The Meeting-Centric Church

The following is an excerpt from Marc Lawson’s book, “The 166 Lifestyle”.  So far it has been one of the most concise descriptions of what we are pursuing and what we stand for.  I highly, highly recommend purchasing the book.  This article is long and comes from chapter 2: “The Meeting-Centric Church”.  If you are legitimately interested in seeing Kingdom transformation in your life and city, this is one of the foundational truths that will get you there.

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In Matthew 4:17, Jesus says, “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

Repent!  The Kingdom of God is at hand.  This is what Jesus first had to say.  He exclusively had one message to preach. Over 160 times, in nearly every story and parable, this Kingdom is mentioned.  Jesus was always talking about and referencing the Kingdom.  The Kingdom is not the Church, but the Church is supposed to be an expression of the Kingdom of the earth.  Is it?  Most places I look, I don’t see it.  Jesus said, “God is like this…the Kingdom of God is like…”

His statements absolutely confronted the religious system of the day.

He said repent (which simply means change the way you think and look at things); He didn’t say cry, sob, or run to the altar.  When we equate an emotional response with repentance, we will always get an outcome that doesn’t result in lifestyle change. Repentance moves people to affect a complete turning around and a change of mind, ways, habits, and intentions!

Here are some honest questions:  If the church leaders of today have the right message, then why does the response to their message appear to bring little to no change of habits, lifestyles, values, ethics, and morality?  And why do all the polls indicate that righteousness, morality, and cultural change is not only going the wrong direction in the Church but in our society as well?

Why in the early years of our nation could one preacher like George Whitefield or Jonathan Edwards with the right message be so effective in changing his culture, yet today, even with all the technological tools at their disposal, our leaders have such little success making that same difference?

I believe our present compromised system has helped fashion a compromised message. Most pastors whom I have known over the years, of churches small, big, and huge, are, by and large, like anyone else attempting to do God’s will.  Most feel like their job is akin to cleaning sand off of a beach.  Many are in survival mode or caution mode. If things seem great outwardly, “Don’t rock the boat”; if not, then, “We need to be careful.”  But these are not apostolic mindsets!  An authentic apostolic message will produce a real life-changing response, a change of mind, and a rending of the heart.

The Kingdom of Heaven (the regime, rule, and reign of God’s authority and dominion on earth–or anywhere–without limits) is at hand (which means right here, right now, in the midst of you, as plain as the nose on your face).  While this is plain and simple, we seemingly have a hard time having faith for something we can’t see.  However, Jesus said the Spirit was like the wind (see John 3:8).  You can see its effects and its force, but it is not visible to the eye.  He was talking of a real dimension right in front of all of us that could be accessed by faith, as He modeled for His followers.

In this world, the blind are blind, but in Jesus’ world the blind see!  In this world the lame can’t walk, but in Jesus’ world the lame can walk!  In this world the deaf need hearing aids, but in Jesus’ world the deaf can hear!  In this world, the dead are dead, but in Jesus’ world the dead rise!  Up is down, in is out, rich is poor, poor is rich, last are first, and first, last; it is a parallel dimension right alongside our fallen world, but the rules are different there!  There are no wheelchair ramps, no handicapped parking, no deaf section!  It is wrong that we spend so much of our life accommodating the failure of our faith and our lack of bringing in the Kingdom.

Jesus’ message was so against the flow of the religious establishment that they couldn’t deal with Him!

He tweaked all the religious elements in His culture.  Maybe we need to use His same approach since our approaches don’t seem to be helping us.

Today we have even the basic order and structure of the Church backwards.  Imagine getting one of those “assemble yourself” kits for a swing set or a BBQ grill or bike.  You take out the instructions that go A, B, C, D, etc. and are to be done in the “manufacturer’s order of assembly.”  You begin with F, then go over to Q, then make your way to D, and on and on.  How do you think that would work for you?  Not so great.

Paul wrote about how God designated things to be formatted in the Church:

“God has appointed these in the church: first, apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.” - 1 Corinthians 12:28

1. Apostles: senders

2. Prophets: seers

3. Teachers: searchers of the Scriptures

4. Miracles: doers of signs and wonders

5. Gifts of Healings: releasers of the supernatural

6. Helps: supporters

7. Administrations: providers of solutions

8. Varieties of tongues: receivers and speakers of heavenly mysteries

While most pastors are well-meaning people, they are frequently concerned with only two things: salvation and protection for the sheep.

Pastors and administrators may have done an admirable job in winning a huge section of the world to Christ, but I wonder what could happen if we really functioned according to God’s design.  Pastors, evangelists, and even administrators by and large are leading the American church, which leads to a church focusing primarily on what happens in and around the Sunday meeting, creating an atmosphere that is imbalanced spiritually.

With administrators, pastors, teachers, and evangelists at the helm, we have a meeting-centric faith based on an excellently packaged, entertaining Sunday meeting. In this church culture, the only time God does something is “at church”.  When does God speak, or when do we feel His Presence?  At church.

When we define ‘church’ as a meeting to attend rather than as the lifestyle of the believer, our faith becomes lopsided along with our view of God and how He operates.  Everything is about “the meeting” and “the service”.

We even back off on being too bold or aggressive because we might “run off people”.  It is as if the whole fate of the Church is resting on having a good service, a good meeting with excellent fluff.

GOVERNMENT PRIORITIES

Here is what this meeting-centric church culture looks like:

- Pastoral: people’s comfort and safety

- Administrative: things and money

- Teaching-focused: doctrine is what we teach, often in order to defend our territory

- Evangelistic: salvation message only

The perception of God in a pastoral government is primarily anxiety and fear. The great concern is losing what we have. There is also a fear that if and when any obstacles or opposition come our way, it indicates that the Lord is behind it, so this is “how He directs us”.  In addition, in this type of church culture or atmosphere, the supernatural is suspect and thought to be deceptive and unreliable.  With everyone protecting their turf, things things, and assets, there is no forward-advancing mentality.

And in this environment anything supernatural means, “You can be and probably already are deceived, so I will protect you from yourself.” A pastoral government is filled with anxiety and control.  Why?  By keeping you in line, you will continue to need me, your pastor.

The vast majority of people living in this kind of church are taught subliminally to stay powerless and mostly helpless, dependent on leadership.  In this atmosphere, many times good reasons are made up for suffering to keep the leader in his job.

In 1994, a church that I planted pulled out of a church-planting denomination that operated and had an atmosphere like this.  While it felt so strange to be leaving our supposed security and “covering”, within 10 days our church was caught up in a move of the Spirit that lasted over five years. We sent missionaries to Norway, France, Romania, Jordan & Israel.  Also, other churches and ministries were birthed from it.

When I pulled out of one thing, I wasn’t exactly sure what we were going into, but I knew God was doing it.  I knew we needed to get out of the old and into the new. While it was a major shift and shock, we have been pursuing it ever since.  We had to make a decision to move forward for the Kingdom.  I look back on that decision now, and it was absolutely not the safest or most comfortable way to go.  But there has to be a resoluteness, a determination in us that old ways must give place to the new.

“…He takes away the first in order to establish the second.” – Hebrews 10:9

The absence of a Kingdom or overcoming mentality in churches helps create an attitude of, “We are only lowly sinners working out our salvation…we’re not fulfilling our calling, for how can we know His will?   We are just lowly servants waiting for further instructions.”

[In the coming spiritual Civil War], like in the American Civil War, it would put brother against brother, and would be over the issue of spiritual slavery, to end the injustice on these ministry “plantations”. [There is a coming meltdown] of the giant “ministry plantations” where most of the Body is in slavery to a few…for many of these institutions it was over a long time ago.  To relish or adhere to the ways of man versus the ways of God is a dangerous trap and is [a snare to those who do it].

Jesus said, “…thus you nullify the Word of God for the sake of your tradition”(Matt. 15:6).  The devil uses these things and the lusts of man to trap people into the world’s system of operation.  This causes people to compromise their entire “way of doing business”.  They attempt to fight the devil, but he already has them snared in his ways.

One of the reasons people get burned out from going to church is that they were told a number of stories that never came true.  I don’t mean the wonderful testimonies of God’s love and mercy but just an idealistic and unrealistic view of living that revolves only around “going to church” instead of being the Church.  This happens as we are reasoning in our hearts, not just our minds.

‘And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?” – Luke 5:21-22

The main reason for this double-mindedness is their need to resort to reasoning things out rather than hearing and obeying by faith.  The problem is made worse by taking that reasoning out of their heads where it belongs and bringing it into their hearts.  Because it is with our hearts we are to believe, not with our heads! We will believe using only our logic and brain power.

“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” – Romans 10:10

To resort to reasoning in our minds is simply prideful mental gymnastics to make sure we cover all our bases in case God doesn’t come through.  One of the weirdest things is many times people do this especially when God authentically and legitimately speaks to us, when they have been given an authentic word from God about something.  But unfortunately then they attempt to bring it to pass, do it in their own strength and with their own abilities.

“This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?  Are you so foolish?  Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” – Galatians 3:2-3

The Greek word for reasoning is dialogizomai, where we get the English word dialogue, which means ‘a conversation between two or more persons; an exchange of ideas or opinions on a particular issue.’

Here is a breakdown of the Greek word:

- dia: through, on account of, because of;

- logizomai: to reckon, consider, regard, suppose

To give ourselves over to reasoning is to entertain an argument with God in our heart:  How am I gonna do that? or Are you kidding me?  Do you know what it will mean if I have to do that?

Peace begins to come as we learn to acknowledge and obey truth, but peace is only truly realized when we submit to the Person (Jesus) who is the Truth.  When we learn to obey Him and His Word, we can begin to walk in that peace.

And as mentioned earlier, fear rather than peace is the prevailing atmosphere in most churches that are built around the meeting-centric culture.

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