When we think about the need for revival, we think about what’s wrong with the church. We don’t have to focus on what’s wrong with our church today to justify the need for revival.
Why do we need revival? Part 3: Organization in Spiritual Circles
This post actually scares me a little bit. The reason I’m so hesitant about the topic I’m going to cover is that one of the primary reasons churches need revival is because we can overdo a good thing. And when we overdo this good thing, revival movements can lead us to throw out the good thing altogether rather than just getting it back in proper order. And yes, the good thing is about proper order; that is, it’s about organization.
Why is an organized religion important?
Organization in certain spiritual circles gets a bum rap. In a culture that supposedly doesn’t like organized religion, I can honestly say, as I heard from another pastor: “We’re not that organized.” Many church leaders are looking for spiritual answers to problems that are primarily organizational in nature. They have the spiritual resources they need, but lack the organization needed to maximize the impact they should have.
The situation can resemble a football team with the greatest talent, but no playbook. Sheer strength will not get the job done. Sometimes we’re looking for purely spiritual solutions when we simply need to get more organized, build a bigger parking lot, or train some godly leaders!
Is it biblical to be organized in religion?
And yes, it’s biblical to be organized. Just look at Nehemiah, among many other examples. Even the early Church, with all its spiritual power as we see in the Book of Acts, had an organizational problem when it came to the distribution of food to their widows. The solution was for spiritual people to divide responsibilities and take care of their respective duties. As a result, the church grew! (See Acts 6:1-7.) The spiritual and the organizational aspects of the church are both extremely important.
However, I agree that the Church is more about being a living body rather than an institution. The symbol of the body of Christ, invigorated by the breath of God, is a preferred biblical image. While we might also think of ourselves as part of God’s army (2 Timothy 2:3-4), suggesting certain disciplines and organizational characteristics, we become imbalanced when we focus on a regimented institution over being a living organism or a loving family. It becomes too easy to get caught up in routines, in organizational issues, in strategies and structures. All these things can be good and necessary, but they are no substitute for a genuine experience of the presence of God.
I fully believe that one of the biggest mistakes revival proponents can make is to jettison appropriate structure and organization. I’ll discuss this more in later posts dealing with some common pitfalls in revival movements. But I also know that when we allow ourselves to go through the motions of maintaining a church system apart from the ongoing power and presence of God, it’s time for a revival.
Is it time for revival for you?
I would love to hear from you. If you receive this blog post by email, just click on the link above, or go to EdCrenshaw.com, and leave a comment. Let me know what you are thinking, or how I might be able to help you.
Don’t miss out! You can go back and read Parts 1 and 2 here or read the next post in the series, Part 4, here.
Pastor Ed’s Notes:
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash.
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I am so thankful for your blog posts, Pastor Ed, they are thought provoking and inspiring. Keep them coming!
Hi Pastor,
Absolutely !!! Many Charismatic Christians think being led by the Spirit means flying by the seat of their pants. We shouldn’t be so structured that we put God in a box. Neither should we be so loose that we breed confusion !!
We should have BALANCE!! Paul told the Corinthians everything should be done orderly!!
To Irene & I , Victory Church represents the best of balance.
Joe Wood
Well, you said a mouthful on this one. I have been on the receiving end of both pendulum swings of imbalance for spiritual gifts manifesting the presence of God, AND the lack of organization that comes from spiritual blind spots & archaic ruts. Unbalance takes many forms in Christendom and the two outlined here are “corporately” without a doubt ginormous pendulums stickers. If either becomes out of balance it can become painfully obvious to the new Christian sitting in a Sunday service while demonic strongholds are being broken. Or if a new member becomes a volunteer for the first time and finds themselves unable to figure out who exactly do we email, and why didn’t we know there was a shortage,? Etc. I believe, at times, that the hardest things to hear are the truest. If you are willing to even open up the topic for debate it’s an invitation for humility to enter and Christ to reign over spiritual blind spots-bravo for bravery & willingness. An experience with God for a single visitor and/or member often can come from the organization & prayer & fruit from another faithful servant that’s had a supernatural experience with God & allowing God to work through their vessel. It allows us to participate with God in the miraculous ways He works. The equality of organization vs experiences with God or rather the shrinking of one while allowing the other to inflate becomes the difference between sweating while placing a feather on the scale or delicately releasing a rock in the scale pan to even up. Our individual walks become imbalanced at times, I think it’s part of the journey. The larger scale pans for the body are full of imbalanced people getting picked up and placed on either side of the scale depending on gift set & where God needs them. It’s the unwillingness to be shown or see the imbalance that becomes a trap. The execution of we do it really well and that’s enough is a pit. And as you read about church closures/large mistakes made in the corporate body many times the organization of a body failed to evolve with its growth, accountability, generation or all of them. Or they had no balance, reverent awe and sensitivity for experiences with God anymore because it wasn’t needed to accomplish their version of mission. Somewhat encouraged to know there’s awareness & there’s a spirit of yearning for better care for the flock via organization, a steadfast zeal to run the race for all that God has for us, and a desire to be stretched & poured out until the only thing man sees is the goodness of God & a body brought to life by revival. Funny to think even a church organization is called an “organization”….