Rethinking Church?

A received a helpful reminder from David Wells as I neared the end of "The Courage to Be Protestant" this last week. In his chapter on the church he discusses the idea of "rethinking the church". Many church leaders of our day have thought it judicious, in light of the changing culture and its new perceived needs, to rethink how we "do" church. Viewing the church as a business, or a product to be marketed and sold, they see the necessity to ensure that the church does not become irrelevant or out of touch with what people are seeking, but rather to stay on top of things to make sure their product is going to maintain a high level of appeal.

These people have forgotten (at least) one thing: The Church is not theirs to "rethink". As Wells reminds us, the Church is God's. Rather than "seizing sovereignty" in regards to what our churches should be doing, we are to realize the truth that "Christ not only instituted the church (Matt. 16:18), but God has given us the blueprint for its life in Scripture" (Wells, 223). He determines its purpose and how it is to be accomplished.

Yet, as Burroughs helped us understand, while the elements of church are determined by God and are not to be altered, the circumstances (physical components connected with and subservient to the elements) are subject to change depending on a host of variable cultural and social factors. We can rethink, say, whether we want to to observe the the Lord's Table monthly, weekly, or quarterly, but we cannot rethink whether we will in fact observe the Lord's Table at all. That is a non-negotiable issue because it is a clear part of God's blueprint for the church.

Wells further points out that if any rethinking needs to be done, it is probably rethinking our thoughts about the church that needs to happen. Indeed, if we have problems with following the direction of God's Word in running the church, it is certainly a problem of our own. If we do not see God's blueprint for the church as a good or effective and see our own plans as superior, we really need to grow up and relinquish the sovereignty over God's institution that we have claimed for our own.