I’ve been having a bit of conversation with a brother from Maryland about the role of teaching in the reality of the Body of Christ. I thought some of you would appreciate that exchange. Here’s what he first asked:

My Response: In my mind teaching is simply helping people get some truth that will help them live more deeply in Christ. To me it happens as simply as in a conversation with someone else, where the other person may not ever have identified with ‘being taught’, but nonetheless their eyes were open to something that didn’t see before. It can also happen in smaller groups with a more focused ‘sharing’ on the part of someone that others have wanted to hear from. And yes, speaking to large groups who want to hear is also a way to do that.

In my view, however, more people always mean a less effective teaching environment. The best is one-on-one where questions can be asked and answered as a discussion ensues in the real time of the hearer. The least desirable is one-on-thousands where one has to speak to the lowest common denominator. Not that it can’t or should be done, but everyone just needs to know the limitations it imposes. I teach in all of these settings with some regularity and don’t have a problem being in any environment in which Jesus calls me.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t see teaching as a ‘gift’ someone must do and others must hear. I certainly see the ability to communicate God’s truth as a gift, but it is not controlled by the ‘teacher’, but by what the hearers want to hear. In other words, it should be something imposed by the teacher, but sought by the hearers, recognizing the gift or wisdom someone has that will help them in their journeys.

My Response:I love his last paragraph here. Isn’t it amazing how easily our systemic paradigms obliterate the example of Jesus? He didn’t exercise a gift that others needed to listen to. He lived his life and God opened up opportunities with individuals and crowds because they were drawn to what he had to give. He scheduled no regular meetings or studies. He didn’t do a ‘lecture’ series anywhere. The irresistible power of his message and his character drew people to his side. That doesn’t mean scheduled meetings or lecture series are wrong; it’s just that they are not so essential as others might think.

There is great value in the gift of teaching for us all in the body. Just because we don’t ‘need’ to be taught by anyone as Hebrews 8 and I John suggest, doesn’t mean there isn’t great value in learning the lessons of folks that have walked a ways ahead of where we are. It’s just that we must take care not to grow dependent on their experience, but use it to help us draw more closely to him.

I’m back from Idaho and Utah, and had a fabulous time meeting with scores of people from all around that area who are in various stages of sorting out what it means to live as God’s child in the world and relate to the church as a family rather than an institution. The discussions were incredible. I met lots of people who with great passion and courage are following God’s leading rather than making themselves comfortable with the status quo. I love that stuff! And I love watching people live on the edge of their relationship with God and not be lulled into boredom by religious routine.

This really came home with a phone call I had a couple of days ago. I was talking to a friend I’ve known for almost 35 years and one of the first ‘mentors’ I had in helping me see the glories of relational life in God and in real community among the Body of Christ. As we were reminiscing about our days together his voice lowered and he said, “It’s sad to think that my best days were my earliest days.”

I was stunned. And, yes, it was incredibly sad. I wouldn’t say he is unhappy now, but for the past few decades he has been a pastor in a mainline denomination. He does that better than anyone I know. He really has a heart for people and gives himself for their good, rather than making them cogs in his own vision. Nonetheless, I could hear the tiredness in his voice as he paused now only a couple of years from retirement. He had hoped for so much more.

I remember thinking like that as well a decade or so ago as my life got caught up in the day to day demands of religious machinery that seemed to always beckon me away from the deeper callings of my heart. I remember reading 2 Corinthians 3:18 one day, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory…” or as one translation says, “From glory to glory….” I used to joke that this journey seems a lot more like “from pit to pit,” rather than from “glory to glory” and I remember lots of people getting a good chuckle out of that. We used to look at the exuberance of new converts and remember with longing those early days. We used to think, ”Just wait until they mature a bit then they will be as bored with this Christian life as the rest of us.” How sad!

Our earliest days were never meant to be our best days. And I have found they are not. Ten years ago I was on that long, painful slide into numbness that religious routine smothers us with. Thankfully, God drew us out of that and gave us a taste of real life in him and real relationships with brothers and sisters. I wouldn’t trade the experiences of the last year for any one previous. It really is from glory to glory that he changes us. That doesn’t mean every day is blissful, but that we see his hand ever-working even in the pain and sacrifice that his life calls us to. And we see the growing imprint of his nature on ours.

That’s what makes it all worthwhile. Don’t let your spiritual life slowly decline into mere routine or commitment. Pour out your heart to him and let him renew you in the glory of his life and set you on the track that takes you further into his glory every day, instead of further away from it. Don’t let yourself get to the end of your days, pining away for the ‘good old days,’ Rather, let him lead you ever-closer to him so that each day reflects his glory better than those who’ve gone before.

In the last two months, the two major Christian magazines in America (Christianity Today and Charisma) have run three major articles about people who no longer fit into our Sunday (or Saturday) morning congregations. Each of these articles speak negatively of those who have left and advance the notion that it is the duty of every Christian to belong to one of the institutions that call themselves church to be part of the body of Christ. One even points that out while admitting that the structures itself are dead. Here are the articles in case you missed them:

• The Church Why Bother? by Tim Stafford


• When Christians Quit Church by Andy Butcher


• Spirituality for All the Wrong Reasons an interview with Eugene Peterson

Interesting… Three articles in two months? It sounds like someone is worried about something. I wonder why that is? Wouldn’t it be helpful to discuss the pros and cons of these articles? That’s exactly what Brad and I plan to do in our next edition of The God Journey, to be taped on Wednesday, May 4. We hope to shed some light on the growing conflict between those who are in the institutions and those who are not and for that we would love some of you to help us out with your thoughts, questions and insights.

• Do you agree or disagree with these articles?


• Are you no longer part of an organized congregation? Why? Have you found your experience with church has increased or decreased by this choice?


• Are you part of a congregation and miss those who have left and wish they’d come back?

If you would, we’d love to include many different voices, and you can record your comments or questions by calling our comment line in the U.S. at (805) 626-4212. You can also contribute by commenting on this blog by clicking on the ‘feedback’ button below.

Our Fifth Webcast of The God Journey has just been posted on our sister website. “A Journey Into Renewal” chronicles one congregation as they sought God’s heart for spiritual renewal. Five years ago this congregation in Sacramento had a building, a staff, a slew of programs and a heart for renewal. Over the last five years in simple acts of obedience they have deconstructed their congregational life. In November they stopped meeting on Sunday mornings. In December the staff voluntarily resigned their salaries, and in January they sold the building. In a story reminiscent of That Lot in Fairlee, they are now learning to live as God’s people in Sacramento and are discovering a renewal they had not imagined. In this special Webcast, Wayne interviews one of the key people in this process, as he relates their journey and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. It’s an incredible story of people on a journey to friend freedom and vitality in their relationship with God and each other.

A newly found Internet sister wrote me the other day about something other believers were pushing her to do. They felt like she should be writing up her story as an encouragement to others. She didn’t feel that was God’s priority for her, but felt a bit selfish in giving herself to her family if others thought there was a ‘greater ministry’ afoot.

I wrote her the following: “I think God unfolds his work to us as we do each day what he puts in our heart to do. Other people suggesting we have a story to write can certainly be a seed God is planting into our heart, but it is not enough motivation to do what he has not made clear with us. I have felt I’ve had clear direction on the books I have undertaken. I see that not as a specific ‘word’ he spoke to me, but a growing conviction over time of what he wanted me to do. Not all of those have worked out like I thought, but I gave time to them as he made the way clear. I’m certain you can trust that. If there comes a time he wants you to tell that story in a more formal way, you’ll know it in your heart. People’s suggestions can be a great seed being planted, or even a confirmation of what he might be speaking to us. But they are not ever to be our sole motivation for something so extensive as this.”

Here is her response:

Isn’t it funny how religion can make us feel guilty even about the things Father asks us to do? I have not read a better description of the power and simplicity of freedom than what she wrote in that last paragraph. If you need a deep breath today to follow what God has put on your heart especially if it crosses the well-intentioned encouragements of good friends, take it. God is able to make his way clear to you as you live each day in him.

I’m sorry the blog is so quiet, but I am currently in Pocatello, Idaho hanging out with some folks that are thinking outside the box. I started last Friday in Boise and spent three days there with some great folks. We had two days with a house full of people who are at various stages in the journey, but all of them hungry to walk in God’s life. One of the joys of my travels is seeing people connect from the same area who have some knowledge of me, but don’t know about each other. There was a lot of that in Boise. I’ll be in Pocatello all week with a number of different groups and a regional conference on Saturday. Then I’m headed down to Salt Lake City for Saturday night and Sunday.

I got an interesting email over the weekend that I thought you might enjoy reading. It’s from David in Michigan and before anyone accuses him of painting with a broad brush, he is sharing his experience. And, believe me he is not alone in his experience…

My response: Love it! Love it! Love it!

I think you’ve put your finger on something that is so important… and sad! I know from having been a pastor that building relationships is something we wanted people to do, but saw the success of the job far more dependent on programs and activities that wear people out more than build relationships. I also thing the need of systems to build dependency on itself and push people to conformity undermines real, honest and supportive relationships.

I like to think of my life now as doing this with God rather than for him. That keeps me on his agenda rather than confusing me with my own, even the things I do in his name. Thanks for sharing your insight. I appreciate it very much and I like where your head and heart are at.

Our Fourth Webcast of The God Journey has just been posted on our sister website. The Things God Uses… includes some comments from Tom Mohn of Tulsa, Oklahoma about his life lessons as Brad and I interact with them. You’ll love the this out-of-the-box view of the ways in which God works. At least we did!

I last weekend in Sacramento where I had a BridgeBuilders presentation and then got to spend the weekend with some wonderful folks on an incredible journey. Five years ago these folks have gone from being a traditional congregation with a facility, staff, Sunday morning meeting and a full complement of the normal programs. And this was a group that did those things better than most and were very commitment-oriented and outreach minded. However, not content with the depth of their spiritual growth or their life together, they began to ask God what was the matter and what did he want to do with them. Over the last five years they have slowly deconstructed their institution out of existence and became even more the people of God. Over that time in simple steps of obedience that they were never sure where it would lead them they gave up their programs, opened up their gatherings, gave up the hierarchy of leadership and eventually the salaries of the staff, stopped their Sunday morning gatherings, and sold the building.

Anyone looking from the outside might conclude this church failed and went under. In truth those that made it through the process have discovered what it is to live as the body of Christ and their lives have been transformed as they live out that relationship together. We’re going to let them tell their story next week on The God Journey. While they don’t offer their process as a model for others, it’s encouraging to see what hungry hearts and following Jesus can do.

I’ve been with these people a number of times over the past three years, and no, I did not recommend the course they took. I’ve been as surprised as they have. What I noticed among them, however, on this last trip was how much ownership most of these people haven now taken for their own spiritual growth. No longer able to rely on the false substitutes of programs and leadership they have had to ‘sink or swim’ in their own relationship with God. And swim they have! The things they are learning and the initiative they take in getting together and in sharing what they are learning when they are together are incredible. All of them talk about how hard this process was, but they also recognize how much it has challenged them to live more deeply in Jesus. I didn’t meet anyone who told me they wanted to go back to the more comfortable, but less effective arrangement they had five years ago.

I see this same active engagement of spiritual growth in many who spilled out of organized religion, especially those that didn’t immediately find an alternative gathering, theology or leader to fill the void. Learning to walk with him is the essence of life in this kingdom. Can it happen inside a religious institution? It can. That’s where my life began. But it can also walk outside of it and not whither away to nothing, but actually grow and become even more dynamic.

I know we’re so worried that if people learn to do that they will live independently and not share life with other Christians. But it is an unfounded worry! People who are growing in the love for Father, desperately want real and vital connections with others in the family. The two go hand in hand. But if you let others become a substitute for his presence, you will miss out on both real relationships with him and effective relationships in the body.

I see the Catholics have a new Pope. Someone asked me last night if I thought the Holy Spirit was involved in that decision. I do! If God raises up rulers for nations, why wouldn’t he care about the Vatican nation-state, even though it also claims to be the church? While I’m convinced the Catholic system is significantly at odds with the priorities and example of Jesus, I have known many Catholics in my life who exhibit a deep and profound relationship to God. It always amazes me what God is free to use to draw people to himself. Of course God would be concerned with who leads them, though his reasons for choosing their leader might be very different from what we would assume.

And lest you think that system is significantly different from Protestant ones, don’t be too sure. It’s just that it has had 1700 years to build its exhaustive machinery. The Lutherans have only had 500, the Baptists about that as well, and Charismatics only 40 or so. But the seeds of institutionalism and exalted clergy infect those systems as well. They just may not be as developed.

I like what Sara said about all of this while we watched part of the funeral for Pope John Paul II. “Wouldn’t you like to hear the sermon he would preach today?” Sara asked me.

Ahh, I would! He had been five days already in eternity and I’m certain he sees things far differently now than he did during his sojourn on the earth.

And I think that will be true for all of us as well when the time comes!