I DON’T LIKE ORGANIZED RELIGION

Some people object to attending a structured church.  To them, it’s way too organized.  They believe Christianity should be should be an individual matter and that too much organization ruins it.  “I just don’t like organized religion,” they say, “This is why I don’t go to church.” 

While no one would argue against the value of making Christianity personal, it might be helpful to consider the alternative of organized religion – unorganized religion!  Is this what Jesus intended when He chose 12 disciples, trained them and then commissioned them in Matthew 28:19 to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations?” Was he thinking that they should avoid being too organized and just let things happen organically and relationally?  Did the early Christians disdain organized religion as much as people do today?

Let’s talk about it...

Think about God in the Bible.  In every case where there was chaos, He moved to bring order.  This includes Genesis 1 where God speaks order into the chaos of the universe.  It also includes Acts 1 where the disciples felt compelled to replace Judas’ position on their leadership team.  They later created a procedure for appointing multiple leaders to serve the needs of a growing church in Acts 6.  Paul later concluded that God is not the author of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33) when giving instructions on orderly worship gatherings. In the book of Judges, it was considered a detrimental quality to live in an environment where every man did what was right in his own eyes.  Today, it seems like a virtue.

 

A few questions…

• Would you select a sports team for your child whose coach said, “We don’t believe in organized sports?” 
• Would you select a school or daycare whose director said, “We don’t believe in organized education?”
• Would you let your child ride on a bus whose driver said, “We don’t believe in organized transportation?”
• Would anyone want to live in a city whose police chief said, “We don’t believe in organized law enforcement?”
• Then why would anyone want to go a church whose pastor said, “We don’t believe in organized religion?”

Anytime people come together to complete a task, organization is necessary.  Where there is little vision for a group of people to accomplish anything, little organization is needed.  But where there is large vision for a group of people to accomplish something, a large amount of organization is needed.

Have you ever coached a sports team?  Have you every led a group of volunteers in a community project?  Have you ever been in charge of a construction crew?  Have you ever been in a manager’s position?  Have you ever been responsible for people in the military?  Have you ever taken school kids on a field trip?  Have you ever taken a family vacation?  If so, you understand the value of organization and order.  Chaos and confusion can destroy the success of any assignment when organization of the group deteriorates.

Throughout the Bible God worked among His people bringing order from chaos, organization from confusion and obedience from rebellion. 

• God created family order for Adam and Eve. 
• God created engineering order for Noah and his family… 
• God created covenantal order for Abraham and Sarah…
• God created religious and social order for Israel coming out of slavery… 
• God provided priestly order for Aaron and his sons… 
• God created Kingdom order for David and his descendants… 
• God gave prophetic order for Elisha and the school of the prophets… 
• God instituted worship order for Solomon when he built the temple…
• God gave reconstruction order for Nehemiah building the walls of Jerusalem…
• God delivered protection order for Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem… 
• God provided educational order for Jesus as a child… 
• God gave ministry order for Christ to the Lost House of Israel – who in turn passed that along to His disciples when He sent them out… 
• Jesus provided a strategic order before He ascended, sending His apostles to Jerusalem first, then Judea, Samaria and the uttermost… 
• The apostles established ministry order when they set deacons in place to deliver food baskets to gentile widows… 
• Paul gave governmental order when he set elders in place after his first missionary journey.  Paul also instructed Titus and Timothy to do the same… 
• Jesus announced judgment order when He divided sheep from goats before His throne…
• …and John saw the same in Revelation when those who practice sin were locked outside the gates of New Jerusalem.

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is clear that one of God’s agendas was to replace chaos with order, eliminating the tendency of human brings to remain rebellious and disconnected.  His commands for His people necessitated order and organization.  Both are needed anytime people come together for a purpose.  It’s counterparts, chaos and confusion, are the cause of human tragedy and suffering around the world.  If the church is going to fulfill the purposes of God on the earth, it will take an immense amount of order and organization.

As a local congregation, just a few of the things we are commissioned to do includes: preserving the message of Jesus; evangelizing friends and families around us; being salt and light in our culture; impacting our cities for Christ; preaching the gospel to the lost; caring for the saints; feeding the hungry; clothing the naked; visiting the sick and imprisoned; teaching the Bible; providing healing for the sick; translating God’s Word into thousands of languages; preserving the family unit; and discipling whole nations.

None of this gets done without organization!

It will take a vast amount of organization to accomplish these tasks!

So yes, we believe in organized religion.  In light of the Great Commission, we see no other way to complete our assignment before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.