Are we doing this wrong?

From the dawn of time have we been doing youth ministry wrong? I was challenged by this though all last week in at a conference called Verge. The conference in of its self was not about youth ministry but rather the "church" as a whole. Have we always done "church" right?

Common culture tells us that " The way we are doing Church is fine, this is the way we have always done it." Or is it?

In the book of Acts we find that the early church starts in homes (Acts chapter 2). Was this for a reason? Sure, Of course. We as a body of believers were and are made (created) for community i.e (if you have ever tried to spend a whole day or two by yourself you go bonkers...)

lets rewind of a sec and look at how we got here to our current state of church.

In comes Constantine.

The Roman Emperor Constantine the Great converted to Christianity following his victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312. Under his rule, Christianity rose to become the dominant religion in the Roman Empire, and for his example of a "Christian monarch" Constantine is revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodox Church. Not only the details of his adoption of Christianity make the religious beliefs of Constantine I interesting; theologians and historians alike have argued about the question to which form of Christianity Constantine ultimately converted, with regard to the legitimation of religious persecution.

Though Emperor Constantine I had been exposed to Christianity by his mother, St. Helena, there is scholarly controversy as to whether he adopted his mother's Christianity in his youth, or whether he adopted it gradually over the course of his life.^[1] Whatever the case, Constantine's endorsement of the tradition was a turning point for Early Christianity. In 313, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, legalizing Christian worship, and the emperor would be a great patron of the Church and set a precedent for the position of the Christian Emperor within the Church and the notion of orthodoxy that would be followed for centurie (Wikipedia)

Historians now debate whether "the first Christian emperor" was a Christian at all. Some think him an unprincipled power seeker. What religion he had, many argue, was at best a blend of paganism and Christianity for purely political purposes.

In short, In his attempt to mark his place in history he in some ways jacked church up for us. He created this ranking system. We not call that Pastor, Elders and everyone else. Sound familiar with the Catholic church's early days? Martin Luther? The job of a pastor is to equip the saints not rule.

Is there anything wrong with the way we do church? I'll remind us of some verses and you can let the Holy Spirit for your opinion.

Matthew 28:16-20 (New International Version)

The Great Commission

¹⁶Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^{a]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]} the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Matthew 9:35-38

The Workers Are Few

³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

He ain't talking about not having enough pastors...

IF we are so focused on being IN the church and being tough too rather than being the church, have we been doing this all wrong? The church building is a nessary evil. Is a pastor a nessary evil? Ha, maybe. We never find the title "Pastor" in the Bible, but we do find teacher. But in all truth what if all of the leadership in our modern day church's empowered the people to BE the church rather that coming to CHURCH. In retrospect ALL are pastors. All congragents and those who belong to Jesus are pastors! What if leadership made people do more church in there homes and encouraged them to be more active in sharing the gospel in the work place and in there free time rather than creating activities to occupy their time? Would we have more people hearing about Jesus? I hope.

Final though...

Revelation 2

To the church in Ephesus

¹"To the angel^{a]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]} of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: ²I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ³You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. ⁴Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. ⁵Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

We can do everything "right" in our church's: Protect Doctrine, Sing Praises, not tolerated wickedness Etc,etc,etc. But, if we don't LOVE Jesus FIRST.. What kind of "church" are we?

Check these books out if your still lost....

The Forgotten Ways

" Alan Hirsch"

Organic Church or Organic Leadership

"Niel Cole"

Or search Missional Model Church