve Him alone. For those who are in Christ
BELONG to and obey Christ wholly. A church is where they fellowship with others
who equally belong to and obey the same master. Those who are in Christ follow
Christ, they do not follow each other. As Paul said
1 Corinthians 1:11-13 (NIV)
"My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household
have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of
you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow
Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul
crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?"
.
To those who dream of building and leading large "multi-site
megachurches" or even just large churches a word of warning. The Lord does
not measure success by size or by numbers or by achievements. He measures us by
repentance, by the love and mercy we have, by the truth of our teaching, and by
faithful obedience - to HIM. The Lord does not care how many people are in YOUR
church, He cares about how many people are in HIS Son and in His Son's Church.
Micah 6:8 (NIV)
"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does
the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly
with your God."
There will always be many large churches and "multi-site
megachurches" in the world. Some have been around for Centuries. Others rise and fall like the grass that is
here today and gone tomorrow. BUT there is only ONE multi-site megachurch that
will stand for all eternity and outlive this world, and it already has a name.
It is THE Church of Jesus Christ and it does not lift up its own name but the name
of its one and only head, Christ Jesus. It does not need a name, it does not
need to create a body corporate, it does not need to create a corporate
identity. We ARE a body, we HAVE an identity, we ARE Christ Jesus for it is no
longer we who live, but Christ who lives and breaths in us. Our unity, our
power, our strength, our achievements and our growth does not come from ourselves
or corporate and marketing plans and strategies. It all comes from The Lord
Himself through the work of the Holy Spirit who dwells in all who are His.
Empowering them enabling them, uniting them.
The bottom line is that those in whom Christ dwells are not
driven by a purpose, corporate or otherwise. They are wholly - CHRIST DRIVEN
- and always will be.
Provided it is done freely and without charge
"Churchianity: The New Religion of Corporate Idolatry" may be
copied, used and distributed
(in its entirety only, including this notice)
by
brothers and sisters in Christ
to the profit and glory of The Lord alone (ttpagoTLa)
By special permission of
D.J.
Ludlow copyright 2015
#smallgiftsministries
#ttpagoTLa
