I recently began reading The Body by Charles Colson. It is a book I remember fondly from my days in Bible college and I decided to crack it open again as I'm working on a paper concerning the church. In the first several pages there were a great number of ideas which grabbed my attention, one of which goes like this: "The hard truth is that we have substituted an institutionalized religion for the life-changing dynamic of a living faith."
Very difficult words to take in. Of course, there are many exceptions to this statement. I have benefited from believers who have given me much more than institutionalized religion - people who have allowed their lives to intersect with mine and who have blessed me with hour upon hour of personal time and with relationship. But there is indeed much truth in this statement.
As a pastor, I know that it is easy to fall into programming at the expense of life-on-life discipleship (and institutionalized religion is nothing more than programming taken to the extreme). I have nothing against programming in and of itself. Sunday school, worship service, soup kitchens and youth group are all examples of programs and each have a vital role to play in the life of believers and in the life of the church. Programming is essential. But it must never be alone. Both programming and transformative relationship must be held in proper balance if we are to be successful in the long-term. If we long to see committed and long-lasting followers of Jesus developed I believe that intentional relationship is just as important as solid programming.
But why do we fall into the trap of offering programs at the expense of close, personal interaction? Let me share three quick thoughts - if you have others please feel free to comment on this post!
1. Transformative relationships are hard work.
If we are going to enter into transformative relationships with other believers it will not be easy. It takes time--hour upon hour, day upon day, week after week, year after year. Many of these relationships last for very long periods of time. Our lives feel busy enough. We are all stressed out by innumerable items. We all desire more time to rest, not more work. We will have to do research to help out those we are meeting with. We will need to pray for them. We will need to be ready for phone calls at all hours of the day and night. In short, such relationships are not for those who desire quick fixes.
2. Transformative relationships are messy.
In these relationships we share our dirty laundry and hear others do the same. We do so for the sake of accountability, for the sake of confession, for the sake of being reminded of the love and forgiveness of Christ, for the sake of finding help in our struggles. And we often hear difficult questions related to the faith. In these relationships doubts about God are aired - doubts which we want easy answers to but for which easy answers do not always exist.
3. Transformative relationships do not produce the same sort of measurable results as programs do.
When it comes to programs it is easy to measure growth (simply count how many people are coming) and relatively simple to evaluate the content (ask a few of the people who attended if they understand and enjoy what you are doing). With a discipling-relationship growth and success are not as easy to pin down. How can you measure how well someone is growing? And while the content and the discussion may be enjoyed and appreciated, is it the right content for the individual to be focusing on at this stage in their life? This is not always so clear.
4. Programs produce a greater sense of self-fulfillment for the leader.
One of the struggles pastors have is that the work they do is often slow. While a painter can see a room transformed before her eyes in a matter of hours, a pastor preaches to the same person for ten years and may only see one sign of discernible growth in that time frame. Programs have a clear beginning and end. They can be excellent or poor. As already mentioned they can be evaluated and even praised. A leader may feel more fulfilled after pulling off an excellent event than after spending an hour in a coffee shop chatting about an individual's struggle with a regular devotional life.
