“The problem of the Church is really the problem always faced but never resolved in protestant theology.” Emil Brunner
On a couple of occasions I have had the opportunity to ask groups to describe the “church of their dreams”; let’s call it iChurch. It was interesting to see that in a house church group, the elements shared were highly concrete, what they would do: concerts, bible studies, humanitarian work, meals and parties.
A Paris spiritual community
An established church group responded with broad strokes. They wanted to see compassion, enthusiasm, humility, unity in diversity.
The Protestant Evangelical Church of East Dijon
Let’s go farther (and here I am going to sidestep the whole “emerging churches movement” debate). Instead of asking, how does this or that group of believers picture the church, or more broadly, how do inherited or emerging church advocates envision the church, let’s do something really novel and ask the question: How does Jesus picture his Dream Church? Not iChurch, but jChurch.It is interesting that Jesus only spoke of his ekklesia (church) in two contexts (Matt. 16:18; 18:17), but as my friend Dave Guiles points out, Jesus incessantly talked about the Kingdom (over 120 references in the gospels). I believe this is because God lays foundations first. e.g. as Blaise Pascal said, “Our religion (Christianity) is so divine that another divine religion (Judaism)” is simply the foundation.
Jesus taught about what his Kingdom would be like when ushered in. And as Alfred Kuen says, “The Kingdom overflows the Church, but the Church is the place where Jesus currently exercises his royalty, she is composed of those who here and now, accept this reign.” The King of the Kingdom is therefore the foundation of the Church, and the local church is an anticipation of the Kingdom, or as Jim Petersen likes to say: the local church is a free sample of the Kingdom.
The Church is an anticipation of the Kingdom. And believers as subjects of King Jesus insist on justice, while concomitantly receiving and extending grace and love, all of this in a state of dynamic tension.
For example in the West:
King Jesus' subjects are to be pure and faithful in sensual societies (Mt.5:27-28);
King Jesus' subjects are to be kind and hospitable to those considered to be enemies (e.g. for Americans - the Irakis; for the French - the North Africans, for the Germans - the Turks, etc. Mt.5:44-45);
King Jesus' subjects are to be satisfied with what they have in materialistic cultures that perpetually create “needs” (Mt. 6:28)…
The Golden Rule of the King is not like the Pirate's (of the Caribbean) Code, mere “suggestions”! Jesus tells his subjects, “do to others what you would have them do to you” (Mt. 7:12). By living in obedience to Jesus’ rule, churches will serve as free samples of His Kingdom, free samples that are literally scattered across the planet. They are to be a theodicy incarnate countering the prevalent perception that the church is murderous, corrupt, hypocritical and harsh.
Vinoth Ramachandra describes the fruit of the early church that basked in Jesus’ reign:
After the Neronian persecution of the mid-60s Christian churches closed their doors to outsiders.… letting anyone into worship services would have been dangerous. Conversions came about primarily through pagans coming into casual contact with their Christian neighbours. They not only heard the message about Jesus from their lips but saw that message enfleshed in a community that was truly free.… free of the addictions of greed, sex, xenophobia and the bondage of the magic arts.
So, now that we have had a quick intro to jChurch, let’s ask some concluding questions:
Does Jesus’ reign over my/your life? Would other people say the same? Is his reign visible – justice, grace and love - in the daily practice of the group of believers that I/you belong to? Is my/your spiritual community or established church perceived by unbelievers as a desirable free sample of a just, gracious, loving spiritual community where Jesus reigns individually and collectively?
