I'm pondering:
How Institutionalism Inhibits our Expectation of the Supernatural
February 18, 2013
S. Michael Craven
By reducing our conceptions of the church to an institution or organization to be
managed,
there often follows a decreased expectation of the supernatural in the
affairs and activities of the church and, by extension, the individual
Christian. Rather than seeking results beyond our human schemes and
expectations, we find ourselves managing the church as an enterprise in
which results can be forecast and progress measured using metrics common
to modern business. The watchword becomes “measurable results,” without
which an activity is deemed unworthy of pursuit or, if implemented,
unsuccessful. Lost is the concept of
faithfulness to our Lord and the principles of his kingdom, which may not always yield success in terms visible to us.
This,
I think, is why “making disciples” is often exchanged for
proselytism—because conversions are more easily measured than spiritual
growth. The result can be evangelistic efforts and campaigns that are
aimed at obtaining professions of faith, which as we now know are often
nothing more than assent to a set of ideological propositions. This
might explain why seventy-seven percent of American adults claim to be
Christian and yet a mere four percent agree with the most basic tenets
of the Christian faith. In the absence of true spiritual growth—in which
our conceptions of reality are informed by Scripture—we can remain
immature in our understanding and practice of the Christian faith.
Additionally,
conversion through mere intellectual assent may remain devoid of real
spiritual transformation. In the absence of an incarnational experience,
one is left with an understanding of being Christian as merely
following a set of do’s and don’ts—a life of self-reliant sin
management. The unhealthy institutionalization of the church only
reinforces this false notion, thus perpetuating a false understanding of
what it truly means to
follow Jesus.
Lastly,
institutionalization has a dramatic impact on our expectations of the
office of pastor. Instead of shepherd, the pastor is expected to
function as the CEO—the person primarily responsible for the so-called
success of the organization. As a shepherd, the pastor is devoted to the
spiritual well-being and maturity of the flock. This is an activity
beyond the scope of measurable metrics. In contrast to task-oriented
church leaders, the pastor who shepherds a faith community through the
competent exposition of the Scripture in a spirit of self-sacrificial
service to those entrusted to his care leads a flock that thrives.
Sadly, the institutional mind-set has little patience for such pastors who invest more in the
spiritual growth of their people rather than the
numerical
growth of the congregation. This might explain why only one out of ten
men who enter the pastorate today will survive until retirement. This is
an appalling statistic that reveals unhealthy expectations, which when
unmet result in the pastor being kicked to the curb. I can’t imagine
Jesus treating people the way we frequently treat those who have been
called to preach the gospel!
© 2013 by S. Michael Craven
http://www.battlefortruth.org/How_Institutionalism_Inhibits_our_Expectation_of_the_Supernatural.asp?
