The Sack Lunch Church

Let me try to give you an illustration that comes to mind now as I reflect on the relationship between a church’s ‘form’ and its ‘function’ in response to a recent visit to a local church plant. Imagine that you were to enter a large room and observe a beautifully adorned banquet table. It as a wonderful meal precisely and attentively placed on plates and platters, complimented by the finest silverware and glassware. The table has an elegant centerpiece and all the trimmings. The chairs have been invitingly pulled away from the table, just far enough to be accessible to guests. If you were to walk into a room like this and see this banquet table, you would know exactly what to do. You would know from the ‘form’ that a certain ‘function’ was implied. You would know how to respond. You would walk up, sit down and enjoy the meal. After all, the meal is obviously the point of this table. The table is definitely the DESTINATION.

Now imagine that instead of entering this room, you enter a different room altogether. This second room also has a table with meals carefully placed. But instead of the beautifully adorned banquet, this table contains a number of sack lunches. They are stacked anonymously in paper bags at the edge of the table. They are very simple and built ‘to go’. There are no chairs around this table. Just a pile of sack lunches; that’s it, nothing more. If you entered and saw this meal, you would once again know that the ‘form’ implies a certain ‘function’. You would sense immediately that these meals are only intended to be here for a short time. This table doesn’t contain a meal that is to be slowly enjoyed. This meal is intended to be eaten on the road. This room is clearly NOT the intended DESTINATION. It is just a place to pick up your sack lunch. It’s just a place along the way to someplace else. It’s a staging area, a place to get ready.

The American Church looks a lot like the banquet table right now. It’s a place to come and sit. It’s a destination, finely designed and carefully adorned. Like a fine restaurant, much care has been taken to make sure that the music isn’t too loud; the service isn’t too slow, the food is correctly prepared and tastes good. That’s where the money is being spent, making sure that the meal is perfect. But is that really why we exist as the family of God? Are we here to make sure that we have a great place to hang out? Aren’t we here for something more than that? Aren’t we here to BE something and to DO something? Our church experience needs to be far more like the table of sack lunches. Not a destination, but a place to grab what you need, so you can BE and DO what you’re supposed to BE and DO!

Yes, I know, many people are going to lament and worry that this kind of church won’t pay enough attention to the church as a ‘place of worship’. But maybe if a few more of our churches spent less time detailing and perfecting the space and the experience, they could actually raise up a family for God that lived a ‘life of worship’ instead of seeing the church building as simply a ‘place of worship’. Besides, I don’t really think one aspect of our church experience (worship) has to be abandoned as we move toward structures that better equip us to live the Christian life.

Now think about it for a minute. Let’s just say that you really wanted to design a physical environment and communal experience that was NOT an inward destination, but rather a place where the family of God could be equipped to better reach and serve those who are so lost outside the walls of churches all across our country. As we design this kind of building and experience, what will it look like? Will it look like the institutional church we have come to know? Or, will it look like something else…

The Sack Lunch Church

The Focused Church

I’ve been blogging about some observations of the local church for a couple of weeks now. I’ve attended a number of new churches lately, and I’ve noticed that they have several things in common. Sadly, they often seem to lack focus. Don’t get me wrong, they ARE focused on a number of issues, and they are responding to a number of pressures and influences; but it seems to me that the focus of these churches are set on things other than the things of God.

You can always tell what a group is focused on by carefully observing where and how they spend their money, time and talent. These tools and gifts from God are the surest measurement of what is important to us. Of course, Jesus said the very same thing:

Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

And as I approached my visit to one new church, it was easy to see where their heart was. Like other current church plants in our community, this little upstart church was being very creative in trying to answer the question, ‘where should we meet?’ by converting a local building that is usually used as a retail storefront of sorts. As soon as I entered the parking lot, I was directed by a number of beautiful full color photo signs that displayed the church’s name, photographs of families and high tech background imagery. I think I know where these signs were purchased (like I said, I’ve pastored at some very similar places), and I know that they are not inexpensive. There were at least four signs of this nature leading to the building entrance, and once here, I saw that there was another large sign announcing the church and a smaller full color photo banner displaying imagery related to the current preaching series. The table had dozens of professionally printed brochures, fliers and pamphlets, describing the variety of ministries offered by the church. The presentation was complimented by a number of small props that also confirmed and announced the preaching series. It was rather spectacular.

I entered the large lobby of this retail building and I could see that a number of hours had been spent reconstructing the lobby area with backdrops, partitions, signage, and greeting tables; all designed to convert the space from its retail design to that of a church. There was a table filled with morning pastries and coffee. It was a beautiful sight, expensively adorned with free goodies. As I approached the meeting area, I saw that a number of laminated glossy photographs had been placed in the hallways. I couldn’t help but wonder if these were actually photos of people who attended here, due to the rather professional nature of the poses and backgrounds. I got the impression that the photos were intended to evoke a FEELING of family in this retail space, rather than actually to present members of the congregation to the viewing public. It was about creating a ‘space’. Finally, as I entered the room that was to be used for the actual service, I discovered that an elevated stage had been erected and that the sides of the stage had been decorated with theme-appropriate displays and lighting. In addition, rear stage lights had been elevated, and a multi-media presentation was playing against the large backdrop screen. All in all, I could tell (mostly from having spent years doing church in this model) that a tremendous amount of time was expended in preparing this place to hold the Sunday service. The FORM the space was taking was completely consistent with the FUNCTION that the leadership decided the church was to assume.

In essence, you could tell WHY this church existed by simply observing how they shaped the space and spent their time, money and talents. You could tell who and what this church was focused on. This church existed to hold a Sunday service. Period. The ‘experience’ of the Sunday service was paramount and consumed everything else that the church could ever dream of doing. This church existed to be a place that people could come to, if they were ever able to find it or ever had a mind to find it in the first place. They were incredibly focused on the ‘service’ rather than on ‘serving’ their community. More on this, in my next post…

The Focused Church

The Un-Encumbered Church

My heart really goes out to young pastors. So many are doing their best to answer what they surely believe is God’s call on their lives. I know that so many truly want to BE what it is that God is calling them to BE, and they want to lead churches that will DO what it is that God wants them to DO. But it seems like such a difficult task. It sometimes seems nearly impossible; especially considering the baggage that we have to carry in our attempt to start what we hope will be a work of God. I recently visited with a young pastor who is clearly struggling under the weight and burden of cultural trappings and requirements. So much is taking precedent over the simple and clear teaching of God’s Word and the surrendered life of Christian service and evangelism. It is sad really…

Imagine that you knew that you were called to start and grow a church. Imagine that you knew that the function of this church, the purpose of this church, was (as described in Acts 2:42-47) to teach the truth, develop unity between fellow believers, live in awe of the power of God, serve others in love, share the truth with courage and as a result overflow with he joy of the Lord. Let’s say you were convinced that this was your calling in life. But before you could start to think about any of this, you are going to have to get yourself a really cool place to meet. Not just any place, but someplace that can compete in the marketplace of Christian churches that already exist in your community. And this place is going to cost you something. If you are living in South Orange County, it’s going to cost you A LOT. But in addition to this, your going to need a really good PA system so you can be heard, and really good printed materials so that your presence in the community looks legitimate and appealing. And, of course, there is going to be the audio visual requirements as well. And the coffee and pastry table. And the signage. It goes on and on, and all this is required before we can even begin to address the issue of the pastor’s salary.

Of course none of this stuff was required of the first churches. None of this was on the mind of the first believers. None of it. Now, in today’s culture, these are the PRE-requisites. We need this stuff before we can even begin. There is now a financial component that burdens the church and shapes the way church planters think about how they begin, but even worse, how they continue on a weekly basis. In the end, the financial requirements of this baggage are the burden of the pastor and the church. They are both encumbered. They are restricted. Think about it for a minute. As the pastor, carrying all these burdens, are you really going to start a teaching series that may cost you some attendance? How deep are you going to address the toughest issues of our faith, when the simplistic, hedonistic, materialistic culture in which is more interested in scratching a cultural itch?

The first churches spent their money on those in need. PERIOD. Check it out. Read the book of Acts. But with all the baggage that the cultural church carries, how likely are you going to be, as the pastor, to part with your cash when you’ve got so much to pay for? See this is the problem. The church in this cultural form is not free to DO what it is supposed to DO. It cannot BE what it is supposed to BE. It is ENCUMBERED!

The Un-Encumbered Church