Have you ever had occasion to sit on the platform of a church or in the choir and look into the faces of the worshippers? It is sometimes unsettling. I remember such an occasion not long ago looking at the people who had gathered to hear me preach. They seemed to be such joyless creatures—almost as if they had heard me preach before!
During this season, one of our favorite carols is Joy to the World. For my part, for the time being, forget the world. I'll settle for joy in the church.
I have always been a glass-half-full kind of person. Optimism seems to flow so naturally that I need pragmatists around me who can help me focus on reality. It is much more to my nature to see what is right with the church than to focus on what is wrong. Still, I can't help but suspect that if the joy quotient is any indication of spiritual vitality, churches in general are in trouble.
In thinking about the cause of joylessness, I have come to several conclusions. Some churches are joyless because they believe they are waiting to die. I have to admit, that kind of sober reality will take the levity out of any moment. But these churches have been in decline for years and the pessimistic belief that they will keep going down, down, down until finally, the last person alive should turn off the lights and lock the doors before expiring himself or herself. Joy is not the predominant feeling here.
Even at this point in its life a church can take charge of its future by making “kingdom” decisions. How will the kingdom of Christ benefit from the sacrifices of the saints who have worshipped there? Like other living organisms, churches have a life cycle. “To everything there is a season and time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die” (Ecclesiastics 3:1-2). “Turn, turn, turn” was not a part of the original Hebrew.
Churches in just such circumstances have found ways to be joyful—when they began to see with kingdom eyes. Weatherford Memorial in Richmond looked with kingdom eyes and saw that another church (St. Paul's Baptist) could reach far more people than they could, so they gave their building to St. Paul's.
Glencarlyn Road Baptist in Falls Church found new joy when members died to their past and were reborn as a part Columbia Baptist's multi-site strategy. More people are being reached than ever before.
Other churches, out of desperation decided to experiment with new ways of doing things and discovered a new burst of spiritual energy as people began to respond. Joy comes when we know we are making a difference in people's lives both here and for eternity!
Other Christians are joyless because it seems to them that their church will succeed or fail based on their efforts. Some church members actually believe that without them the church would fold-up. They labor thus under a tremendous burden. They take on too many assignments, they become exhausted and resentful of others who are not pulling their part of the load—no wonder they feel little joy. Christians in such circumstances need to see with kingdom eyes. The kingdom of Christ is bigger than a single Christian or a single church. Joy and the kingdom of Christ cannot be separated in the book of Acts. Use your spiritual gifts and don't try to do it all.
I see a joyless, obligation-driven, Puritanical brand of Christianity seeping into churches along with a renewed emphasis on doctrine.
Now I don't want to give the impression that I am against doctrine. Not at all. I am just against false doctrine—the kind of doctrine that takes away grace and kindness and love for one's neighbor in its zeal to be pure. Wasn't this the exact problem the Pharisees had?
I remember sitting in a hotel dining room in Jerusalem one Saturday when the “rabbinical police” (my terminology) came through. They were looking for anyone eating cheese on a plate reserved for meat. Among the problems Israel faces, this must rank near the top. According to their interpretation of the Torah, dairy products and meat products may not be eaten together. They pass this prohibition to the very plates, utensils and pans used in preparation. One cannot even use the same dishwasher to wash meat dishes and dairy dishes in separate loads unless first it has been run empty between loads! What happens if the counter top becomes contaminated by contact with both dairy and meat? The solution to this is so complicated that one must contact a rabbi.
The point I am making is that these religious enforcers of the law were so austere that they looked as if a smile would surely crack their faces. Contrast this picture with the one we have of Jesus who violated Jewish dietary laws on occasion but who bequeathed his joy to his followers.
How do we see with kingdom eyes? In one sense, it isn't easy. The kingdom is so much larger and so much different than anything we are accustomed to. Jesus tried to teach about the kingdom by using parables. In 10 passages in Matthew's Gospel he gave parables to teach about the kingdom.
But the easiest way to become familiar with the kingdom is to become familiar with the King—and become like him.
“Joy to the Church, the Lord is come! Let the church receive her King.”
When we quit trying to preserve what we have built and instead embrace the kingdom that Christ is building joy will again fill our hearts with singing.
Once we get it right, we can work on the world.
