Built it and they will come
In the 1989 movie, Field of Dreams, starring Kevin
Kostner, the phrase 'build it and they will come', referred to a baseball
stadium. And, in that Hollywood production, they did indeed come.
I want to spend a few minutes this morning talking
about church. Our church. And when I refer to church, I am not talking
about the building(s), but about the congregation of people who make up a
church. We have been taught about the word 'church', and from where it was
derived, a Greek word, ekklesia, meaning "a gathering of people called (kaleo)
out (ek)". That same word is translated once as 'congregation' in Hebrews
2:12, and in Acts 19:32 and 41, it is translated as 'assembly'. In Matthew
16:18, that same word is translated as 'church'. If you look through a Greek
Bible (which I can not do because it is 'all Greek to me'), or if you use a
good Bible Dictionary or Concordance, you can find the several times this
Greek word is used and how it is translated to one of those three words.
Okay, English/Greek lesson is over. Let's get back to the subject at hand.
Build it and they will come. There are certainly
a tremendous number of churches that have been built here in the US alone.
Too many for one to fathom when Paul hints to us that there is only one church
(Eph 4:4-5 -- one body, one Spirit, one faith, etc). But, build one, and
people will come.
I was reading in Luke, chapter 7, this morning
about the children in the market place (verses 31-35). If you would like,
turn there now and read those five verses to help you understand the point I
am about to make. These children sitting in the market place were
complaining. They were disconcerted that no one danced when they played their
music. Now, I am not historian or expert in the history of Israel, but my
guess is that they were not very happy this one particular morning, because
they probably got paid for playing their wind instruments (piped) (probably at
weddings or other festive occasions), and singing their songs of sorrow
(wailing) probably at funerals or other times of dismay. And because the
people did not dance, I inferred that these children did not get paid as they
were sitting around in the market place complaining to one another. They
'built' songs of joy and sorrow, but yet the people did not come (dance).
There is plenty to glean from these story told by
Jesus, but I want to compare it to the saying, build it and they will come.
Jesus planted the first 'modern' church here on
earth when he appointed Peter as the cornerstone. Peter stood up one day and
started preaching (when he first became filled with the Holy Spirit at his
baptism by fire) and people came. Initially, it was just a few folks around
him (about 120) who believed in Christ; but by the end of that day,
approximately 3000 made up this initial church. A church was built and people
started coming to it. Reading the book of Acts, you will see 'the' church
expand to different locations (cities/countries). It didn't become several
unique churches, but just a group of congregations at different locations.
God's church was being built, and folks were streaming to it.
Today, although there is only one true church,
several thousand 'Christian' churches have evolved, with different portions of
the message being altered somewhat from that used in the first century. Yet,
build another one, and people will come. Sometimes, churches simply expand
and plant new 'branches' in various locations world wide. Sometimes, 'new'
churches are started simply because someone 'gets the calling to start one'.
Our church, once a part of the International
Churches of Christ which started "in a living room in Boston" (and was nothing
more than a 'new' church which evolved from an existing one), was built so
that people would come to it for the assistance in living a Christian life. I
almost wrote, "so that they could be saved", but that is not the purpose of
assemblies of Christians, congregations or churches. God saves, people in
churches help lead people toward that salvation and in living moral, Christian
lives. A lot of people came to the ICOC since 1979, and a lot of people have
left. Many have been saved during that process---some before, some during,
and I am sure, some in the future.
But right now, our small groups of congregations
in the Atlanta metropolitan area are not excelling in their missions. Even
though many people have come to the church in the past, fewer and fewer are
doing so.
I believe the church leaders in our small 'West
Cobb Ministry' probably feel a lot like the children to whom Jesus referred as
he relayed the story of them complaining to each other about their loss of
income (see above). Even though a church has been built, not many are now
coming to it. This causes concern by some, complaining by others and even
arguements amongst many. We have heard, or some of us have anyway, of
arguments, or better yet, let's call them disagreements, amongst some of our
leaders in the 'west' area (including East Cobb, West Cobb, Marietta,
Kennesaw, etc). They, like the children in the market place, have concerns.
Some of those concerns, I am sure are legitimate, caring concerns for those
folks in the congregations of which they are leaders. I would hope all of
them are, but I have doubts sometimes as I see more and more 'evangelists'
stop preaching simply because they are no longer on the payroll of the
church. Even though some are still 'piping and wailing', many are not
'dancing'. This bothers me (as I hope it does you.)
A church has been built. We KNOW what it takes to
be saved, and then to live a Christian life. The children in Luke 7 sat
around complaining that people didn't dance when they played. But instead of
doing anything constructive, they complained, and, as Jesus said, 'to each
other'. We "men (and women) of this generation" in our church (not just the
leaders of West Cobb and the other assemblies in the metro Atlanta churches)
need to grow up, and not be like those children. Complaining is one thing,
constructive action is another. Don't get me wrong. I complain. I also offer
suggestions for improvement. And, yes, when I feel my suggestions are
ignored, I complain more. YOU AND I are no different. We ALL are complaining
right now, and we are really not doing anything constructive to change our
plight. We have a great church even though we don't seem to think so
sometime. Solomon said that there is a time to laugh, a time to weep. I
think our weeping has gone on long enough. It is time to laugh again.
How are we going to do that? Laugh again. What
is it going to take to start building this church back up (so people will come
to it), instead of tearing it down? I challenge each and every one of you to
look into your hearts and see what you CAN do to help. After all, the heart
of the matter, IS, the matter of our hearts. Some have openly told me they
are planning on leaving the church. They have had enough. Heck, even I have
said that. But I am still here. I came to this church when it was
growing and I think it can be a church (a calling out of people) again. We
need to get back to discipling one another -- 'nothing gets done right unless
the boss checks on it'. We went to extremes, as a church, in accountability
(guests, tithing, d-times, etc), but now we have gone to the other
extreme...we need accountability in those things just as we need to have
accountability in our checking accounts. Leave it alone, don't check it, and
it will quickly become overdrawn. WE, are overdrawn right now, because no one
holds any of us accountable for anything when it comes to Jesus. One of the
things I offer for consideration is for more involvement in church decisions
by the masses, not just the few. I also believe that preachers should not be
paid a full time salary. There, I have said it in writing. I firmly believe
that full time payroll, means full time production. I flatly have not seen
that in our leaders in the past few years. I see preachers, PREACHERS, coming
to service at the last minute. I do NOT see elders, deacons and preachers
visiting the flock. The few years I attended ANY churches before joining the
ACOC, at least I saw that. I saw ministers show up at my front door to say
Hi. Hardly nothing more, but he was there as IF he was concerned about what
was going on my life. When is the last time you have seen one of our salaried
members visit others---not just a few close friends near his home, but others
far away from the herd where the wolf is lying in wait? I have not seen
full-time ministry folks have a lot of visitors at church either. It is not
too hard to follow a leader like that, but that won't build up the church,
either. How many of us 'common folks' have had even a telephone call from a
salaried 'worker' in our church, just to see what was going on (and not to
simply pass on a message of some kind)? I don't get them, so I doubt a lot of
you don't as well.
I hear about church funds being handled as if the
church was a business instead of a serving organization. I hear about legal
terms, retirement pensions, and camp money woes. I see outrageously huge
bills for a child to attend a 6 day camp. I see brothers meeting secretly to
talk about other people, and to complain to each other about what they see. I
hear about church leaders doing the same.
SEE, I DO complain. But I want you who are
reading this, to understand that even though I complain, I know it is similar
in other churches. Ours is just going through a very tumultuous time right
now. It will stay that way unless WE, as Christians concerned for each other
and others, DO SOMETHING about it. Complaining like market place kids is not
the answer, however.
What constructive suggestions can you come up with
to improve things? To borrow (and modify) a 60's phrase, "Ask not what your
church can do for you, ask what YOU can do for your church." I know the first
thing we can do is stop complaining. The second, is to call our leaders (that
IS, by the way, why we have those fine gentlemen called deacons) and offer
some suggestions for areas which you see need improving. After that, the list
is unlimited as to what we can do to improve our church. We need to rebuild
it, instead of tear it down. As you may have noted, I cc'd Rodney and Les. I
am not afraid of voicing my 'complaints' with either of them. And neither
should you. We do, however, have others who are positioned to help us in our
issues---the deacons and elders. I encourage you to talk with them if you DO
have issues. But, I also encourage you to offer suggestions for improvement.
As I said earlier, I see the heart of the matter,
that is, what the matter is with our church, is the matter of our hearts.
Many of us are too critical, and not forgiving enough. We judge our leaders
without knowing all the facts. We expect to get, instead of give, when it
comes to our congregation. We are not building up our church, we are tearing
it down, not only by leaving, but by our constant complaining. I want to
close this email with the lyrics to a song by the Eagles, as written by Don
Henley (I would sing it but then you wouldn't listen to it!!!). As you read
the words to this song, compare the person to whom the singer was talking, to
Jesus; and imagine you are the singer. The heart of the matter is that as we
tear down our church, we tear down Jesus. He is slowly disappearing from our
lives. Think about that as you read this song, but come back to the title of
the email, and let's see if we can take this church and turn it around,
because if we build it, they will come.
The Heart Of The Matter
by Don Henley
I got the call today, I didn't wanna hear
But I knew that it would come
An old true friend of ours was talkin' on the phone
She said you found someone
And I thought of all the bad luck,
And the struggles we went through
And how I lost me and you lost you
What are these voices outside love's open door
Make us throw off our contentment
And beg for something more?
I'm learning to live without you now
But I miss you sometimes
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning again
I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore
These times are so uncertain
There's a yearning undefined
...People filled with rage
We all need a little tenderness
How can love survive in such a graceless age
The trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness
They're the very things we kill, I guess
Pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms
And the work I put between us,
You know it doesn't keep me warm
I'm learning to live without you now
But I miss you, Baby
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I figured out, I have to learn again
I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But everything changes
And my friends seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore
There are people in your life who've come and gone
They let you down you know they hurt your pride
You better put it all behind you, baby; 'cause life goes on
You keep carryin' that anger, it'll eat you up inside
I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore
I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
Because the flesh will get weak
And the ashes will scatter
So I'm thinkin' about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore
Mac