Skip the gravy

Sometimes you have to go back to the basics.

I’m currently in the process of wedding planning with my fiancé, who proposed a few weeks ago. We set the date for March 20, which gives us less than 90 days (from the time of this post) until we say, “I do,” in the presence of friends and family members.

Thankfully the past week has been full of choosing bridesmaid dresses and shoes, gift registries and the locations of our rehearsal dinner and reception. However, we have (less than) 90 days to decide on invitations, flowers, songs, food, decorations, hotel accommodations, tux rentals, favors, etc.

For a slight perfectionist, all this decision-making can be overwhelming. After I admitted this on my Facebook status, a few friends chimed in with encouragement from their own experiences and reminded me to focus on what matters—that at the end of the day on March 20, my fiancé and I will be married. Everything else “is just gravy.”

Francis Chan hit a nerve last month in writing about “The Comfortable Substitute” followers of Christ have created in the absence of the church as modeled in Scripture. He outlines basic necessities for the body to function as it was designed to, as well as gravy—the extra stuff that doesn’t really matter, but we’ve become cozy with and can’t imagine a Sunday service without.

I first had a taste of this when I went off to college and began looking for a church to join. After looking for a group of people that reminded me of my home church, I realized I needed to change my perspective and instead look for a church that modeled what the Word of God says it is supposed to be.

I’m sure church planters around the globe can talk about struggles with knowing how to “do” church, especially when bringing it to a people group without an idea of what the church is supposed to look like or be. How do you start? Where do you begin?

Chan suggests taking an exegetical approach that revolves around “surrendering your desires to the Scriptures.” He points out this is how we are to daily live—surrendering everything of who we are to the scrutiny and correction of God’s Word. Yet it seems we fail to do so, even when considering how the church is to function.

With a myriad of voices begging our attention, Chan lists elements he believes to be crucial to the body of Christ, according to the Bible.

We are to love others through actions, which includes praying intensely and giving to meet needs, both of which are contagious. The body is to proclaim the Gospel to the world through teaching a practice of dying to oneself and becoming absorbed in Jesus while leading others to a completely satisfying God. Practicing communion and baptism allow believers to remember Christ through gathering with other followers as they break bread and witness a visual representation of the death of an old life and the beginning of a new one. We also need to pray.

Without acting on these, Chan claims you can’t say you’re a part of God’s church.

“…it’s time for us to stop defending the models we are comfortable with and start pursuing church in a way that allows us to do and be everything that God desires His church to do and be,” he says.

What does this type of church look like, that focuses on these must-haves and leaves out the gravy of debating about music/preaching styles, focusing on buildings and numbers, marketing your weekly gathering or (fill in the blank here as it applies to your form of church)? Chan suggests what some call an acoustic church–a small-group gathering of believers that meets in members’ houses for worship.

In a home fellowship setting followers of Christ have a chance to truly participate in worship and not just sit back and spectate as others perform for and feed them. It’s a place where each person is provided accountability and a chance to meet the needs of others while allowing others to help meet their own needs. It’s a beautiful community, when done right.

When done wrong, Chan says small groups can internalize their mission and forget Christ’s command to reach out. Group leaders can stray from remaining true to the Word. Deeper relationships can entice inappropriate relationships, and the formation of small groups can appear to be rebellion against other traditional forms of church. Caleb Crider further suggests responses to the “Sound System Rule” can make or break the small fellowship.

These are certainly possibilities. However, Chan foresees each of them being controlled with leadership accountability in a weekly training time.

What do you think? Does/would this work for your group of believers? Why/why not?

I don’t believe Chan is attempting to head a revolution against established forms of church, but this is certain—we must search Scripture for truth and apply it to every facet of our lives.

Written by Natalie Kaspar. Natalie is a freelance writer for The Upstream Collective and lives in Texas. She served as a missionary writer based out of Prague, Czech Republic, from 2007-2009, and plans to return to full-time international mission work in a few years.