What Does Mater and Church Have in Common?

by Josh Duncan 

I'd like to suggest that within the church (American church generally speaking) we've been doing things backward for quite a while. I believe the church is actually like Mater from Cars... we'd just prefer to drive backward instead of forward. Truthfully, again like Mater, we're better at driving backward than forward. What am I talking about?...

When Jesus left us with the task of carrying on His mission, He made two statements (along with dozens others) that are important for us to understand. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, "He (Jesus) would build His church." Then, in Matthew 28:19, He told us to, "Make disciples." The problem is that in our efforts to seize the mission of Jesus, we've been trying to accomplish the mission backward. We attempt to build or maintain the church and then make disciples. By the "church" I mean the focus we place on buildings, services, programming, and the organizational structures and routines of church.

Honestly, this is what most established and even new churches do in America. Most of my church planting training actually trained me to start a church backward! The intentions are often good... we want to seize the mission of Jesus. However, even new churches if they aren't careful, will end up functioning backward. I've learned that if you start out focusing on church (as described above), you'll rarely, if ever, get around to making disciples, but if you focus on making disciples, Jesus will naturally build His church.

The fix, while it isn't easy, is both significant and necessary if we're going to truly join God in His mission. We must stop thinking and behaving backward. Does your pattern of thinking and behaving focus more on "church" or making disciples? What about your church? If you're a pastor or church planter, will you do this Jesus' way? Seriously. Every disciple, pastor, and church needs to deal with this question. Will you stop trying to accomplish the mission backward?

Recovering Churchoholic

by Josh Duncan

I'm a recovering churchoholic... By this, I mean I was actively involved in the activities that took place at the church building. I was consistently there Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, and any other time something was going on. I was an avid churchgoer and even worked hard to get others to go to church with me.

Before I say anything else, let me say that I'm so thankful for my past experiences. Without them, God wouldn't be moving in my life the way He is now. Nevertheless, I must be brutally honest about how God is now moving in my life...

Here's the ugly part of my church-going days and the truth I'm willing to say that most avid church-goers won't... I was a much better church-goer than I was a biblical disciple of Jesus. Honestly, being an avid church-goer was much easier than what I'm currently experiencing... easier, but not better. Let me explain.

Jesus never told me or you to go to church. He never told us to sell out to the church, be actively involved in all the services, bible studies, and activities of the church. You may ask, "Doesn't the Bible say we shouldn't forsake the assembling of ourselves together?" Yes. It does: Hebrews 10:24-25. However, the church as we've come to know it (generally speaking) is not what we're told to not forsake.

If you really want to look at this verse, it tells us what should be happening in these meetings... People encouraging one another to follow Jesus... We see this all throughout the book of Acts... People interacting with people through teaching, prayer, meeting needs, etc.

Where in Scripture do we see church described as an impersonal, mostly non-relational setting, where a few "expert professionals" spend a majority of their efforts preparing, organizing, and leading services so that the other 80-90% of people can merely consume what's being provided? I can say this because I was one of those people pushing the church agenda. I didn't realize my own selfish motives and insecurities until God exposed how many of my decisions were rooted in things other than making disciples.

Now, sermons, music, ministries, programs and some of the things we've come accustomed to aren't necessarily wrong. To some degree they can be important and helpful, but that isn't what the Bible defines as church. Our denominations and life-experiences may teach us that this is church, but Jesus doesn't. He actually says things like... Matthew 7:21-23 and Matthew 9:13. In these verses Jesus is basically saying, "I realize you did your church activities, but I never knew you personally as my disciple.

The real issue at hand is that most southern "Christians" identify more with their church than they do with Jesus. This is a major problem. Do you know what it means to follow Jesus? Can you describe what a surrendered life to Jesus looks like in terms other than being actively involved in the services and activities your church provides? Do you know how to talk to someone about Jesus without having to invite them to your church?

Why am I saying all of this? Because I reached a point where God was saying all of this to me. He was convicting me about my adherence to the church and my lack of surrender to His Spirit in my life on a daily basis. I was more focused on getting people to church than I was leading them to Jesus.

As I wrap this up, I'm assuming you are thinking one of a few things...

-This makes so much sense... If this is you, what are you going to do about it? Don't just agree with what I've said. Get on your knees before God, repent, and ask Him to move you in the directed HE wants. That's what I did, and I'm growing from it and leading my family much better! Additionally, consider connecting with Overflow Collective as we're processing through this together.

-I'm heavily involved with my church, and I follow Jesus... Good! I am too. Let's just make sure that we don't elevate our church involvement over following Jesus daily. Let's make sure we're sharing our faith with people who don't yet know Jesus and not merely hanging out as a Christian social club.

-This is ridiculous... If this is you, please just ensure your opinions are not based on your preferences or what you've come to know through your church, pastor, or denomination. Instead, ensure you're opinions are supported with a Kingdom/Gospel overview of Scripture centered on Jesus as Lord.