The Ultimate Road Side Assistance

I’m a problem solver, this is a good thing. I’m also a critic, this can be bad.  Every problem I've engaged started with a critique.  I notice something isn't right, I evaluate the gap between reality and ideal and I estimate the resources needed to bridge the gap.  Being a critic is bad if my engagement ends at this point.  I call this the “That tire’s flat.” syndrome, observing the problem without offering to get the jack.   It is helpful to note why the car has stopped but more involvement is needed. 

I brought this tension into my faith walk, specifically in my view of the local church and leadership.  After beginning my journey in, what I thought was the perfect church, I began to notices gaps.  I read the book of Acts and listened to contemporary speakers and authors opine about the first century model of a faith community.  I assumed there was an ideal church somewhere but I wasn't part of it.   I had an idea of what the car was supposed to do and I noticed the flat tire.  The church has a lot of flat tires and even more people saying “Hey, that tire’s flat.” 

A year ago I took a very dangerous step, after years of church leadership, serving as a trustee, ministry director, missionary board member, elder and lay pastor, I accepted the call to lead a local church.  I was more than reluctant to accept this call knowing my lack of qualifications and personal fear of letting people down.  I had helped start this church two years before and loved it, it was not perfect but pretty good.  Good enough that people would notice if I screwed it up. 

Over the years I've collected a diverse group of friends that are pastors so I knew well what I was getting myself into.  Many of those same friends, like me, were great critics of the universal and local church.  We would have meaningful conversations on the corrupt condition of the modern church and how screwed up pastors were.  We solved every problem we observed…in our minds.  Many of those friends not only observed the flat tires but refused to ever get back in the car.  They had found “new models” that focused attention on the parts of the car they felt most important.  For some it was authentic community, a comfortable car that was big enough for all and very comfortable.  For others it was mission, a work horse of a car, more like a truck, that would serve the poor and help the hurting.  Still others found cars that were built with large megaphones that moved quickly through the streets amplifying the good news.  I haven’t asked but I suspect they got flat tires too. 

As my wife and I wrestled with the idea of leading a church most of the evidence was on our side on why this was a bad idea.  We weren’t qualified and we would definitely let people down.  After saying no and settling into this decision we spent an evening with a friend that rides in a small car built for tribulation.  He affirmed our decision to not engage and said something that changed me.  He said “The Church is dead.” As I was about to walk out of his apartment and say no for the final time I realized that many of my friends had gotten out of the car for some very good reasons; lack of appreciation, personal hurt, theological divisions, the list goes on.  However, leaving the car, the church, because of a flat tire doesn’t mean it is dead, it just means it’s stuck.  And if all the tire changers walk away from this very capable thing because of one, or one hundred, flat tires we create the illusion of death. 

The local church, your local church, needs problem solvers.  There are plenty of critics and even more flat tires.  As we engage the mission of this car we quickly realize that it’s not the responsibility of the critic or the problem solver to keep the car running.  You see Jesus commissioned us to engage his church, but it is HIS church.  He described this to Peter, the first of many unqualified lead pastors, when He said:

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” –Matthew 16:18-19

The Church is dead?  It’s a theological impossibility, one that I’ve staked my life on.   Jesus is the hope of the world and His church is the vehicle that proclaims this hope.  I know there are lots of car models out there and they all get flat tires fortunately I also know who to call for road side assistance.