Can the Church Survive Itself?? (part dos) the Trouble with Systems

So in the last post, I wrote about the defining characteristic of the Institutional Church is it's systems. While there are many advantages to these (see last post for details), there are also some real drawbacks.

In my eyes, the greatest drawback to any system is that it is built on men's logic. We feel very strongly about our religious convictions, and want to create better ways to execute our plans. So we create systems for outreach, systems for discipleship, systems for accountability, systems for church governance, and on, and on, and on... But what if God plans differently? Well then, we will study His Word and try to systematize our theology so that we can reproduce His plan within our church. But how many of us would really plan like He does?

How many of us would take something like the Gospel- a truth without which the entirety of humanity will perish- and hand it off to some illiterate fisherman, a couple of prostitutes, and an extortionist (that's what a tax collector was back then)?!?! No, we would create a a Board of Inquiry to examine the most prudent and efficient means to get the message out while doing our absolute best to protect it and defend it. Ever notice how God doesn't ever seem too concerned about protecting Himself or His reputation? Not us. We will look at all available options, then cloak our fear in the name of "wisdom" and take the most conservative, "sensible" route.

And therein lies the problem with systems. Our ways are not His ways. So our systems- built solidly upon our ways- are not His ways. The reason for this is that our systems don't need Him. Sure, we would like it if He cooperates with our plans, and bends Heaven around our schemes to make us more productive and allow us to feel like we are in control. OOPS!! And there is the core of it. Our systems reinforce the illusion of our control. But the cost of this illusion is that we push God out of his church with our systems. We don't like the dependence of faith, so we trade it in on some predictable and controllable and religious. We create a system.

And then by this system we learn to not only control our religion, but we learn to control men. The focus becomes the management of sin rather than the transformation of hearts and the liberation of men. But that is another topic for another post.