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The main idea behind conVerge is that you have a mission and then you have a plan. For the most part, people agree on the mission. The mission is pretty simple, more people worshiping and following Jesus. That’s it. We can phrase it a lot of different ways, and the term mission has become popular because it’s helpful to not forget that this goal is a mission, but there is nothing new here. It’s what most Christians, nominal or not, have always claimed to be about.

Once you get past basic theological issues, I think disagreements always come down to the plan. What is the best way to get to more people worshipping and following Jesus? The answer to that question is what causes people to part ways. No one is ever going to be able to answer that question perfectly, but conVerge is going to make its best attempt. So far this has meant:

1)     Being the church. For whatever reason, people being the church causes more people to worship and follow Jesus. We’ve seen this so clearly in Ephesians this past summer. People want to follow Jesus because he is Truth. The best evidence of that is the changed lives of his followers, and that should be most evident through our community. Thus, we have to be the church without being detached from the world we are trying to reach. This makes some people uncomfortable out of fear that in caring for ourselves we will not care for the outside world. But that’s a tension we have to live in, because if we remove ourselves from community then we’re attempting to show Jesus to people on our own, and that’s not how he intended it. We can’t give people Jesus without also giving people his Body, which is the very fullness of Jesus. This is all in Ephesians.

2)     Building the church. If we just wanted people worshiping and following Jesus, then we wouldn’t have to build the church. We could just be the church and be happy that we’re saved and live a nice comfortable life however we please. This is where most Christians are. But the mission is more people worshiping and following Jesus. It’s that pesky word ‘more’ that causes us to disagree on what it is we are supposed to be doing. Some people don’t even believe that we should be concerned about more people (isn’t God Sovereign, they say), but again they need to read Ephesians. Time and time again Paul tells us to actively work to build the church and if you read the context he’s talking mostly about adding more people, not the personal growth of the people already there – not to say that’s unimportant. This should be Great Commission basic, but we keep having to defend it. Anyway, if you accept that the mission is about more people, then we’re caught in another tension of how do we hold fast to the truth while continually attempting to contextualize it to our culture. If you pretend like this tension doesn’t exist as people like Mark Dever do, I don’t think you’re taking building the church seriously. That’s why we’re missional-attractional. But at the same time, the whole counsel of Scripture much be preached, which will necessarily offend some.

3)     Give up your life to be and build the church. This is where we step on toes and it’s at this point that many people check out or leave all together. If being the church and building the church is what the mission of Jesus is all about, and if our whole reason for being here is the mission of Jesus, then we have to give our whole lives to that mission. Jesus himself said we would have to give up our own lives for the sake of the gospel. Being and building the church is who we are all day, every day. We can’t turn it on and off. It invades all of who we are and what we do. All our relationships are about the church. All our time and energy is spent being and building the church. It’s what drives our decisions about things big and small. Some people don’t like this. I think the biggest reason is they don’t want to lose control of their lives by submitting to the church, despite the fact that we’re clearly called to that in Scripture. Because of past sins and human imperfections people view the church as a flawed human organization and not the body of Jesus – an organized movement of Jesus followers. The local church especially is downplayed in favor of the universal church, without understanding that you can’t have one without the other. Others who don’t want to give up their whole lives for the church haven’t actually been changed by the gospel. They are just looking for an activity or two to check off their list and make them feel as if they’ve fulfilled some spiritual obligation. So many are trapped by this and do not realize it. But it’s not until the church invades your entire life that you’re beginning to live the life that Christ intends for his followers – you can’t do it outside the church. But once you submit to that idea and allow Jesus to start using you as a part of his Body, you’ll never be the same.

Posted on August 23rd, 2008 by nateschlomann
Filed under: Church