Organ- ...ism vs ...ization

I find church to be a very baffling and frustrating place. Despite all the books and articles I have read on the subject (and I've read many); despite all the church seminars and training sessions I have attended (and I've been to a lot); and despite all the advice I have been given by church leaders and "experienced" pastors (and I've received a lot); church remains an enigma to me. Of all those things just mentioned, the ones that resonate the most and make sense to me are those writers, speakers and advisers who see the church as an organism rather than an organization. When the church is presented to me as an organization and if you do these 8 things or take the following 4 steps, you can change the church's direction, experience has shown me that it "ain't gonna work."

I don't profess to be a theologian. My educational training wasn't in theology, doctrine and polity (government) of "church," though I have certainly taken classes and attended conferences/seminars on such. My educational training has been in the area of psychology/counseling and education. What I have discovered, after coming back into pastoral ministry, is that church, and pastoral ministry, is mostly about counseling (healing/wholeness/holiness) and educating (discipleship). Yes, theology, doctrine and polity do factor into this equation but I have found that it comes after the former has begun. And the reason, I believe, is because the church is made up of "organisms" - people, who think, feel, have opinions, and change those opinions, and grow/transform mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

So, because the church is an organism, it has the unruly and uncontrollable personality to be fluid. That's why at one church meeting everything is up, positive, hopeful, full of excitement and the next meeting it can be just the opposite; why a service can be charged with expectancy and celebration and the next be down and lethargic; why people speak highly and favorably about their church one week and the next complain and criticize. It's an organism, fluid, evolving, de-evolving, moving forward, stepping backward, responding to feelings and current situations and surroundings.

If the church were, in fact, simply an organization, then the leader/pastor could step in and say, "we're doing this" or "we're changing that" or "if you can't get with the program, change ships." Typically, pastors don't dare do that because, if they did, the church board would say, "we're the crew of this ship and we're throwing you overboard. You're out of here!" Of course, I am aware that many churches DO infact see themselves as an Organization, not as an Organism, even though their language includes phrases like, "we are part of the Body of Christ," "one part is not more important or better than another part of the Body," "we are one in the Spirit," "our purpose is to glorify Christ," etc. Saying so does not make it so. And when a church thinks of itself as an organization, then its emphasis is on maintaining itself so that it will survive, no matter what. "Maintenance" is about keeping the status quo, it's about what makes "me" comfortable and meets "my" needs. Maintenance resists change and risk because that involves developing different perspectives, thinking outside the box, letting go of some, if not many, of the things that we hold dear about "our" church.

Jesus calls us to "go and make disciples," which is about missions and outreach. Missions, the opposite of maintenance, pushes us outward; it's about change and "others" and reaching "their needs." The church suffers from what I call the "MUT" syndrome (or is it "sin"drome?) - maintenance churches are about Me (first, then) Us, (then) Them. However, a church that is stretching and working in fulfilling God's call is a "TUM"s church - Them (first, then) Us, (and, last) Me. There are far too many MUT churches out there and not enough TUM churches. Maybe that's why the world, and especially the USA, is suffering from such intense indigestion towards the church!

I say all this because, well, I don't know, really. I've been doing a lot of reading lately that has been stirring my thoughts and thinking about the church (books like "The Forgotten Ways" and "What Bothers Me Most About Christianity" and "Angry Conversations With God, to name a few). Of course, being that my "vocation" involves the church, I live it first hand. I'm not sure how I go about changing the way "church" people think about themselves as the Church, or about themselves as being a part of the Church, for that matter, but I do believe that that is one of the important things that I, as a pastor, am called to do. I can't help but wonder, and am compelled to believe, that there is greater power to change the world through an organism (the Body of Christ) than there is through an organization (the church with its polity and hierarchy).

While sitting at my table at Penera Bread I noticed a great banner hanging in the window. I want to steal the banner. (OK, not steal, just borrow). If I didn't know where I was, I'd almost think I was at a place of worship where followers of Christ gather. The banner says, "Refresh, Restart, Renew." Isn't that what Church, the Organism, is all about? Isn't it to be a place where people can come to refresh, then restart and renew their lives - with Christ and in the world?

I would make two additions to the banner, I think. I would have it say:

The Church: A Place To -

Refresh, Rethink, Restart, Renew.