One Jewish carpenter. A hand-picked team of twelve working class Jewish men who were required to leave their occupations and follow the carpenter around the regions of Galilee. A message about the present reality of God’s kingdom. Miraculous cures of the sick: people raised from the dead. Spiritual eyes and ears opened by the life-changing message and the power of an unseen member of the Trinity accompanying them. Religious systems overturned and conservative theologians of his day unmasked as religious bigots, blind charlatans, imperialistic traditionalists. The weak, marginalized nobodies given priority over the powerful and wealthy elite of his day. Imagine being part of it all!
When Jesus asked the question of his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” he discovered that most people thought he fit the profile of a prophet. According to the disciples’answers, some thought he was John the Baptist back from the dead (beheaded just prior to the above conversation) and others felt he was a modern-day reincarnation of Elijah or Jeremiah. The most important question, however, was directed at the disciples themselves: “Who do you say that I am?” Peter’s famous response, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” was the right answer. It was a God-inspired response, to which Jesus then declared, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
And yet in the brief years of his public ministry, Jesus never planted, organized, established, or built anything remotely similar to what we might call a “New Testament church,” nor did he increase the number of his disciples beyond the original twelve men. They were always with him together with a few other close friends like Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Amazingly, Jesus seemed content in this relatively small group of friends. Good dialog, deepening relationships, and geographical mobility blended together as Jesus and his friends casually meandered from town to village to open countryside. They lived together and learned together. They made mistakes and they often lacked faith and all of them fled for their lives when things fell apart…and they were forgiven…together.
They were being groomed for a mission: to announce and proclaim what Jesus called “the good news” about God’s kingdom.” At the same time, he performed miracles among those facing unbelievable hardships of disease, disability, and death. When Jesus finally sent his disciples on that mission to the “lost sheep of Israel,” they followed the example of their Master: they drove out demons, healed the sick, raised the dead, pronounced judgment in the towns and villages that proved unreceptive to their message about the nearness of God’s kingdom.
Jesus and his disciples did not go to church on Sunday, although Jesus could often be found in the synagogue on the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) and he taught daily in the Jerusalem temple toward the end of his ministry. But he was also just as comfortable in the home of tax collectors and the riff-raff of society. It was rightly observed—whether in the synagogue, temple, or hillside—that he taught as one having authority, unlike the teachers of the law (Matthew 7:29; Mark 1:22). He went where people gathered and people seemed to gather wherever he went; and continuously he proclaimed or heralded or spoke about “the good news” (or “gospel”) of the kingdom. Simultaneously, he seemed to “lock in” on the needs of those around him, performing all manner of miracles in their lives and demonstrating God’s compassion for them. His message was validated by his practical ministry in their lives.
In all of the conferences, seminars, workshops, retreats, and training events I’ve attended over the years, no one has ever really connected the dots from the life/ministry of Jesus to whatever-you-call-it campaign or methods being offered. I wonder why?
Could it be that most people don’t really care?
BTW, I’d be very interested to know how many people are subscribing to your blog. It’s gotta be in the hundreds by now.
Bill,
You are writing some timely and insightful articles that are touching a pleasant nerve. How did we ever get away from the simplicity of the New Testament and the example of Christ and the book of Acts?
I noticed that you are not providing funding to ministries. I suppose I can forget your sending me a love offering for the new church gymnasium, health equpment and McDonalds restaurant we are building? We’ll name a treadmill after you if you donate!
Hi, thanks for mentioning PodBible in your links, as a project run from a small church we rely on people doing this to get the readings found and used.
I suspect Jesus would be in church on Sunday, after all he attended synagogue often enough, but usually he ended up shocking people by doing the “wrong thing” like healing someone. So, for me the question your post raises is what sort of “wrong thing” would Jesus do if he visited my church!?
Ben: I suspect you may be right. At least in my former SBC upbringing, most preaching focuses more on Paul and his epistles (plus what he did in Acts) rather than Jesus. Why not read Paul in light of Jesus’model for ministry?
John: I would consider donating, but only if you put in a Starbucks and name a coffee beverage after me.
Tim: You’re welcome. I love the podBible. The amazing accent alone is worth listening to!
Obviously, it’s just speculation on our part, but I don’t think Jesus would be “in church” because (a) he wouldn’t consider it an effective use of his time, and (b) he wouldn’t be welcomed after he told most church leaders what he thinks of their Sunday morning religious clubs and programs. No, I think he would be hanging out with the marginalized and the sick and the needy.
And we thought we’d done well getting so many different accents, from Europe, Asia, the Pacific Islands and even the USA as well as the basic Kiwi ones
On Jesus, I’d be pretty sure that (a) wouldn’t enter the equation, he just didn’t seem too concerned with efficiency, on (b) I guess it depends on the church, and I’ll admit I’ve never been part of a perfect one, but most have had their fair share of sick, needy and marginalised – though some of those have had “nice” middle class white skins to disguise the reality.
One thing I’m sure of though is that I’ve met him more in the places and people that have most awareness of their needs. In Congo people really knew how to give thanks – even for a glass of water or a piece of bread, while most Westerners don’t even know how to be thankful for a feast – we seem to think we earned it! And my colleague and his wife with their two handicapped kids really shine with Jesus presence… but they say they got the strength to carry on through their church (to an outsider like me it seems an ordinary sort of place though).
Tim: By “effective” I simply meant that Jesus would probably rather spend his time with people, rather than sitting through the various “institutional church” meetings that we, at least in the Western world, feel are so important to our concept of church. I don’t mean to dispute the presence of needy people in those meetings, but I do question whether Jesus would heartily endorse our often-ritualistic concept of “going to church” as a legitimate vehicle to meet those needs and extend his kingdom throughout the earth.
Can God speak to people and minister his grace to them in the midst of such gatherings? Certainly! But when your colleagues give testimony of gaining strength from their local church, I would hope they’re referring to the love and support showered upon them by the collective members of that local body, not the meetings per se.
My natural, knee-jerk, reaction would be to agree with you, especially since you use emotive terms like “meetings” (as a teacher I have a deep rooted aversion to more “meetings
On the other hand I have both received myself and seen such support given to others in church – by which I mean a local gathering of Jesus’followers. I am from the tradition stemming from the radical end of the reformation, so I do not see an institution when I hear “church” I think of such a gathering of people.
Admittedly these gatherings are often (as with all human activities) less Christlike than we would wish, but they are also on the other hand despite that one of the main places which nourish my faith.
Perhaps our discussion is as simple as when we hear “church” you think of an institutional structure, I think of a bunch of people ! ?