Part 2: What does it mean for the church to be a creature?
In the first part of this series, we recalled a simple fact: that although the church is a spiritual reality, it also remains “creaturely”, that is, a reality that is part of the world God has and fully involved with it. Just as you cannot be a Christian except by being an eating, sleeping, pooing, birth-to-death human being, you cannot have a church that is not a group of real human beings, with all their animal needs and characteristics. The question, then, is what difference it makes to remember this truth? I suggest it means that we will need to make sure we don’t forget about at least these four things.
1. Bodies
The first point is the hardest to overlook: The body of Christ is made of members, and each of these members has a body. These bodies come in all different kinds. Some are old, some are very young. Some are healthy and able, some sick or variously disabled. Some bodies hear well, some are deaf. Some bodies see well, some do not. Some have allergies, others live on gluten. There is no getting around the fact that our churches are made up of different kinds of bodies, and this fact cannot be neglected.
2. Natural relationships
The family of faith is made up of individuals who have grown up within and are constantly part of various kinds of natural relationships. We all come from families, tribes, ethnicities, with very different cultures, customs, and habits. We are wired to naturally form friendships with certain kinds of people, and continue to do so within the church, even though we are called to treat all our brothers and sisters with love. Our genes, histories and life experiences mean we have all learnt different ways of relating to people, so that we will engage in very different ways with group situations, meetings, and so on. These dynamics impact church life in a wide range of ways; there is no wisdom in pretending otherwise.
3. Place
Here and now, God’s “building” (Eph 2:21) is being built in particular places. These places have their own unique character and situation. The church at Rome was different from that at Philippi. The conditions in which ministry happens in San Francisco are different from those in Santiago, and in Adelaide. Moreover, churches in particular places develop histories and cultures. They build buildings that shape the way church happens. They meet challenges in particular ways, which leave a legacy to be reckoned with. There is a place for thinking about place, and its impacts upon the communities that worship God there.
4. Organisation
The fellowship of the Spirit is also a group of people, and the plain fact is that groups of people require organisation, especially when they get big. This means thinking about things like databases, and communication strategies. It also requires leadership. The New Testament use of the idea of “leadership” is fairly uninspiring. Leaders are to be diligent (12:8); deacons and elders need to be able to manage their households (1 Tim 3:4, 12); leaders are to be respected (1 Thess 5:12). This is not exactly stuff to set your heart racing and steel you for battle. But perhaps just that is the key to understanding things rightly. Much leadership, that is to say, is simply about the organisation groups of people require. What sets our hearts racing is the word of the gospel, the glory of Christ; not the charisma or vision of a gifted leader. Yet it is also true that churches suffer for lack of organisation, and when their leaders cannot manage things well. Why? Because churches are groups of people; and groups of people need to be organised.
This list could be greatly expanded. But it’s also worth not getting too wrapped up in all this too quickly. I said above that these are things we need to make sure we don’t forget about. I put it like this deliberately. For of course, these are not the most important things for the life of a church; and they are not the most important things for a church’s ministry leaders to be thinking about. “It is not right,” said the apostles, “for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables” (Acts 6:2). And indeed it would not have been right. Yet, someone did still have to sort out the tables. Problems come when we pretend we can ignore the creaturely aspects of church life and merely focus on the spiritual. In this balance, I believe, lies the key to thinking well about vision statements, which is the subject of the final part of this series.
Image: Mangere Samoan AOG
