The "I" Church

 by Phil Bliss

The world was created with perfect balance. There is land and there is sea. There is Earth and there is air. There are cold climates and warm climates. Light skinned people and dark skinned people. God put it all together with absolute precision and balance.

Because our world is balanced, things in our world must be balanced in order to work properly too. A car cannot drive on two wheels. It could probably work on three but gets optimum achievement from all four wheels. A tree has many branches that reach into the sky but below the ground a network of roots keep it sturdy. Have you ever seen a bird fly with just one wing? How about a cheetah run on two legs or a kangaroo bounce on just one leg.

Without balance, we would have a world of chaos. The world is inherently evil. Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another so as to balance the world. By showing this love for one another, others that are on the evil side will see the good that emanates from us and will want to join us to help balance the world once again. Can you imagine what this world would be like without love? Can you imagine how people would treat one another if there was no balance? We can read stories in Genesis to find out.

Jesus had just told his disciples that he would be with them only a little while longer. Jesus was the leader of a group of this group of disciples. They were 12 dirty, poor men that were not societies elite. Now there leader was saying I will be leaving you soon. This would surely upset the balance right? But it did not have to. Jesus chose 12 disciples for many reasons. One reason was to symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel. Another reason was because a team is always stronger than an individual. We are all individuals but together we become united and united we are stronger than we are as individuals.

He could have chosen just two or three, but he chose 12. 12 men that would take his message and spread it to the entire world. There was no individuals any longer. They were a team.

But what about Peter. Listen carefully to what Peter said to Jesus "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."

"I" Peter wanted an I church. Peter was a strong person and he knew it. His faith was strong, but could be stronger. Peter had a very strong bond with Jesus and he felt that He should be able to follow him. Jesus then showed Peter what happens to the I church that Peter wanted to be in. He told Peter his faith would fail. That he would deny Jesus not once, but three times before morning.

We know that it did happen just as Jesus predicted and Peter was distraught to realize his master was right. But how did Peter fail? Peter did not involve the group.

Now Jesus would not have let his disciples be crucified with him because he needed them to propagate the message. But had Peter said, WE will lay down our lives for you, He would have been on the right track. There is no I in the word church. It is spelled C H U R C H, not with an I, however there is a U in church. You need to be a part of the larger group. U need to be a member of the body of believers known as the church. Any U that tries to be an I is going to fail. I am not saying we cannot be individuals because part of the balance of life is our privacy.

We have our private moments and our group moments. If you have ever seen the movie Castaway you will find out what happens when this balance is upset? We as humans need to interact with others or we start talking to inanimate objects like volleyballs. Individualism is a part of the balance of life, but when it comes to the church, there is no I in church. One person cannot build a church and unless everyone is an individual, no one person can single handedly tear down a church either.

For a church to survive, it must remember that it is part of a team. A team within the local church and a part of the body of Christ as a whole that comprises the universal church in Christ.

Even the apostle Paul was not alone. He had Titus, Timothy, Barnabas, Silas, and Apollos among others that helped him spread his message. The letters we read are mostly from him, but he was not an individual in this movement.

When you have a group of individuals form a team, like a church, there are sure to be problems. With each individual comes a different personality. You've heard the saying that birds of a feather flock together. You rarely see a mallard duck flying with a group of Canadian geese. But in the church, we need to accept each person and love them as Jesus commanded. Someone may be more outgoing than you, but that does not mean that person should be shunned. Someone may not be a leader but that person should still be involved. When churches individualize themselves, they will surely die. When churches exclude those that are different than themselves, they will surely die.

The other aspect of the "I" church are the members that feel the church is for them. The church was established to bring people to Christ. The church was not established to be a business in which the members are only concerned about keeping the church alive. If financial concerns outweigh spiritual concerns, the church will suffer. If people are more concerned about the look and feel of their surroundings than they are about the people that are not coming to this beautiful church, the church will suffer.

I have seen some wonderful large churches that are simply beautiful inside and they have a lot of members. But they get their members because they have a large church. Not because they are concerned about the spirituality of their members. This is not always true, but can be true with a lot of larger churches.

I am not trying to downplay large churches and I am not trying to say financial problems are not to be worried about. But the primary goal of any church establishment should be to reach out to the unchurched. Why? Because if you want to grow, you must bring people in to help you grow. Jesus said that whoever gives up his life for mine will gain it. He doesn't want us to be martyrs for him. That is not what he meant. He meant that if we consider others better than ourselves and are concerned with the others around us and how they are in their walk with God, then we will be ministered to in ministering to them. It is like reverse logic. You don't give a car to someone so that someone will give you a bigger car. But when it comes to Christ, if you put yourself aside to help someone else, not only will God take care of you, but you will feel better about yourself and you will be ministered to in ministering to someone in need and if you do it, someone will someday reciprocate the favor and minister to you when you are in need.

Jesus said blessed are the meek. Those that humble themselves instead of exalt themselves. Blessed are the poor in spirit. If you are rich in spirit, make yourself poor in spirit by giving away what you have.

If you find a wonderful treasure, will you be selfish and keep it all, or will you share it with your family and friends. We have found that treasure in Christ Jesus and now we must not keep it to ourselves.

The final aspect of the church that is not an "I" church is the body of Christ aspect. We are to bear one another's burdens and encourage one another as long as it is called today. We are to turn away anger with kind words and we are to rebuke when someone is going the wrong path. Notice I did not mention anything we are to do for ourselves. We are to help our brethren always.

If someone is thirsty give him a drink. If someone is hungry, give them something to eat. Whatever we do for the least of these, we do for Christ.

A person in the "I" church says "That doesn't apply to me." A person in the "I" church is self centered and comes to church only for their own spiritual needs and forgets those around him. The person in the "I" church is usually prideful and doesn't feel they need help from others. If a church is made up of Individuals, there will be individual problems with no results. If a church is made up of people that are willing to work together, the problems of the church will be resolved together and the church will survive together.

On that night when Peter said "I" will lay down my life for you, he found himself alone and without his friends to help him. He was isolated and scared and he denied knowing Jesus three times. And then the rooster crowed. Don't let the rooster crow at you.

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