Welcome to Part 1 of the weekly release of my book, Unless God Builds It: A Proposal to Radically Rethink the Church. In this opening section, I share my personal journey of wrestling with the traditional church system, and why I eventually had to admit that despite my best efforts, it was leaving me spiritually empty.
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Herein lies a proposal to followers of Christ everywhere to radically reimagine this thing we call “church.” I believe that what has been modeled for most of us is actually a far cry from God’s original intent.
Make no mistake about it—the Body of Christ is designed to reveal Christ’s glory. It is designed to build itself up until every member is radically transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. If you’ve never considered what that actually would look like, I encourage you to do so now. Take your time and imagine what the result would be if every Christian were truly matured in love, knowing and manifesting Christ in great measure. Surely, it means a lot of amazing things, but here are just a few:
Everyone’s needs (both spiritual and material) are met because we all take care of one another.
Individuals in the Church rarely get offended because God’s people are so forgiving and selfless.
Brothers and sisters in Christ experience deeper fellowship with each other than is possible in any other kind of earthly relationship (including family).
Each person in the Body is truly known because they are open about their lives and are encouraged and corrected in an atmosphere of love, leading to genuine maturity.
The Church grows organically, both in numbers and in spiritual maturity, not because it finally learned the principles of business and marketing, but because God’s character and power are being manifest through his people.
Every believer learns to walk by the Spirit, to live a fruitful life while at rest, and to serve a vital role in helping their fellow believers walk by the Spirit as well.
Christians endure suffering with true joy, understanding their purpose on earth with full clarity.
Broken families are restored, addictions are healed, unity replaces division, anxiety and depression become peace and joy.
The power of God is regularly manifest via signs and wonders that only the Spirit can perform.
The entire Body experiences the abundant life that God promises us in Christ.
What an awesome vision! What a worthy aspiration! This vision is not a pipe dream; rather, it is exactly how the Body of Christ is meant to operate. I tell you, the Bride of Christ is so beautiful that the God of the universe longs to be married to her. However, I believe that Christ will not return until his Bride is mature (see Revelation 19:7-8; Ephesians 4:13, 5:27; 2 Peter 3:11-12), so it’s maturity that we’re after.
Deep within every Christian—whether they realize it or not—are desires for this, for something more fruitful and more fulfilling than they’ve ever known or dreamt possible. But these desires will never be satisfied by thinking and operating the way the vast majority of the Church thinks and operates today. Thus, I am not here to convince you that the Church isn’t fully mature yet and that there is still much for us to do. I think most of my readers will sense this already. My goal, rather, is to convince you that the ways, the means, the methods, the model, or the mode of operation that we have defaulted to for a long time needs serious revision—a kind that few in our day have dared to entertain.
Certainly, we can agree that there are yet disciples to be made, churches to plant, a message to be shared, fruits to bear, works to be done, etc. But can we agree that our normal ways of accomplishing these things are flawed? Can we agree that the way the Church tends to organize herself and go about her activities is misguided—yes, even counterproductive to our shared goals? Can we agree that there is, in fact, a better way, which God intends to show us, which will require that we let go of many things we hold dear? My goal is to persuade you that these things are true. I simply ask that you consider all I have to say before making any judgments.
I Tried the System
I understand how bold, even arrogant, this may sound. Really, I do. But the Lord knows that I have come to the conclusions in this book through the only way that one can truly understand anything—that is, through humility. I did not get here by thinking to myself, “I am wise. I know a better way. Let me tell them all why they are wrong.”
Instead, I ran the usual course. A bit like King Solomon, I tried the conventional wisdom. I gave the Church and its leaders the benefit of the doubt. I believed they knew what they were doing, and I followed suit. I served my church heartily, working within the system, seeking the Lord’s help, fine-tuning and tweaking and experimenting with whatever I could to produce more biblical and gratifying results. But it did not work. It did not satisfy. And this is not because I failed to give it a good college try.
Were there occasional breakthroughs? Small “wins” here and there? Sure. Was God still working in our midst? Of course. Still, I could not shake the feeling that something was off, and slowly but surely, my hope that this lackluster churchianity would somehow work itself out if we just kept trying harder began to dwindle.
The truth is, there was no other church I had seen or heard of that was different enough to intrigue me. Despite their variances in size, theology, ministries, and so forth, they all appeared to fall terribly short of that divine vision of maturity that the Scriptures set forth in my heart. And the longer I served within the system, I became increasingly fearful that if I continued the course I was on (that most Christians are on) within the Church—repeating the same patterns, employing the same wisdom, over and over again—there would never be that magical moment I was waiting for where things just click and change, where my experience of Christian community becomes as meaningful and fulfilling as I knew it was meant to be. Instead, somehow I knew that I would end up being woefully disappointed years down the road, wishing I hadn’t spent so much time chasing my tail. Or worse, I would find myself settled into the domesticated version of Christianity I was trying to avoid.
So, that’s where it started. I had tried the wisdom and ways of the Church as we know it, and it proved itself empty. It left me unimpressed. That was not pride but sincerity, which I believe we owe to ourselves, to God, and to one another. In sincerity, I came to God often (as I still do), saying, “I don’t know the way, but I trust that you can show me.” This is a divine privilege—and it is just as God intended—that he alone would be our Shepherd and our Teacher. And in return for looking to him, he began leading me down the path that I am still on today, which I am eager to invite you onto.
This path is not well-lit, nor is it well-paved. The map is under reconstruction—old and frayed, hard to read, and missing some vital elements that would make it a heck of a lot easier to read if we had them. But it is fun and freeing. It is wild and exciting. And God alone can get us to the destination, as each of us plays our part in this adventure.
Whatever kind of relationship you have with the Church—whether you are a pastor or a missionary, a staff member or a leader, a regular or irregular attendee, a church-hopper, a small-grouper, hurt by the Church, mad at the Church, hopeful, content, disillusioned, or dumbfounded with the Church—this message is for you. You, a Christ-follower, are on this earth for one explicit purpose—to build up the Body of Christ, of which you are a vital member. Please take a moment to reflect on that statement. (We will talk about it more later.) It is your prerogative to care immensely about the way the Church functions and the way you function within it, for it is inextricably linked to who you are, what you were made for, and how fulfilling your life will be.
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Questions for the Comments:
Have you ever felt the same “quiet ache” or dissatisfaction with the traditional church system that I described in this section?
When you imagine a fully mature, Spirit-led Body of Christ, what is the most beautiful aspect of that vision to you?
Want to discuss these topics with other like-minded believers? We regularly explore the theology of the Church, discipleship, and spiritual growth in our monthly Community Calls. It’s a great place to connect—upgrade to a paid subscription today to get access!
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In Christ,
Jake