Crossroads At the Way and Churchianity

by Jesse Steele

research before starting our church here.

  Hank: Find anything interesting?

  William: The number one reason people told us that they didn’t go to church was, of all things, because of the greeter at the door.

  Hank: Huh. Funny, we found the same thing.

  William: You mean you did research too?

  Hank: Of course. I’m a numbers man.

  William: Well, that’s good. Numbers don’t lie. Just don’t get lost in them. Numbers represent souls, remember.

  Hank: Do you aim for big numbers?

  William: I just aim for a big party in Heaven. The more the merrier.

  Hank: I’m with you on that. But what do you think about all this non-pastor administration stuff? I was hoping to ask you more than explain the idea.

  William: It may very well be Biblical and it could be what the Church needs right now. But just remember. God’s Church is the Hope for the world. It’s His Plan A and there is no need for a Plan B. No matter what form His Church has, it will always be at least somewhat effective. If anything changes drastically, it will require Him to be behind that change. But I’ll be the first to admit that God’s plan usually surprises me. So, you’ve definitely got something to think about.

  Hank: A lot of ideas seem Biblical, but… how do I make them work? Yah know?

  William: For now, all I can say is, here at Williams, we did what God showed us to do. Now, if we can learn from each other, that’s great. I’m all about staying associated with other things happening in the Body of Christ. If it works and someone can show me… great.

  Hank: So, should I try this or not? I wouldn’t even know how to start.

  William: If someone else has done it, look more closely at what they did. Learn from those who have gone before you. You can avoid a lot of mistakes that way. But don’t necessarily copy them exactly. God leads different parts of His Body to do different things. He wants us all learning from each other while we each stay unique—that’s community. The more we communicate with each other, the more we understand our own stories.

  Hank: Well, I believe that some kind of change is in order. I just want to make sure I’m not crazy.

  William: The only thing that will make you crazy is if you try to be a leader who compromises. Staying afloat while poking holes in your boat is enough to make anyone crazy, or at least act like they’re crazy. Compromise is as sneaky as it is dangerous. You usually don’t know you’ve compromised until you’re in over your head.

  Hank: Is there a way to know if I’m starting to compromise?

  William: You’ll start to sink. Always keep honest truth-tellers around you. Don’t surround yourself with yes-men—yes-men are dangerous. And don’t be a yes-man to yourself. And always check the methods against the results.

  Hank: So, the end justifies the means?

  William: Technically, yes, but you have to see the Eternal End to truly evaluate that. For now, though, the end will usually tell you if the means aren’t working. Someone may have a great idea for how to lead an organization, but only results can prove whether it’s a good idea. Jesus said we know people by their fruit—He didn’t say, “paperwork.” So, as son of a businessman and a preacher myself, fruit of the harvest is what I’ll always look to determine whether the farmer made the right choices in the summer. Oranges don’t grow on apple trees nor does a farm yield good crops without proper care.

  Hank: Joe Stowell, Sr. once said to me, “If people are coming to Christ, you can’t argue with that.”

  William: You met the President of the Southern Baptist Convention?

  Hank: I’ve met a lot of people. We’re all alike and all unique. Jesus was, by far, the best. It would be great if we all could understand each other more. Maybe that’ll be easier if pastors are less busy with administration and more focused on just connecting with people.

  William: Let me know what you come up with. Whether we can lead our congregations by continuing our system or lead them by downsizing our own positions or doing whatever the Lord is leading us toward… God’s will be done. He loves the Church more than we ever could. No one in the next life will say, “Know God,” because everyone will know Him. Ultimately, the goal of all pastors is to work ourselves out of our jobs. That’s leadership. So, I should be glad when that day finally arrives.

  Scene 6: Michael

  Hank: What is this place?

  Michael: You’re in the House of the Lord.

  Hank: But it just looks like a normal room with chairs, a small platform, and a lot of musical instruments.

  Michael: Yeah. That’s ‘cuz were here to pray.

  Hank: What’s music got to do with prayer?

  Michael: Where do you get your prayer model from?

  Hank: Prayer model?

  Michael: Yeah, how do you pray and why do you pray that way?

  Hank: Um, well, ahhh… usually I fold my hands, bow my head…

  Michael: Why?

  Hank: I don’t know. That’s how we pray.

  Michael: That’s not an answer. We already know that a lot of people pray that way. And you just said that you pray that way. But the fact that you do something a certain way is not a good reason for why you do it.

  Hank: Okay, well then how do you pray?

  Michael: This is how I pray… me and the others here. See, they are all praying. But you still didn’t tell my why you do what you do.

  Hank: Now that you mention it, there are a lot of things I do and I don’t know why I do them the way that I do them. I suppose I pray that way because that’s how I’ve always prayed.

  Michael: Now you answered my question. You got your prayer model from history. You got it from other people.

  Hank: Okay. That’s fair to say. So, where did you get your prayer model?

  Michael: Revelation.

  Hank: John was talking about that the other day.

  Michael: John G. Lake!?

  Hank: No, a different John.

  Michael: Who? John who?

  Hank: You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.

  Michael: Oh, believe me… I’ve heard some strange stuff in my days. But it doesn’t matter.

  Hank: So why do you get your prayer model from Revelation?

  Michael: That’s where God most reveals His House.

  Hank: You mean the New Jerusalem?

  Michael: Well, in the early part of the book, we only see the Throneroom. The New Jerusalem is seen at the end. Regardless, Revelation shows us how humans and angels pray in Heaven and we want to model that here on the earth.

  Hank: That makes sense. We will pray to God in Heaven, so we might as well follow Heaven’s way of doing things in the here and now.

  Michael: And we pray for His Kingdom to come and for His will to be done… in earth as it already is in Heaven.

  Hank: But I don’t think they had a room full of chairs and a small stage and I don’t think it was exactly set up like this.

  Michael: It’s not the architectural layout we follow. After all, we aren’t pretending to build a Throneroom for God with our own hands. It’s the prayer model we follow.

  Hank: Um… I don’t see that connection either.

  Michael: Did you see the elders in Revelation?

  Hank: Well, no, but John did and he wrote about it.

  Michael: THAT John!? You talked to that John?

  Hank: [looking at floor] Yeah…

  Michael: No, you’re right. I don’t believe it.

  Hank: Told yah.

  Michael: Man, I have heard some wild stuff in my days, but that tops it all.

  Hank: Kinda’ like what I’m hearing from you… You talk about praying the way they pray in God’s Throneroom. I mean, basing an entire model off of just that?

  Michael: I’d rather base my prayer model on a clear revelation of how God is worshiped in Heaven than to pray the way everyone else prays just because they’ve always prayed that way.

  Hank: I can’t argue with that, though it’s still hard to believe.

/>   Michael: You’re the one who says he talked to John the Apostle.

  Hank: Hey, it wasn’t my idea.

  Michael: Neither was prayer my idea—or yours for that matter, nor the people’s of history. Prayer was invented by God and He’s the one we should learn from when we do things He invented.

  Hank: So, how do you pray, then?

  Michael: In Revelation, each of the elders held a harp, which is a musical instrument, and a bowl, which offered up prayer of the saints. Music and prayer are together in Heaven. That’s it.

  Hank: Oh, is this that “Harp and Bowl” thing I’ve heard about on the blogs?

  Michael: Oh, dear. What are people saying now?

  Hank: You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.

  Michael: Touché.

  Hank: Is that it, then? You just sing your prayers?

  Michael: You could say that. The point is that worship in song and petition in prayer must go together. You can’t ask from God without praising Him and you can’t praise God without requesting more of His good desires to invade your life.

  Hank: Invade!?

  Michael: I don’t mean physical force. It’s just that God’s love and blessing are so foreign to us that when we first see them, it actually feels like an invasion. But we don’t experience that level of God in our lives until our praise and petition become one-in-the-same.

  Hank: [shaking finger in agreement] Now that just makes sense.

  Michael: God’s not so crazy, yah know—except for the fact that He’s crazy-in-love with us. But that’s another topic altogether.

  Hank: I get the prayer and worship concept, so, go ahead. I’ve not often heard people express God’s love for us by saying His love is “crazy”.

  Michael: I’m sure you know the term “madly in love”. That’s what I mean. He’s really, really in love with us.

  Hank: You seem