Jaybrams.com

(part one: here)

Church should not be the fulfillment of ministry in your life, rather it should be an extension of your lifestyle of ministry.

If I’m going to “live by” certain maxims, I have to at least mull over what it means for various areas of my life. Its fine and dandy to say something to encourage or challenge others, but if I don’t run with and own it, I’m a hypocrite. If I am adamant in my belief in the value of the statement, I must move beyond pulling it out of my back pocket only when it is convenient to make a point or justify a thought process. There must be some level of commitment or change.

So how should this particular personal-adage manifest in my life?

Church-Leaving: Over the last several months we have watched as our personality and that of our “home” church has slowly drifted in different directions. I think the church we were attending does a good job at several things, but lacks in the areas that are most important to us. We have served faithfully, but we are moving on.

The difficulty in leaving a church lies at the very heart of the fulfillment/extension relationship. If church is only one singular avenue by which I minister, then anything short of heresy or blatant disregard for the foundations of the Christian faith is acceptable. Living so that my life fulfills the ministry He lays on my heart means that I do not wait for the local church to provide an opportunity nor do I need their approval of outpouring of His ministry in my personal life. Obviously the time I spend ministering within the local church is subject to the local church’s guidelines, but anything beyond is governed directly by God, His Word, and those in my life that He uses to keep me in check.

The implications, then, are that I do not have to seek a church that falls completely in line with my personality or style preferences. Using the previous parental analogy, I do not enjoy ballet, but if any of my daughters decide they want to pursue dance as an extra-curricular activity and it turns into a passion of theirs, then it becomes a big part of my life. I may not enjoy the actual experience, but I take joy in their fulfillment. Suddenly, style does not matter. Tradition does not matter. Programs do not matter. Musical tastes do not matter. Demographics do not matter.

So what matters?

Like-mindedness? The vision of every church is based on the Great Commission, or at least, in theory it should be. So like-mindedness isn’t an issue. Execution of the vision? Every church strives to fulfill the vision. Too many go about it the wrong way, but the hearts of leadership are generally in the right place. Besides, if the fulfillment of ministry does not rely on local church leadership, then shortcomings, in-and-of themselves, are not an excuse to leave a church. If we can trace the deficiencies to obvious character flaws, lack of true relationship with Christ, sin-filled lives, and so forth, then yes, they play a role in staying or leaving. But then again leaving over poor-execution means I never gave a damn about the people in the local church in the first place. When a leader falls short, we should be there to help and support him. Not to hide his failure, but to aide in the recovery. Not only his healing, but also in the resolve of other church members. Like-mindedness and execution of the vision, then, cannot be the sole reason for leaving.

We also cannot justify leaving a church based on the opportunities it creates for us to use the gifts God has individually given us. Faithfulness in execution of our gifts must extend beyond the available outlets in our local church. My wife is gifted in helping others learn, specifically as it relates to math. She’s tutored everything from middle school to college and has an unbelievable success rate. I do not know of many local churches who would provide her with a specific “tutoring” ministry, but she would be remiss to allow the lack of opportunity within the church to dictate her usage of the gift.

This shifts everything in my heart. What I used to see as viable reasons for leaving the church, when taken by themselves, are no longer valid. Then again, this is the third church I’ve left since adulthood; the first two were extenuating circumstances so I don’t have a lot of experience in the matter (the first I was asked to leave, the second was a personal sabbatical from ministry that formed much of the internal discussions I’m bringing to light now).

The conundrum created by pursing a lifestyle of ministry that is only extended (rather than fulfilled) via the local church is why we mulled over this decision for several months. But in the end it came down to two very related things: “is it home?” and “are we connected?”

The answer to both, is “no.” We’ve tried to make it feel like home, and we’ve tried to connect, but it hasn’t worked out for us. But how is that answer justifiable as it concerns the fulfillment/extension relationship? … in a word… problematic… at best. Again, that is why it was a several month decision. If we begin to live the way we feel we are intended to live… that is without restrain in the fulfillment of ministry, uncuffed, throwing caution to the wind… it becomes increasingly evident that we must have a home and a church family that supports us in word and helps us find rest for weary legs.

Is it a cop out? maybe on its own merit, just like any of the previously mentioned reasons. But when you combine it all… demographics, execution of vision, dis-connectedness, personalities,  the focus of the ministries available, conflicting areas we respectively hold in high regard… it all points to one thing: it’s time to move on.

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Category : Culture, Empyreal, Enabling, Sundays