Recently I ran into a gentleman that I attended church with a few years back. He was a leader in the church, as a matter of fact he had actually led the core group that started the church. Oh yeah, this was not a church plant it was a church split. By the way, about a year ago he left the church we attended together and started another church… not a church plant, another church split.

To my knowledge each “new” church was not the result of poor theology, worship style or even bad preaching. It was because the church leaders didn’t do things exactly the way he felt things should be done.

Needless to say our interactions since I became a part of NewSpring have always been strained. NewSpring, in his mind, would never be suitable because of worship style and the fact that people don’t wear ties to church (or some other external appearance rule). Here is the saddest part of all of this and why I had to write this… he never passes on an opportunity to either criticize my church (in a backhanded way) or our old church (in a very pointed and specific way… hoping I’ll affirm the comment). I’m afraid that he doesn’t see that many people who follow Jesus will not do so in a way that is to his liking. I’m afraid that he feels this so much that he can’t really see Jesus because of the rules and personal preferences he has set up in his life.

When we begin to mistaken following Jesus for attending a church that suits our needs we end up like the man CS Lewis writes about in Screwtape Letters:

Screwtape (lead demon talking to Wormword, demon in training) expands on developing church participation for evil ends:

“Surely you know that if a man can’t be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighborhood looking for the church that ’suits’ him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches.
The reasons are obvious. In the first place the parochial organization (the local church) should always be attacked, because, being a unity of place and not of likings, it brings people of different classes and psychology together in the kind of unity the Enemy (God) desires. In the second place, the search for a ’suitable’ church makes the man a critic where the Enemy (God) wants him to be a pupil.”

I am so grateful that Jesus came to make his disciples one (Ephesians 4:4-5). Church method and style is not really important. What is important is that the Jesus of the Bible is preached and offered as the only hope of this world. When a church becomes about our preferences it becomes no church at all and that is what the real enemy desires.

I’ll admit it. I’m a HUGE Rob & Big fan. Those guys crack me up. I know that probably surprises some of you (I think I can actually hear the “unsubscribe” buttons being clicked!), but I do love the show. One of the phrases that Big Black throws out when it is time for he and Rob to get something done is that it is time to “do work”.

The same is true in ministry. There are times… as a matter of fact… most of the time… it is time to “do work”. What Big means (and I strongly I agree with) is that there are just times when you have to roll your sleeves up and get to work. I’m talking about physical, sweaty, hit your thumb and cuss (hopefully not out loud) work. My mom used to call it using a little “elbow grease”. The reason this is true is that money and stuff (computers, cameras or any type of gear) will only get you so far.

NewSpring is a large church with some great resources now, but it hasn’t always been that way. The church was built on the sweat and effort of many people who were willing to “do work”. This mentality is just a part of our culture, especially in the production area. The guys I work with rarely provide an answer to a production challenge by rattling off all the stuff we need to buy. They are quick to respond with solutions that usually involve more effort. That is one of the main reasons I love Joel, Ken, Lee, Karla and their teams because they are willing to “do work”.

We have the good fortune to talk to many people from churches all over the country. They seek our advice or ask us questions on how we plan or how we pull off some of the things we do. This still blows all of our minds because we know that we are still in need of so much learning and experience ourselves. We love sharing ideas and providing help anyway we can.

But… here is what frustrates me with a few who seek our input. Many times our answers to suggestions involve some element of “doing work”… like hard, sweaty, get dirty, hit your head on a 2×4 and cuss… work. It is amazing how many people these types of solutions turn off. I have heard it said in response to some of our suggestions, “um… that’s a lot of work… so we probably won’t be able to do that”. What? I can understand answers like, “that is too expensive or we don’t have someone with that skill set or we don’t have enough time”. But I can’t relate to “that is too much work”.

That is the opposite of Jesus, isn’t it? He was the One who set the standard when it was time to “do work”.

I know ministry is hard and comes with all sorts of battles that have nothing to do with work, but when it is time and souls are on the line, don’t be a person (or put up with a person) who isn’t willing to “do work”.

In the preface of Crazy Love by Francis Chan he writes the following:

The core problem isn’t the fact that we’re lukewarm, halfhearted, or stagnant Christians. The crux of it all is why we are this way, and it is because we have an inaccurate view of God. We see Him as a benevolent Being who is satisfied when people manage to fit Him into their lives in some small way. We forget that God never had an identity crisis. He knows that He’s great and deserves to be the center of our lives. Jesus came humbly as a servant, but He never begs us to give Him some small part of ourselves. He commands everything from His followers.

I believe Chan is stating that EVERY decision we make ultimately speaks to how we view God.

Agree or Disagree?