A Different Perspective

priv·i·lege (prv-lj, prvlj) n.

1. a. A special advantage, immunity, permission, right, or benefit granted to or enjoyed by an individual, class, or caste. b. Such an advantage, immunity, or right held as a prerogative of status or rank, and exercised to the exclusion or detriment of others.
2. The principle of granting and maintaining a special right or immunity: a society based on privilege.

There is no privileged position on church structure.Read it again. Or at least let the thought sink into your brain: There is no privileged position on church structure.

At an alarmingly increasing rate, I am asked to defend the structure of church in which I participate. We have no formal leadership, no paid ministers, no buildings, no programs, and no weekly sermon.

“How can you do that?”

“Why do you do that? “

“Is that biblical?”

The starting point for these conversations carry the undertones of privilege. Christians from more established churches want to know why I don’t participate in their structure. They assume a position of privilege in regards to church polity.

What I also find, myself formerly included, is that the argument does not diverge from the question of privilege. The goal in the conversation becomes to convince the other that their position is privileged. One is right or wrong based solely on the structure in which they choose to participate.

Power Positioning

A common form of the debate revolves around which structure is more biblical. Sadly to say, the emerging church is guilty, possibly more so, of abusing this than our institutional counterparts. “The early church met in homes, and we just want to return to the New Testament model of churches.”

This statement is nothing more than a power play to show our model is right and theirs is wrong. Perhaps if the bible clearly stated a universal structure for the church, I would be more apt to take this argument into consideration. The bible does not, however, do this. Rather, the bible describes diversity in churches, even at the very beginning of the church.

In the early church, variety and diversity ruled church structure. There were different rules to follow for those who were born Jewish and those gentile. There were different admonitions given to handle certain difficulties in certain churches. There doesn’t seem to be a unifying structure, even in the earliest of times when one could’ve been laid out. Each local church seemed to find its own expression.

The bible shows no privileged position in regards to church structure.

Structure Dialogue
Positive dialogue on structure could happen, if those engaged drop the notion of privileged position. If we shift the conversation from proving our position is biblical or even just “the right one for our culture” to the effects of our church structures, we find a dialogue ripe to yield a harvest of insight.

Positioning the conversation this way allows for open communication. From here, it could be easier to flesh out the basis for our structures and look at them in a fresh way. We can see the models others are using and evaluate them without demanding they first defend their right to participate in that structure.

This goes both ways, I believe. We in the emerging church must not claim any privileged position for doing what we are doing with church structure. The basis of our conversations should not be, “I’m right, and you’re wrong.” While the institutional church has wounded many of us, our woundedness does not give us the right to use a power play which only leads to strained, if not broken, relationships.

Declaring no privileged position does not mean any and all structures are good and right. Preference and participation in a structure do not impart goodness or value. This is the point where the dialogue needs to take place. What are the effects of our structures? Do the natural results of our structure bring about good or evil?

Structural Effects
Marshall McLuhan said, “The medium is the message.” He was not altogether wrong. The medium we choose to convey our message, and the structures we choose to live our lives come with values and messages already attached. If a structure revolves around a thirty minute talk, the continual message – regardless of the words spoken during the talk – will be that the community is centered on the information disseminated through the pulpit. If a structure revolves around a common meal and fellowship time, the continual message – regardless of intentions – will be that the community is centered on fellowship.

I have no intention in this piece of picking apart any structure. I use the above examples in hopes of guiding the conversation. For those in established churches, please engage in the conversation hoping to see the positives and negatives of emerging church structures. All the while remaining open to seeing your own structures in a different light.

And vice versa. By engaging in conversation with established church proponents, the emerging church can gain insight into their structures. The old maxim, “You can’t see the forest for the trees” still applies. The input from those outside of our paradigm will prove necessary for quality evaluation of the structures emerging from our movement.

I want to provide a few topical dialogue suggestions for analyzing structural effects. What do our structures say about:

• individuality or individualism?
• the way to spiritual growth?
• personal participation in the life of the church?
• our vision and direction; our mission?
• our values in worship?
• the place of teaching?
• relationships between leaders and followers?
• leadership?

These are just a few suggestions to move the dialogue in a positive direction. Perhaps the insight of those outside of our own paradigm will bring answers to these questions which will assist the Church in producing healthier structures at the local level.

<span style="font-size: 10px;">* Interestingly, I had trouble finding a different word than “laity” for those not engaged in what we would normally call leadership positions. “Laity” does not seem to fit for church structures without paid ministry. Of course, I believe the word leader to be loaded itself, but that is another article…

---

Alan Hartung is the General Editor of THEOOZE. He can be reached via email at alan@theooze.com. His personal website is A Different Perspective, and he operates a domain and website hosting business at www.socalwebsites.com and domains.socalwebsites.com.Note: This article was first published on THEOOZE.