I was reading some posts about guns and violence and protests and all manner of things that belong to this world. One post asked, “What is the institutional church doing about this?”
That caught my attention as the term “institutional church” is an oxymoron. The church is an organism not an institution. It is a living thing. It is composed of followers of Jesus Christ. It’s people.
While many may think that I should be institutionalized (there is mounting evidence in support of this); I am not entangled in an institution. The church reaches out into the world with love. The church proclaims the truth when the world desires to blind you to it. The church connects with people and invites them to inclusion in the fellowship of believers.
The church is not an exclusive club but an inclusive fellowship. Have some churches gravitated to the institutional mode? Yes. They are making their own funeral arrangements. The church is made for mission. It is not an institution.
The problem in our nation, and in other places but acutely in our own country, is that people say Jesus is their Savior but don’t want him as Lord. “I’ll take that salvation but don’t want to have a Lord in my life. That’s so retro.”
Many have left the church that meets faithfully, serves responsively, and grows in God’s grace continually. They declare that they are doing their own thing. God has prescribed family but some desire to be on the sidelines or just commentators of what the remnant are doing.
So, if we answer the initial question, eliminating the word “institutional” we find that the church is going into the world with love and hope and calling people into fellowship—at least part of the church is. The other part is parked securely on the sidelines and has taken upon itself to be the umpires and critics of those on the playing field.
The church that receives the Lordship of Jesus Christ responds with love. That church is not oblivious to the violence in the world but offers a solution that does not wait on government. The church calls all to love one another. That is our command from our Lord.
So many continue to thrive on vitriol, but the church still offers peace.
So many still promote condemnation of those who don’t see things their way, but the church invites all to fellowship.
So many choose hate, but the church is still about love.
What’s the church doing? It is following the command of Jesus to love one another. We do it without apology for not jumping on the bandwagon of the week. God’s love is forever. Our ministry is for all. We desire to connect with the lost and those who have just lost their way. We pray that they will come and be included in a family of faith. We long so much for them to know the fellowship of believers.
That’s what the church is doing, at least in this small part of the world.
