The Healthy Church

A colleague, with whom I share a regular breakfast meeting, informed me this morning that he was seriously thinking of leaving the ministry.

This is sad news. My friend is a skilled minister and a caring guy. His loss in the profession will not help the church in any way.

In the midst of the discussion, he pointed out that the churches that he had served were interested in and motivated by things that are contrary to Christ Jesus.Those contrary motivations and interests had led those congregations into all sorts of pathological practices and unhealthy situations. So, we dreamed together about what a healthy Church of Jesus Christ might look like.

Its primary concern would be the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ. The healthy congregation would ground itself on his self-sacrificing work of salvation, without concern for dollars and numbers and brand marketing. It would be a place where hospitality and welcome were a normal part of congregational life. It would question and assess continually how what it is doing meets the needs of the community and neighborhood of the congregation. It would not be focused primarily on the needs of the membership or the opinions, desires, stances of beliefs of those who had been there the longest or who give the most money or who yell the loudest.

The healthy congregation of Christ Jesus would function fairly and justly, working for the inclusion of all persons and ensuring that every person had equal voice and opportunity. It would not exclude others through the use of secret language or clandestine practice. There would be no "right way" of doing any particular thing. There may well be his way, her way, even their way, but there is no exclusionary "wrong way." Money would not determine ministry. Energy and calling would.

It is sad and tragic when the organizational church works at excluding some for the sake of those who have been there the longest, have the most money, can amass the more significant power block or who scare others. It is contrary to Christ that personalities dictate action, that personal pathologies limit what can be allowed or accepted, that bias and prejudice determine who can be considered in or out.

A healthy church follows Christ Jesus. It is both humble and determined. It is focused and consistent. It knows whereof it speaks and acts and is not afraid to defend its behavior as that which is faithful to Christ Jesus. A healthy congregation overcomes its challenges by working harder together to achieve its calling, despite the difficulties. A healthy church supports, builds, undergirds with positive words and actions. The infrastructure is constructed of mutual respect, honor and integrity.

My colleague has not had experience with such a church. He has seen plenty of the contrary.

It occurs to me that there may yet be no ideal Church of Jesus Christ. Perhaps every one wavers between Christ and the contrary, just as every person does. At least there is an ideal toward which we may, together, work. There is a health that we can pursue. For the sake of the Church, my colleagues and myself, I hope that every congregation strives for that ideal.