I have been around the district, or rather the nation, long enough to understand that there is an undergirding tension that is felt within the local churches that has aroused a multi-generation of people. There seems to be a hunger and a thirst for the Gospel to penetrate from the pulpit into the organic realms of everyday life; to see lives transformed of the sake of Christ. Not many people have been able to articulate the restlessness that has been gaining traction within the local church, and not many have been able to place their fingers on the method of reformation. I am in no way implying that I have found the approach that will produce the desired outcome, but I do want to stand with those who acknowledge the need for Gospel-centered ministries and who want to see the church embrace her God-given mandate.
Social Club:
Much of the local ministries across the nation have been simplified to events, parties, and social gatherings. The initiative toward Gospel-living, Gospel-discipleship, and Gospel-mission have been usurped by Valentine's Day banquets, pho fundraisers, and concerts. The call of the church to be the people of God who live in the midst of a dying and depraved generation have fallen on deaf ears. The church is simply comfortable operating in their exclusive social clubs, and yet still find time to wonder why the generations have fallen away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we are honest with ourselves many who leave the church exit because there is a lack of Gospel-preaching, Gospel-modeling, and Gospel-discipleship. The proper question remains: were those who left ever truly regenerated? With closer inspection one can conclude that the church has ceased to be the church, and has bought into the cultural assumption of Christianity. Simply put, most have assumed that we are doing church. Events and programs have been the norm of majority of our church experience and anything outside this structure runs contrary to our definition of church. Either way, the tension draws deep because the Spirit is at work!
Gospel Focus:
In the midst of all the busyness there must be a reorientation of church life in such ways as to posture the people of God to live life organically for the Gospel. This means more time for family, more time for evangelism, and more time for discipleship. With the church calendar bombarded with events and programs, not many children are able to observe their parents model Gospel living, or themselves be discipled by those very same parents. Much of the week is packed by running from one program to another while trying to maintain an active affiliation with extracurricular activities. Discipleship does not happen in the local church because the saints are too busy maintaining the machine rather than investing in the people. Rather than viewing family time, extracurricular activities, and personal hobbies as competition, ministers need to begin to equip the saints to use those spheres of influences as platforms for ministry. In doing so, you minimize your focus in order to maximize your effort.
Less is More:
In transitioning the church to be the church we can begin "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ" (Ephes. 4:12). Ministers can begin to train leaders rather than spoon feed infants. Ministers can begin to equip workers rather than oversee programs. Ministers can expand on Word ministries rather than tinker with maintenance. The fuel of ministry shifts from maintaining events to positioning the church to live life together. The church, from an institutional standpoint, becomes the springboard to live organically for the sake of the Gospel.
Train the People:
We need to train our people! In a day and age where biblical illiteracy is through the roof, the church must spear head the movement to educate the community of saints on biblical doctrine and sound theology. Catechizing the people of God will be foundational to how the common layperson functions and operates in the organic realm of life we call ministry. A deeper and more robust understanding of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, will enable the saints to engage in this depraved and perverse world with grace and truth (John 1:14). It is no coincidence that Paul commands Timothy to "[keep] a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers" (1Tim. 4:16). Paul was vehement at the fact that sound doctrine is essential for church life. He states earlier that "[if] you put these things (sound doctrine) before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed" (1Tim. 4:6). Positioning the saints to function outside the four walls of the facility will grant the elders more time to train and equip the believers to love God and worship Him in their everyday endeavors.
Life on Life:
Training is the means to enjoy God and express our satisfaction in Him through service toward the lost and edification to the saints. The ministry that is produced within the confines of the facility should place the saints on a trajectory to live life with others for the sake of Gospel transformation. Jesus spent a great deal of His time with His disciples traveling from one town to the next while engaging in discipleship. Jesus did not merely teach on the topic of love, but He embodied it. Image how impactful it must have been for the disciples to see Jesus heal the blind man. Image how earth shattering it must have been to witness Jesus extend grace to the adulterous woman bombarded by men who sought to stone her (John 8). Image how life changing it must have been to look Mary and Martha in the eye as they received back their brother Lazarus from the dead (John 11). Ministry, for Jesus, was not merely a classroom, but life lived in the midst of a broken world.
Sunday As A Springboard:I have many friends who, for the sake of organic ministry, have done away with Sunday church service. I do not share in their conviction. What I see is the biblical mandate to "not [neglect] to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (Heb. 10:25). The greek word which is translated "meet together" is επισυναγωγην which derives from the word συναγωγη (synagogue). The author is clearly communicating the necessity for the body of saints to gather and sit under the Word.
What are the implications? Sunday service, then, become a platform in which the community of saints — who are engaged in Gospel-living throughout the week — come and find solace, edification, and encouragement to continue to press on for the cause of Christ. Sunday, through the proclamation of the Word, becomes the springboard to which life on life is fueled and informed.
Live in the Tension:
The common theme I continue to find as I encounter ministers throughout the nation is a desperate desire to see the Gospel centralized in the local church. Though there lays before us a steep uphill battle, let us be reminded that God has called us for such a time as this. That He has not left us to fight this battle alone, but has empowered us by His Spirit to do the work of God via the Gospel. Let us not waver by being engulf in bitterness or anger, but let us put on the righteousness of Christ and endure through His power in order for His grace and truth to permeate forth. May we stand with Paul and proclaim: "Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me" (Col. 1:28-29). Whether this side of eternity or the other may He receive all the praise, glory, and honor. Amen!
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McYoung Yang is the husband to Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (7), McCoy (6), McColsen (4), and DeYoung (7 months). He graduated from Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, MN with a Youth Ministry degree and has served as a Youth Pastor in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota for over 8 years. He is currently studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for his Masters of Divinity. He hopes to use his training to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.
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