Messy Church

When you look at the church today, what do you see? A corporation with a CEO at the helm? A social organization that does good things for the community?

I believe that neither of those pictures is God’s desire. Instead, God wants His church to function as a family, a group of real people who love each other and care for one another’s needs, no matter how messy.

Have you ever read the parable of The Lost Sheep?  It’s a parable about a kind and loving shepherd. (Read Luke 15)  And like so many of Jesus’ parables, this one was told in the presence of two groups of people, people who were convinced of their own evilness, and people who were convinced of their own goodness.  And in this case Jesus was speaking primarily to those good and religious people.

The parable is simple, a sheep has wandered off and the shepherd will not rest until he has found it and returned it to the flock.  I thought about that sheep, wandering lost and alone in the wilderness, and that shepherd who went looking for it.  There are so several different ways that the shepherd could have reacted when he finally found it:

1) He could have reprimanded it, “You stupid, ignorant sheep.  How dare you wander off from me?”  No, He doesn’t scold it.

2) He might have punished it, “You dumb, disobedient sheep.  I’ll teach you to wander off!”  No, he doesn’t punish it.

3) Or, he might have been tired of chasing after it continually and just sold it, “I can’t have a sheep like you causing so much trouble.  Do you know how you made me look in front of everyone else?”  No, he doesn’t get rid of it.

The scripture says, “And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” (Luke 15:5-6)  When that shepherd finds his sheep, he cares for it.  He lifts that big, dirty sheep onto his shoulders and carries it home, rejoicing all the way.  He carries it home and calls all his friends together for a big celebration.

The point of the parable is that God loves to save the lost. He loves to save sinners.  He doesn’t save those who are righteous and whose lives are all together; he saves those who are just plain bad.  If God is in the business of saving sinners, we need to expect that church will be full of sinners, those who are still wandering and those who have only just been found.

If our churches reflect God’s heart for the lost, they will be full of people with problems, full of people showing the consequences of a lifetime of wandering.  And this means that church may not be a safe and easy place.  It may not be a place full of people who have it all together.  It may be messy.  It should be messy.

Thank God if it is messy!  

“We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you...” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-4)

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