Mistaken Identity (part 2)

(First read Mistaken Identity part 1…okay, now you’re ready…)

In my last post I described how the church in general suffers from mistaken identity, because it is an organism that thinks and acts like an institution. I concluded by sharing that because there are those who are (in increasing numbers) drifting away from the institutions and acting more like an organism, this mistaken identity is now growing into an identity crisis, especially among institutional church leadership.

A good analogy of what I’m talking about is the hit show American Idol (or _____ Idol for whatever other country you might be in). Among the genuine talent that shows up, there are many who think they are singers that find a rude awakening by the judges. I realize some of that is sensationalized for TV, but it is truly a study of human nature to look at the different reactions from people when they are advised to find another career path: denial, anger, confusion, self-pity, and in some cases a total meltdown.

These are the symptoms of identity crisis. When someone thinks they are something they are not, and you say or do something that shines the light on the delusion, you are liable to get a whole range of emotional reactions. But there is one emotion that I believe is behind all the others, and that emotion is fear.

When I have had the opportunity (or maybe we should call it stupidity) to talk to some institutional church leaders about some of the stuff I’m processing here on this blog, I’ve gotten a range of reactions that is surprisingly like those of American Idol (well, perhaps a bit more dignified at times, but similar nonetheless). The responses have ranged from simple disagreement and defensiveness (read: denial) to questioning my salvation to outright hostility. But the look in their eyes gives away the bottom-line emotion. It’s fear. To put it bluntly–some of them are scared spitless.

So why the fear? For some church leaders, talk like this is dangerous because they can instantly draw the line to a loss of control of their flock, a loss of numbers, a loss of income, a loss of legitimacy, and ultimately a failure of the structure they have come to trust in. For others, it can be simply because when you see the church as an institution and people start leaving it, it looks like the future of the church itself is in jeopardy. In both cases–as in all cases of mistaken identity–the fear happens because identity is a foundational issue, and when challenged, it can call everything you’ve believed into question. That’s enough to rock anyone’s world.

Now…here’s the ironic truth behind the mistaken identity of the church, and why we don’t need to be afraid of the truth about our identity.

The Scriptures indicate (and history itself shows) that the church of Jesus Christ is indestructible. The church has survived and thrived through the centuries despite heresies, sin issues, politics and persecution. In fact, the more we are persecuted, the more we grow. Why? Because the church is an organism, and not just any organism: the church is an organism with the eternal life of God flowing through her. The church is the Body of Christ, and Jesus will never let the church be destroyed.

By contrast, history shows that institutions can be destroyed, and in fact are destroyed regularly. Every government, every empire that has risen and fallen, has been an institution. Corporations are institutions, and they fail all the time, both big and small (case in point: Enron). Institutions are temporal; the church is eternal. If you see the church as an institution, it is understandable to feel that the church is in danger of destruction; but if you see the church for what it is–an organism–you’ll realize that could never happen.

So here’s the truth: reclaiming our true identity as an organism might threaten the institution, but it will never put our future in doubt. We might have to re-think some things. Heck, we’re going to have to re-think quite a lot of things, and that’s already happening. But the church will survive and thrive much more as an organism than we ever could as an institution.

There is a shift occuring in the church, and I believe it is a foundational shift. More and more people are seeing the church as an organism, and seeking to live in that reality. In the interest of fairness, not all institutional leaders react as I described above. Some who have eyes to see are recognizing the shift and seeking God for ways to adapt. And there are others like Glenn, who resigned from the clergy of his own volition and is seeking a fresh expression of his gifts for a new season. But the shift is coming, nonetheless, and wisdom would dictate that we adapt rather than resist. For when you look at this change through the lens of an organism rather than an institution, a bigger picture begins to take shape. You see, this is not some neo-Marxist type of revolution against spiritual authority by the “lay people” (“True Jesus People around the world UNITE!”). No, I believe this is something God is doing, not to His church, but for her. He is freeing us from our mistaken identity. He is breaking off the institutional thinking that has enslaved us, in order to help us become what we were meant to be all along.