Doing Ministry vs Doing church

It is never ending... the number of books, conferences, philosophies, new ideas, etc, etc that are meant to help pastors, church leaders, and lay people understand how to "do church better". It seems that every month I get a new brochure about a new and upcoming conference which crosses my desk which promises to equip me with the necessary skills to do church better. Of the plethora of books in this regard there is no end.

It is so easy to get caught up in thinking that doing church better automatically translates into doing real ministry in the real world. Acquiring the latest contemporary ideas and morphing them into the life of my church may not be what I/we need. So what if I keep up with the "Joneses" in the church world and make my church into the image of the latest new church thing out there. Will that all of a sudden make our church a disciple making church? Young pastors (like myself) often fall into this dangerous trap.

Then there are those who already have in their mind how to do church. They have already been solidified in a model which has worked for them in the past and they will never change. This is the way it has always been done and it is the right way to do it. You often hear people of this persuasion repeat the refrain "we have never done it that way before". (Actually, people don't say that anymore because we have been picking on that phrase for two decades now. But they still think it.) Their idea of doing church is to make whatever church they are in match up with the model which has worked for them in the past...sometimes the very distant past. Baptist Churches have often fallen into this error.

Since when has doing ministry been reduced to doing church? It does not matter if I have an old model in mind for doing church or if I am searching for all the latest contemporary ideas for creating a model for doing church. The point is still the same...why so much emphasis on how we do church? Who cares about the model? Is it really all that important? Or is conducting real ministry what God sees as important? Although this often manifests itself in the form of contemporary vs traditional it is a much deeper issue. It has nothing to do with style. It has everything to do with a mindset.

Why so much emphasis upon us, anyway. Isn't that what "doing church" is all about...Me, my church? Sounds selfish. Doing church leads to simply going through the motions and eventually you move from "doing church" to "playing church".

It becomes form with no substance.

Doing ministry, however, pays more attention to substance over form. Placing an emphasis upon doing ministry leads you to a dis concern over the form of the church i.e. how we are going to "do" church. The point of doing ministry takes the concern off of myself and "my" church and causes me to think in terms of people...un-reached or hurting people. Substance, or true ministry, is what is allowed to guide the form church. By doing this a church allows its form to be guided by the substance of what it is attempting to accomplish in ministry. The form is relevant only as an extension of ministry substance.

I dont want to "do church". And I certainly do not want to "play church" by simply going through the motions. God never called me to that. God called me to ministry. The style of church and the type of church and the manner in which a church operates is irrelevant to God. After all, do we really think there is only one "right way" to do church? God is concerned about His Kingdom more than he is a church. If a church is making an impact upon His Kingdom by making disciples God is dis-concerned with the form.


So...why all the rambling on a Monday morning, you may ask! Simply this...what is the substance we are shooting for at WBC? MT 28:19 provides us with the answer. By now, I hopefully do not have to quote it for you. Our goal is to "make disciples". This is the substance we are trying to produce. And what is a disciple? Remember the 4 functions of a disciple contained in our Missional Vision? WORSHIP CONNECT GROW SERVE. The substance we are looking for at WBC is found in taking an un-churched/un-saved person and creating them into a disciple who worships Christ, connects with other believers, grows in their faith and Christ-likeness, and serves the world by embracing missional values. Honestly, how we accomplish this (our form) is not a major issue of concern for me as long as we do not compromise the Word of God, or ourselves, in any manner.

Have a wonderful week.