The Myth of Organic Church by Kathleen Ward
Human beings are created with an inbuilt tendency towards
idealism. Fairy tale stories and superhero movies reflect our need for
happy endings and superhuman abilities. We grow up with romantic and
unrealistic expectations of life, which are often dashed against the
rocks of reality, leaving us hurt and disappointed.
You can see this idyllic imagination at work in our searches for a romantic partner. My youngest daughters (age 5 and 3) often take turns being a bride and marrying each other, already living out the dream of “happily ever after”. They don’t yet know that every marriage involves two very different and flawed humans, who will have downs as well as ups, and who will never fully be able to meet each other’s needs and expectations.
When it comes to church, we have the same idealism, only even higher. After all, we have Scripture verses to back it up. We long to be part of an intimate community of people who follow Jesus, love one another, accept us as we are and empower us to be all we can be.
Our idyllic notions often take a battering in institutional church, so we turn our hearts towards a romanticised notion of “organic church”. In our minds, this new-and-improved-model-of-church will meet all our needs and bring us towards “happy ever after”. In the real world, organic churches have their problems too – their power struggles, personality clashes and failure to meet people’s expectations.
Organic church life can be amazing. In fact, institutional church life can be equally amazing. However, just like a marriage, any of these relational settings needs to be approached with the right mindset and commitment to playing our part. There are certain characteristics which will create the transformational community we long for – honesty, authenticity, acceptance, kindness, patience, love. The problem is, these things come at a cost. They require effort and truckloads of maturity. They are not always easy and they don’t always feel good.
The myth of organic church is that it will meet your spiritual, emotional and relational needs. Only God can do that. If you want to find some magical, picture-perfect church community, give up now. However, if you’re prepared to trust God to meet your deep needs, struggle with your own issues, put up with other people’s foibles, and commit for the long haul, you may just find glimpses of the joy and fellowship you crave. It won’t be an easy journey, but along the way you will change yourself and your church community, for good.
You can see this idyllic imagination at work in our searches for a romantic partner. My youngest daughters (age 5 and 3) often take turns being a bride and marrying each other, already living out the dream of “happily ever after”. They don’t yet know that every marriage involves two very different and flawed humans, who will have downs as well as ups, and who will never fully be able to meet each other’s needs and expectations.
When it comes to church, we have the same idealism, only even higher. After all, we have Scripture verses to back it up. We long to be part of an intimate community of people who follow Jesus, love one another, accept us as we are and empower us to be all we can be.
Our idyllic notions often take a battering in institutional church, so we turn our hearts towards a romanticised notion of “organic church”. In our minds, this new-and-improved-model-of-church will meet all our needs and bring us towards “happy ever after”. In the real world, organic churches have their problems too – their power struggles, personality clashes and failure to meet people’s expectations.
Organic church life can be amazing. In fact, institutional church life can be equally amazing. However, just like a marriage, any of these relational settings needs to be approached with the right mindset and commitment to playing our part. There are certain characteristics which will create the transformational community we long for – honesty, authenticity, acceptance, kindness, patience, love. The problem is, these things come at a cost. They require effort and truckloads of maturity. They are not always easy and they don’t always feel good.
The myth of organic church is that it will meet your spiritual, emotional and relational needs. Only God can do that. If you want to find some magical, picture-perfect church community, give up now. However, if you’re prepared to trust God to meet your deep needs, struggle with your own issues, put up with other people’s foibles, and commit for the long haul, you may just find glimpses of the joy and fellowship you crave. It won’t be an easy journey, but along the way you will change yourself and your church community, for good.
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