Currently I am taking an Advanced Church Leadership Class with Dale Galloway this week. We have been dealing with issues such as vision, vision casting, staffing, developing leadership, transitioning leaders, small groups, etc.
The final project for this class is developing a twenty (ish) page paper on what your dream church would look like. This has been helpful project for me to think through, if I was starting a church from scratch, what would it be about, its vision and core values. Below is my working copy of my dream church. Feel free to give me feedback (make comments below) on what you think:
Dream Church
There are many churches in America and throughout the world that have vision statements, mission statements, financial statements, and statements about statements. Whether they are expressed in 5 M’s (Saddleback) or 5 G’s (Willow Creek), they are all attempts to lay out a process of helping people become fully mature as disciples of Christ in the time and place in which they live. This paper is to not just flesh out on paper my dream church, but to flesh out and articulate God’s dream for his church. As Rick Warren says in his book The Purpose Driven Life, “It not about me.”
As I read the scriptures, one of the most important teachings Jesus taught about was what we call the Greatest Commandment. He summarized what God expects for us to do which is, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets hand on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40) In other words God wants us to love God and love people.
The summary of Jesus teaching ministry could be Mark 1:15, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the Good News!” The Kingdom of God is Jesus central teaching. Everywhere Jesus went he went preaching and demonstrating the Kingdom (Matt 4:23, 9:35). He taught that when you make the Kingdom your primary focus, God provides for your material needs (Matt 6:33). He sent out the disciples to preaching the kingdom of God and to heal the sick (Luke 9:2). After he rose from the dead, he spent 40 days with his disciples teaching them about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).
The kingdom was central in the thinking of the early church. Phillip and Paul preached persuasively about the kingdom (Acts 8:12; 19:8). The book of Acts ends with Paul preaching about the kingdom of God from his home (Acts 28:23, 31). Jesus taught that this kingdom would start out small like a mustard seed but becomes a huge tree (Matt 13:31-32). Therefore, it is essential that the mission of the church be connected to the kingdom of God.
A final piece central to the heart of God and his vision for the church is to be a servant. The great hymn from Philippians 2 states about Jesus, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.” That scripture tells us that the very nature of God is a servant. He is not like a servant. His very nature is self sacrificial love in order to bless us. Jesus put it this way, “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:26-28)”. Following Jesus means downward mobility. If we are to be like Jesus, we are to be a servant.
Therefore I see the mission of the church is the following:
We exist to love God, to love people,
and to extend God’s kingdom by serving the world!
This mission statement is not only what the church should do and be, it is also the process by which we make disciples. In their book Simple Church Rainer and Geiger have found that simple churches have a clear process of making disciples. One church in particular said, “Our purpose is our process.”[1] By making the mission statement the process, it becomes integrated into the life of church. That is the aim with this mission statement; that it is more than something you have on your printed materials, it becomes internalized in everyday life.
Before I flesh out this mission statement in how the church is designed and run, I need to talk about the core values of the church which I believe flow from the scriptures. It also is the discipleship process fleshed out from the Bible.
Core Values
It needs to be said at the outset that there is nothing entirely new about these concepts and thoughts. There should not be. My vision is to pastor a New Testament biblical church and these core values flesh out the process of being a New Testament follower of Jesus. While much more could be said about each of these values, I believe this is simple enough to take a person off the street and explain Christianity to them and what is important to this church.
1. The Bible is our primary authority for life.
Divine truth is a central claim of the Christian Community. If there is no such thing as truth, none of the rest of what is said matters. Some believe since the Bible was written by humans, it must therefore be fallible. 2 Peter 1:20-21 says, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” God did not dictate the Bible but instead inspired it. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” God inspired each book of the Bible and the formation of the canon. It is God’s love story for humanity. It is living and active (Heb 4:12) and speaks to us in powerful ways today. While church tradition, reason, and experience are helpful for us in working through theological issues, Scripture is our primary authority for life and we submit ourselves to it.
2. God desires every person to become a disciple of Jesus Christ by faith.
Because the scriptures are God’s Word to us, we can trust them. The story of the scriptures is this. Genesis tells us that God created men and women in his image and breathed his life into them. They chose to disobey God and go their own way. As a result sin entered the world. Death was the consequence of sin. Ever since death entered the world, people have been separated from God. God chose to intervene in our situation. Because no one could live a perfect life, God sent his son Jesus Christ, who was fully God and fully human, to live that perfect life for us. He was the Word made flesh (John 1:14) and made his home among us. He taught us how to truly live (John 10:10; Matt 5-7) through his teaching. He willing offered himself as a substitute for our sins (I Peter 3:18), so that we might be given life in his name. He rose from the dead on the third day, just as he had said, to prove his claims that he was God and that life itself. He instructed his followers to go make disciples, not of their own but of Jesus. He desires all people to be saved and to come to faith in him (John 20:31; I Timothy 2:4). We become his disciple when we confess our sins (I John 1:9), believe that he is the son of God (John 1:12-13; Romans 10:9-10) and commit to follow him with our lives. When we do that we are born anew (John 3:5; 2 Cor 5:17), the Holy Spirit comes to live in us (Col 1:27; 2 Tim 1:14; Titus 3:5) and enables us to follow Christ and be his disciple (Rom 6:11; 8:9-11). The goal of this church is for all to become disciples of Christ by giving their lives to him by faith.
3. God desires that we become mature and to live our whole life as worship.
Unlike my own initial understanding of Christianity, you are not done once you are saved. Many churches have an understanding of the gospel that once you give your life to Jesus, you are saved and the only real goal is to hang on till Jesus comes back or you die so you can go to heaven. This is not a biblical understanding of the kingdom of God. Conversion is just the beginning in your walk with Jesus. We are called to maturity in Christ.
It needs to be said at the outset that there is nothing entirely new about these concepts and thoughts. There should not be. My vision is to pastor a New Testament biblical church and these core values flesh out the process of being a New Testament follower of Jesus. While much more could be said about each of these values, I believe this is simple enough to take a person off the street and explain Christianity to them and what is important to this church.
1. The Bible is our primary authority for life.
Divine truth is a central claim of the Christian Community. If there is no such thing as truth, none of the rest of what is said matters. Some believe since the Bible was written by humans, it must therefore be fallible. 2 Peter 1:20-21 says, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” God did not dictate the Bible but instead inspired it. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” God inspired each book of the Bible and the formation of the canon. It is God’s love story for humanity. It is living and active (Heb 4:12) and speaks to us in powerful ways today. While church tradition, reason, and experience are helpful for us in working through theological issues, Scripture is our primary authority for life and we submit ourselves to it.
2. God desires every person to become a disciple of Jesus Christ by faith.
Because the scriptures are God’s Word to us, we can trust them. The story of the scriptures is this. Genesis tells us that God created men and women in his image and breathed his life into them. They chose to disobey God and go their own way. As a result sin entered the world. Death was the consequence of sin. Ever since death entered the world, people have been separated from God. God chose to intervene in our situation. Because no one could live a perfect life, God sent his son Jesus Christ, who was fully God and fully human, to live that perfect life for us. He was the Word made flesh (John 1:14) and made his home among us. He taught us how to truly live (John 10:10; Matt 5-7) through his teaching. He willing offered himself as a substitute for our sins (I Peter 3:18), so that we might be given life in his name. He rose from the dead on the third day, just as he had said, to prove his claims that he was God and that life itself. He instructed his followers to go make disciples, not of their own but of Jesus. He desires all people to be saved and to come to faith in him (John 20:31; I Timothy 2:4). We become his disciple when we confess our sins (I John 1:9), believe that he is the son of God (John 1:12-13; Romans 10:9-10) and commit to follow him with our lives. When we do that we are born anew (John 3:5; 2 Cor 5:17), the Holy Spirit comes to live in us (Col 1:27; 2 Tim 1:14; Titus 3:5) and enables us to follow Christ and be his disciple (Rom 6:11; 8:9-11). The goal of this church is for all to become disciples of Christ by giving their lives to him by faith.
3. God desires that we become mature and to live our whole life as worship.
Unlike my own initial understanding of Christianity, you are not done once you are saved. Many churches have an understanding of the gospel that once you give your life to Jesus, you are saved and the only real goal is to hang on till Jesus comes back or you die so you can go to heaven. This is not a biblical understanding of the kingdom of God. Conversion is just the beginning in your walk with Jesus. We are called to maturity in Christ.
The Living Bible says, “Our greatest wish and prayer is that you will become mature Christians (2 Cor. 13:9).” Paul said he worked so hard to present everyone perfect in Christ (Col 1:28-29) and to continue to live in him (Col 2:6-7). He also said that we use our gifts to build up the body of Christ so we are mature, “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:11-15).” The spiritual word for this is sanctification, the process of becoming like Christ. This is God’s desire and expectation for all who call themselves followers of Christ.
Human beings are made to worship. If we do not worship God, then we will worship something else. 1 Cor. 3:16 and 2 Cor. 6:16 remind us that we are the temple of God. The purpose of the temple is to worship.
Worship is not something we do; it is something we are. Paul pleads in Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” I like how Eugene Petersen puts Romans 12:1 in The Message, “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you; Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life – and place it before God as an offering.” Worship is more than singing songs; it is a lifestyle. The goal of our faith is to see all we do, 24/7 as worship unto God.
4. Life happens best in community
You and I were not meant to live life on our own; we were meant to be in community. Community is not just a buzzword that has developed over recent years. It comes from the heart of God. Before time or the world began, God lived in community; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The reality of the trinity means that we were created for relationships; with God and with one another.
4. Life happens best in community
You and I were not meant to live life on our own; we were meant to be in community. Community is not just a buzzword that has developed over recent years. It comes from the heart of God. Before time or the world began, God lived in community; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The reality of the trinity means that we were created for relationships; with God and with one another.
John Wesley once said “There is no such thing as a solitary Christian.” He was right. When we become a Christian we become part of the family of God, the body of Christ. Scripture tells us to encourage one another, serve one another, bear with one another, spur one another, submit to one another, forgive one another, and love one another. The common denominator is “one another”.
Life is best lived in community. Living in community with each other refines us and proves our love for God. Jesus said to his disciples, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Loving God on your own is easy. Loving your neighbor proves whether your love for God is real.
By loving other Christians tangibly, it proves God exists to an unbelieving world. We see this truth expressed in the early Christian community in Acts 2:42-47. They were so devoted to one another that they met and ate together regularly. They sold their stuff to meet each others needs. I believe it was this community aspect which made the early church so attractive that it grew every day (Acts 2:47).
It is impossible to know or be known in a large group. It takes a smaller group, from 3 to a maximum of 12, to know and be known. Every believer needs to be in a small group of some sort for growth, care and accountability. You miss out on a blessing from living life on your own.
5. Every believer is equipped and empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve
When we are saved, it is not only for our own good, it is for a purpose. Ephesians 2:8-10 expresses this truth the best. Paul reminds us that we are saved by faith and not by works. After that exposition on salvation he writes, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” That word “for” in Ephesians 2:10 is important, for it indicates why we have been saved. That means God has prepared things for individuals and his church to do and be about.
5. Every believer is equipped and empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve
When we are saved, it is not only for our own good, it is for a purpose. Ephesians 2:8-10 expresses this truth the best. Paul reminds us that we are saved by faith and not by works. After that exposition on salvation he writes, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” That word “for” in Ephesians 2:10 is important, for it indicates why we have been saved. That means God has prepared things for individuals and his church to do and be about.
God’s desire throughout time is to have his followers be ministers to the world. In Exodus 19:5-6 it reads, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." God’s vision for Israel was to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Israel did not live up to God’s vision and so God created the church to be this nation. Peter put it this way in 1 Peter 2:9-10, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” The church is this chosen people, a royal priesthood.
This truth means that each individual Christian is a priest and together we all are the people of God. Paul writes that we are all part of the body of Christ (Romans 12:4-5). In I Corinthians 12 he describes the church as the body and that each one of us has different gifts for ministry. The purpose of our gifts is to build up the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-13). These are gifts given by the Holy Spirit by his own choosing (1 Cor. 12:7). We see the early church in Acts examples of individuals and a community empowered by the Spirit of God that transforms their community.
The purpose of these gifts is for service. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms (italics mine).” The way of the kingdom of God is service. As Jesus said in Luke 22:25-26, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that.” People of the kingdom stoop to serve. Gregory Boyd, in describing the Kingdom of God put it this way, “It would be a kingdom where greatness is defined by serving and sacrificing for others.”[2] Jesus showed this in John 13 when he washed the disciple’s feet. Therefore the gifts we have are not for ourselves, they are for service to the church and the world to extend God’s rule and reign.
6. God commands his followers to influence the world for Christ.
Once God has extended his incredible grace to us, it is to overflow out of our lives to influence the world. We are to be so pumped up by what God has done in Christ that we can’t help but influence the world. Sir Walter Moberly, a non-Christian, in his book The Crisis in the University, identifies why evangelicals have failed to reach university campuses with the Gospel. He says, “If one-tenth of what you believe is true, you ought to be ten times as excited as you are.”[3] This stinging comment rings true to my own experience. While certainly God commands us to make disciples in the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20), it should not be just a requirement but a natural outpouring of the joy flowing from our hearts.
The influencing of the world by his people is not a new concept. God said to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” The people of God, this great nation God spoke about creating through the person of Abraham, was not to have a corner on the market on God’s favor. Instead it was to bless the world and show the reality of the existence of God to the gentiles. God says to his people in Isaiah 49:6b, “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” God’s community was supposed to be a blessing to the world but they failed in that endeavor.
The sermon on the mount was the essence of Jesus teaching on the Kingdom of God. He said in Matt 5:13-14 that we were to be salt and light to the world. He concluded his teaching on light in verse 16, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” That is what we as the church and individual followers are to be: salt and light. Jesus put it this way in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (emphasis mine)." We are to be witnesses of the reality of Jesus everywhere we go. Notice the word “and” in Acts 1:8. We are to influence the entire world for Christ, not just our world. The mission of the church is not about us. It is being the Kingdom of God here on earth and witnessing to that reality in the kingdoms of where we live.
Therefore in sum, each individual Christian will be a witness in their spheres of influence and intentionally seek to show that transforming reality to the people they encounter. This witnessing will be expressed in different ways, in both word and deed. It will certainly include evangelism, personal and corporate. It will include individual and corporate ministry by meeting tangible needs locally and around the world. My prayer for this church is that people in our community would know the people of our church to be people of great love, whose words are backed up by their actions.
Church Structure
Church Structure
Thus far I have outlined the vision and core values of the church. If a mature disciple of Christ is a person who loves God, loves people, and extends God’s kingdom by serving the world, how do we structure the church to accomplish that vision? Another way to put it is this, what is the process by which lives are changed? If the church is not structured according to the vision, the process will produce a different result from the one desired.
My desire is to have people commit to three things at this church: 1) come to worship every Sunday to fall more in love with Jesus, 2) participate in a weekly small group to love others in community and grow in faith, and 3) serve in a ministry area according to their gifting that impacts others. These three things are the ongoing way we flesh out working out our salvation with “fear and trembling” (Phil 2:13). There will be a program and point person for each ministry of the mission statement to clearly identify authority and where to get information.
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