Church life - More than Sunday morning

By Mike Weeks

Brothers

. . . maybe you’d like to know who it is that dominated the stage in the Body as described in the New Testament. It can be summed up in one word: BROTHERS. Or, to use the modern vernacular: laymen. (By the way, this distinction between clergy and laity doesn’t exist in scripture.) That’s right, the common, everyday, 9-5, non-seminary educated, ordinary brother in Christ. Let’s take a very cursory look at Scripture. When an important decision had to be made in the church, it was typically the brothers who decided upon it. ( See Acts 9:30; 11:1; 11:29; 15:2; 15:33; etc.) When an important journey needed to be made, it was the brothers who sent off those who left, and often accompanied them themselves. (See Acts 10:23; 11:12; 15:2; 15:33; 15:40; etc.) When Paul writes the churches he planted, who does he address his letters to? Pastors? Elders? Deacons? Never! However, in almost every case he addresses his letters to the brothers, and the saints. (The word saints means ‘holy ones,’ and it refers to the common every brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ.)

Folks, we are dealing with a way of talking and a way of speaking that was just natural to those in the early body of believers. Why, of course it was the brothers who did everything in the church. It didn’t need to be instructed in scripture, it was just natural, organic. Today, when we read the New Testament, we miss this entirely. Why? Because it is so foreign to our way of doing things. It is the pastors and elders who make important decisions regarding the church. When a representative needs to be sent somewhere on ‘church business,’ don’t expect a brother or sister to go. When a Christian leader from outside of town comes in, does he meet and share first with ‘laymen’ or ‘clergy?’

There’s something crucial to understand from all of this: brothers and sisters in Christ are not meant for Sunday morning pew-warming and mid-week Bible Study. We are not meant to merely receive instruction by ‘professionals.’ We were created for full participation in the Bride of Jesus Christ. The Lord has given us Himself in all of His fullness, and He has done marvelous and wonderful things inside of all those who have believed. We all have burdens that we would love for others to bear with us. And most people in the church, especially brothers, would like to play a part in the life of the church that goes far beyond being a spectator. However, on Sunday morning, and throughout the week there is little opportunity to share in the blessings of the Lord with other saints. And, by the same token, huge numbers of believers have nobody to help shoulder the burden’s of life that the Church is supposed to bear. And for a normal every day group of brothers to make an important decision affecting the life of the church, it probably won’t happen. And what about having an opportunity to teach, share, instruct the rest of the Body? Don’t hold your breath.

Organic

What then, does the Church, as described in the New Testament, look like? I think one word describes it best: ORGANIC. It had a chance to grow naturally. A church planter would enter a town, impart the very life of Jesus Christ to a bunch of pagans. After, spending several months instructing them and further imparting the life of Christ to these people, he would leave, allowing them to grow, struggle, and eventually find their own expression of Jesus Christ. Without the church planter present, the most important person in the Body does not become the pastor or elder (there were none at first), but the individual believer. All the saints get to share the life of Christ with each other. This includes, sharing, teaching, bearing each other’s burdens, and making the important decisions regarding the Body. Instead of spectating, one is participating.