It May Sound Cliché...

I have never been a fan of church marquees. It just always seems to me that so many of them went up in a hurry without any true thought going behind them. I read some of them and have to wonder where in the world they found such a bad one liner. Irregardless of how I feel, there is a church marquee that most of us have read. As cliché as it may sound there is a whole lot of truth to it.

I write this on the heels of news that broke just recently about a couple of megachurch pastors who have resigned for various reasons. The last one stated that he was tired, broken, and had been leading on empty for months. As I reflected upon his reasoning I couldn't help but wonder how many authentic relationships he had around him. How many people did he have in his life where he could be real. You know...the ones you can tell anything to without judgement. The ones who will pray for you in your struggles and actually know your struggles. The people who don't need the facade, the mask, or the celebrity self. I also wonder what in the world the rest of his staff was doing during all of this (or if he was one of those guys who felt the need to control everything). It served as a reminder of why we need to rediscover koinonia.

In Acts 2:42 we read that the people who came to know the Lord had devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching AND TO THE FELLOWSHIP. The Koinonia. It wasn't enough to simply believe. It wasn't enough to say that this was their new community. They were all in - all the time. They went from house to house. They shared life together. They committed themselves to the building up of the family. They prayed, the sang, they communed, the lived in a constant state of koinonia (shared life/fellowship/your part).

What we have witnessed in these resignations is the lack of genuine fellowship that we are supposed to share. Most of these megachurch pastors feel the need to be good CEO's rather than pastors. They step way outside of the calling and move into an executive role within the Body of Christ. The problem is, in my opinion, is that most of these guys got into ministry because of genuine call and a need to influence the lives of people. Taking on such a huge task means that their calling, their vocation, has little to do with relationship and more to do with reputation. Many of them get caught up in speaking at conferences, writing books, making public appearances, and the like. It's rare for these men and women to have actual relationships with the people that sit under their teaching. The koinonia is lost for them and it has been replaced by the corporation.

What's missing? U R!

I realize that in western society, in particular within American Christianity, we have grown accustomed to our current church models and structures. It's so ingrained within us that we honestly don't know how to function outside of the regular Sunday Christianity. We have come to expect buildings, expect programs, expect multi-layer staff, and expect big productions when it comes to church. Without much engagement on our end at all. We can come and receive what we have paid good money to receive. Plugging into the Body is really only something that we do when we want. Can you imagine what the Early Church would have looked like if they had our consumer mentality?

The Body needs U.
There are gifts and callings that U possess.
There is a part of the Lord that U carry that only U can give expression to within the church.
If U R missing then WE are missing out.

It's time for the members to step off of the sidelines. To let the leaders know that they can be counted upon. To engage in authentic relationships and stop playing church. It is time for the Body of Christ to become the community that we were always meant to become rather than be de-legitimized within the world. They need us and we need them. But we have to give them something they have not experienced: KOINONIA.

I know we have talked about this before, but I will continue to talk until this dream within the Father's heart becomes a living breathing reality among us. This is our journey. Let's go there together.