Tom Brock looks at current and past expressions of church

Tom Brock

There are a few things I would like to talk about, this could be a bit of a journey but I think it is worth a look at and see where we go.

The focus on the needy is before the church in a way that it hasn't seen since the days of the Great Depression. It seems that the cry for justice is being heralded far and wide and the church is being forced to re-evaluate its whole approach to ministry. No longer are the token benevolence funds adequate to reach the needs of the community. There was the time where if a local body gave to the now and again transient or family in need, that it fulfilled the need to be like Jesus. Of course we always had our Thanksgiving baskets (in the US) and Christmas focus, but the tide has turned. A new breed of leader is rising and they are focused on seeing the church represent the life of Jesus in a really practical way. I heard of one Pastor who shared with his board that Jesus said to love your neighbour as yourself and promptly asked them to consider giving away fifty percent of their income to the needy. A radical move, as far as the status-quo is concerned, but pretty normal when it comes to Christ likeness.

Barnum states in his book Revolution that the church as we know would not be around in twenty five years. When I first read that I felt that he was really stretching it and he was premature in his predictions; but taking a closer look I think he could be right. I think we have to define some things here; when I say the status-quo, what I mean is the church that meets on a Sunday morning as their main focus of community profile. They would follow the protocol of song singing, a message being taught from the Bible. Participation in this would constitute a church member or at least an associate relationship and would be what is expected, along with supporting finically. In this we present that this is all that is required to be a believer.

On the other hand there is the "new" format that also meets on the Sunday. Maybe at a different time than the norm, late afternoon or even Saturday night, just whatever fits the community need. This group is defined more by the casual approach to the meeting. Coffee allowed in the service, tables to sit around, definitely more user comfortable than chairs set in a row. I think that part of the profile here would be that music is still part of the service but it's more that the congregation is being sung to and really not expected to sing along, but may if they want to. Overall the atmosphere is set that helps disarm those who attend and allows a place for interchange on a more personal basis. There are strong characteristics similar to the status-quo, just an updated profile with a fresh coat of paint.

There is another group that has formed too; this group is pretty much anti anything that even smells like the old system. There is a mistrust of "clergy" or any proclaimed leaders and they're looking for actions not words. This group wants to see the works that Jesus did happen now. Not the signs and wonders and miracles that everyone talks about, but the feeding of the poor, freeing of slaves and every injustice that can be corrected, corrected. It's not about meetings; it's not about songs it's all about application. They meet in homes, at coffee bars and on the internet, a body without form; just people with something that burns in them that want results not empty words.

This is where things seem to be at right now, at least from what we see. Suzie and I have the fortune to minister for all of the above. We see the value of each part. But we too are wondering what the next step will be.

My up bringing has been pretty much a mixed bag to say the least. I have been doing ministry for a long time. In what is called full time I am coming into my fortieth year. Man that is hard to believe, I don't feel that I have even lived that long much less been sharing the word that long. I started on the street, my commission was to show Jesus to those who were wandering through life and bring them an example of the true Jesus. This encompassed feeding, clothing and housing them. There was another part too. We wanted to present that the same Jesus that healed and set people free was still doing that same kind of stuff here and now. We would pray for the sick and they would get healed; not always but enough to keep doing it. We would pray for those who were hooked on drugs or any other type of addiction and see great results that could only be contributed to the intervention of God, or commonly known as a miracle. We knew that a meal, or a change of clothes or a bed for the night would not change their world, but there had to be something more for them to encounter; more than what a man could offer, they had to touch the Spirit of the living God. All I can say to that is that God was faithful and lives were changed.

I think one of the things that were a strong characteristic of the time was the sense of family. We all felt connected to one another and we felt a sense of purpose and of wonder. I think there was a feeling of being on an adventure and we were all looking for what would come next. It seems to me that a lot of that has been lost over the years and has been replaced by a structure and hierarchy. Instead of feeling like we are family it feels more like a corporation with its CEO in place and outlines to follow, instead of being a place for the family to gather and share hearts. It seems that we have lost our home.

In this transition something else seems to have been lost; our calling. We have forgotten our mission and we have left the essence of mission to accomplish our goals instead of His. It's a simple thing; it's one of the first things we learn, for God so love the world He sent His son. The mission from the very beginning was love. Not power not programmes, but a desire to reunite man with God. Nothing has changed on God's part. But it feels like we have lost our innocence in our journey. Instead of walking in an encounter with the Holy Spirit we have traded the adventure of stepping out into the unknown for a safe controlled environment, where we can call the shots instead of God. We say we want to have the freedom of the Spirit in our gatherings, but when the time comes or He begins to touch people, there comes a fear and we shut the door and we miss engaging with Him. What this creates is insecurity. We can't find our centre and we are now spinning off course. Instead of us rotating around the son, we find that we are trying to make the son rotate around us. Things will never line up that way.

Where do we go from here? How can we fix the mistakes we have made in the past and not lose our purpose for presenting Jesus to this world? The situation now is twofold. First the normal church that we have been living with feels they have the right to speak and impose their beliefs on any and everyone without earning the right to do so. Where the "new" church is in a place where they want to be careful not to push anything of "spirit" encounter and only present a fairly plutonic relationship and social interaction. So what this brings us to is a place of dysfunction. Yes we are on a journey but the questions are do we know where we are going and will we get there? We must come to a place of engagement with the Spirit.

So what does all this have to do with the homeless? Well I think that all the groups that we have talked about are all looking for a home. We are all looking for the place where we can find Jesus in the house, a true authentic representation of the living God and one that meets the needs of the spirit as well as the flesh. We need a place where we can embrace the encounter of God and still have a practical expression of the heart of Jesus to those who are in physical need. I really think this is the home the Lord wants to build for his people. It's nothing more than what Jesus did while he walked the earth. He fed the hungry and drove out demons. He washed their feet and he raised the dead. He gave them water and he healed their diseases. This was and is the ministry of Jesus. I think you have to have both.

I am a strong believer in Romans 1, where it say's the natural things of the earth speak of the invisible realm. We have so many issues that have come to light in this last season of time; the cry for justice rings out, homes for the homeless, human trafficking, sex slave markets and many more issues. In the unseen realm it's the same thing. People are being bought and sold for their perceived value. We have been to churches that bribe people to be part of the "vision" of the church, telling them that they are part of a special group that will entice others into the body. These are the same people who orchestrate their presentations to seduce people into the fold; they make sure that only the young and beautiful are in a place where the camera will show them off and all of this to sell what this person has for the benefit of someone else. The end result is slavery to a master who leaves you empty and spent. The whole area of taking people for what they can do for you has been the forte of the status quo. All in the name of the kingdom, but in truth it is nothing more than a desire to fulfil the lust for power and success. Not a good way to help people. We need to find a home.

Not long ago we were speaking at a church. We were in the prayer room with the ministry team when one of them prayed out, "Lord please help us, we really need you". When that was prayed the presence of the Lord came on me, he began to speak to me about his love for the body and how his heart was to show them his love and compassion. He desired to touch them in all ways and would not hold back what he had for them. I changed what I was going to share and built my talk around that word that I had heard. The results were this, one person found Jesus that morning, one person (that we know of) was physically healed of a real back problem and pain left her. The congregation had an encounter with the Holy Spirit that touched them in as many different ways as there were people there. It was a rich time of encounter with the Lord. Also the offering that followed was better than normal which allowed the church to continue meeting the needs of those who were in need. I think that is pretty much the whole package. It wasn't Suzie and me; it was God taking his place in the house. When he did everyone felt like they were in a safe place. I think they felt they were home. Nobody ran from the encounter, they embraced it.

This is a big deal guys, God wants to embrace his people. He wants us to find a place of rest with him, a home. I know that the insecurity we feel is from trying to replace his ways with ours. But if we can turn our preconceived ideas of what we think is going to happen and allow Jesus to have his way we might be pleasantly surprised by what takes place. To me it's a lot like trying to teach your kids to do something that they think they don't want to do. I remember several times when we were trying that with our kids; swimming, skiing, even riding a bike all fall into that category. I can still hear them crying and saying no they didn't want to do it. But once they encountered success it was a different story. Once we took a youth group up to the mountains for a ski weekend. After the first day both of our kids came to us and said "thanks so much for making us learn when we were young". The end result was really fulfilling, what was at one time a fearful encounter, now was a time of fun and freedom to experience all the mountain had to offer. There is a freedom that comes from finding your way in the Spirit, tasting the full flavour of what God has to offer. Jesus speaks of it, Jn. 14, it is better for me to go so He can be with you. Acts 1 when the Spirit comes he will fill you with power. If these are some of the things Jesus says about engaging with the Spirit maybe we should make some effort to join in.

Look at the death of Jesus, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. The room that was off limits except once a year (and even that was a limited offer) was now open. I take that as an offer to come on in and dwell in the house. It's an offer to make yourself at home, no longer a stranger but a friend of God, a member of the family. It's a place to interact with the Father, to learn what it is to be with Him, a place to become familiar with all of His ways and get to know His personality. This is really a call to find a home in Him. There is a peace in the presence of the Lord; we just need to come home to find it.