Question: Why must people wake up early on Sunday, get all dressed up, and drive to a specific location to sit in rows looking all morning at the back of some person’s head while a person they usually don’t know talks to them about the latest prescription of three steps to a better life! Is this experience of “church” really supposed to change their lives forever? Really, it is a strange thing to do. And, I am convinced that most of us are so familiar with it as to not see how strange our customs really are to those who are not part of our community of faith.

It amazes me to consider how much effort and how many resources (time, money, and people) are expended for a single hour to 90 minutes once a week. Maybe we have made “church” nothing more than a religious show that takes place on Sunday, and after it’s done we all go home, until church starts again next week, same time, same place. Is this what the Bride of Christ is suppose to be biblically?

The heart of our message is that God didn’t expect us to come to Him in Heaven. He came to us. He lived life on our terms and on our turf. He became incarnate. That is a theological word that is worth explaining. Incarnate means He was “in flesh” or “in a human body.” When someone orders chilli ‘con carne,’ they are ordering chilli with meat, or flesh. Jesus is God incarnate. He was truth “fleshed out” for all to see. He “became flesh and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

So, as Jesus came to touch lives so He sends us to touch lives. The day when we could invite people to come to church to experience Jesus or come to know about Him is past and gone. It is no longer a matter of “gather” but now a matter of “scatter.” We, as believers, should be like Jesus and be incarnate in our local neighbourhood, apartment building, or sports arena. In our post-Christian world people are no longer waiting to be invited to attend church with you. But, they would come to your home and have a coffee and there see how your faith and values impact and influence your life.

Jesus is still incarnate; we are now His feet, His hands, His eyes, and His mouth. We are the Body of Christ. We are His temple, and His Spirit dwells within our flesh (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are not deity, but Deity dwells in us, and I suggest that this truth is such a dramatically life-altering reality that all should notice as we live out our every day life as “Jesus incarnate” in our communities and work places.

Sir Walter Moberly stated: “If one-tenth of what you believe is true, you ought to be ten times as excited as you are.” This is the word of a non-Christian who has listened to our message and studied our behaviour. It hurts because it is true. It should sting. We must begin to let the Word of Christ and the Spirit of God richly dwell within us so that His divine presence is noticeable. It was for this that Christ died. Lesslie Newbigin rightly says, “The Church is sent into the world to continue that which He came to do, in the power of the same Spirit, reconciling people to God.” (John 20:19-23)

It is time to return to our roots. Let the Church be alive, organic, in the flesh. Let the Church be birthed in places where it is most needed. Let the Church be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth as Jesus intended, as He paid for.

I believe that every Christian is a church planter, every home or meeting place is a church, and every church a training center. I understand that this is a whole new way of seeing Church. But, it is biblical and exactly what young people are embracing in nation after nation. If we see Church in this new way then we will be a part of a contagious movement regardless of our age. If we see church this way we will connect with many people who are disengaged with the old conventional church but still seeking an experience with Christ. If we can change the way we view things we will influence others and impact our community with the power of the Gospel.

This new way of seeing things increases involvement. After all, this means that you are a church planter. Well, at least you have the potential to be one. However, this will mean changing the way we view church and evangelism. Instead of bringing people to church so that we can the bring them to Christ, we will need to learn how to bring Christ to people where they live. People will meet with you in your home or at a local coffee shop much sooner than meeting you at the main door of your church building arriving in time for a Sunday worship experience. Think about it, why would someone want to come and sing songs to a God that they do not know and listen to a teaching from a book (the Bible) that they do not believe? But, they would come and have a coffee in your kitchen or at the local coffee shop in the mall to talk and share life with you. We must take Christ into people’s lives, and it must be in the context of relationships.

Think about it: We expect people to come to church in order to find Christ and be born again. However, the people of the world in our post-Christian society want nothing to do with the church. We are so obsessed with our own religious club (the church) that we actually identify those who do not have a relationship with Jesus as the unchurched. It is as though just joining us on Sundays for an hour and a half is enough to say that we are “in.” Salvation is not determined by your Sunday calendar or your smiling face in a church pictorial directory. We know that this is true doctrinally, but nonetheless we still divide the populace into the churched and the unchurched, as though all they need so as to be right is to come to our organization. Not wonder our message is so convoluted. We have lost sight of our prime directive and substituted creation of more people who are like us, rather than like Jesus, in its place.

If we see each believer as a church planter then we would be fulfilling Jesus’ command to “go into all the world.” We would go out and build relationships with non-believers and begin, in time, to share our Christian journey with others. People will come to Christ right there in familiar and comfortable places that are real and a vital part of their daily experience and their real world.

Then we would see churches meeting in restaurants, offices, homes, university campuses, high school facilities, and beaches. How about churches meeting in bars, coffeehouses, parks, and locker rooms. Yes, church would look different in each of these locations. But, all we need for “church” to happen is for Jesus to manifest His presence. He promised to do that when two or three gather in His Name and focus on Him. Instant church. And, the possibility of having a church within walking distance of every person living in your community, town, or city becomes a reality.

This would mean planting seeds of the Kingdom within existing relationships. Relationships that are real and are formed and flow in places where life happens. Is this not what Jesus did? He went where the people were and planted seeds of the Kingdom and the Gospel of the Kingdom. Out of these relationships He formed we see the church rising up and becoming a very powerful force in the then known world. In fact, it was life-changing and impacted all aspects of every day life. Is this not what Jesus wants for His Church still in our day and in this new season in which we find ourselves? Then the church would arise as “incarnation communities” in places where people would normally meet. Then we would have a living organism in every neighbourhood and on every street… and not some institutional organization on an occasional street corner. We would have life and not rules and regulations. We would have the Church that Jesus is building.

Every Christian a church planter, every home or meeting place a church, and every church a training center. Think about it!

The day that the Church began one of Jesus’ disciples preached a sermon. God touched the hearts of many people because they believed what Peter spoke about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. They were convicted by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:37)  of their sin, Jesus’ righteousness, and the coming judgment (John 16:8-10). Peter shared that Jesus is God in human form who died to save us from our sins allowing us to then have a dynamic and daily relationship with Jesus and our Heavenly Father. This is called the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23b and John 17:3).

The people responded. They cried out “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37) They believed what they heard but believing in Jesus requires more than intellectual assent. Another Bible preacher, James the apostle, wrote: “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shutter”  (James 2:19). And, they are not going to Heaven. So, obviously, there is more needed than mental assent or knowing the facts about Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection and all that this accomplished..

Before and after the original sin that separated man from God, man believed in God. The problem was not a lack of belief, but instead the lack of lordship. To be truly born again and thus assured of eternity in Heaven with Jesus; in other words, restoring us to a right relationship with God, requires both belief and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus.

Jesus is Lord and not just Saviour. In fact, He cannot be your Saviour unless He is also your Lord. So, “What shall we do?” Good question. We need to look at our life and see who is actually running it. Who is calling the shots? Are we still chasing our own dreams, hopes, and aspirations? Or, have we bowed the knee to Jesus and thus working on fulfilling His plan and His purpose for our life? Are we building our empire or helping Him in the expansion of His Kingdom? When making daily decisions in life do we pray and ask for His guidance and direction or do we simply do what we think is best in the situation?

This is not just playing games with words. This is really a serious matter. Jesus is Lord! And He is not your best friend, your co-pilot, or an emergency switch to pull when you don’t know what else to do. He is Lord – Ruler, King, Master, Leader. He does not settle for second place. He is Lord! And, until He is Lord and you have offered Him your whole life as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2) then you are simply a nominal Christian, a cultural Christian, a Christian in name only. You may believe you are safe and that, when you die, you are going to Heaven but this is not biblically true.

Not only must He be Lord but … tomorrow we will look at what else is needed.