Jesus the Trouble Causer

Have you ever used the phrase, "I don't want to upset the apple cart?" I have used this several times when I don't want the 'done thing' to be affected by my input. In recent years however, I have seen it as my duty, and sometimes joy, to make sure that apple carts are duly upturned!

Is it anarchy or some sense of angry reaction to authority figures? No, it's a calculated response based on a simple yet profound truth: apples were not meant for carts... they were meant for trees!

Apples, when assigned to the said cart, are in the process of being handled. Their destiny is to be distributed to the masses. They may be delivered to a market or grocery store for sale to the health conscious customer. Wouldn't life be different if we all had an apple tree in our garden? Apples would never see a cart and best of all.. they would be free!

So what has this got to do with anything? The answer lies in the way the Church has presented herself to non-believers. Most people, when approached with the ultimate question, "do you believe in God" are willing to divulge a tentative 'yes' based on the concept of a higher being. Even if these stirrings take the form of the Christian ethic of the Saving Messiah, most do not want to become a part of the people who also believe this truth. Why is this?

From family to industry
For years the Church has labelled people with a faith of sorts who do not go to Church as unable to repent from sin. They like the hedonistic lifestyle too much so cannot cope with the concept of a Holy God. There is some truth in this. People do choose hedonism over responsibility. However, there are also reasons why the notion of attending a religious building with all the rank and file procedures leaves many with a bad taste in their mouths. The reason the church has this affect is because apples were meant for trees, not carts.

Christianity was never supposed to be handled in such a way that it needs to be appealing to the masses. It was never supposed to be 'sold' in the marketplace of choice. When someone takes people who believe in Christ and organise him or her as they see fit, they are in effect placing them in a contrived system that has no roots in the bible. Christians were never supposed to become part of an organisation that tells you how to be, what to do and where to do it. Like apples, they appear naturally in the place where they are growing.

The Church needs to apologise to a world that truly longs to see an authentic expression of Christ on earth. This body of people existed in the first century. Today, Church leaders do not wish to take the biblical directives and see them as instructive. Christianity was becoming a global apple cart as early as 95AD. In the 4th century Emperor Constantine made this pseudo Church and state one and the same. The religious buildings, pope-like preachers and subscription-type giving was all a result of this awkward marriage. Martin Luther did much to adjust the wrong biblical thinking behind this but nothing was adjusted in terms of practice. We still see, even in the most modern approaches, institutional structure. Those who dearly wish to follow the living Christ are actually following the directives of a dead Emperor.

Institutional-lies
Why, in the face of biblical data, poor outcomes and historical interference, do we still meet in this style? The answer is in the fact that 'apple cart' organisation is all we know. Also, for some, the lure of picking, assessing, placing, polishing and shipping apples is just too much to resist! This affinity to be over people and 'in charge' is not only a problem in the Church. Every organisation, without exception has the marks of 'institute.' Even if it is not apparent, all establishments that have an end result, a product, bow to the institutional system. Most will say they have a team in charge but there is always an individual who is the decision maker. There may be several ranks under this individual or team. In the end there are usually a tier of people dealing with 'the product'. The ranked organisation, leader led, product driven establishment are the three simple marks of institution. When we engage the institute in our school, education, training or work life, we can see the benefits of organised structure. Simply: It gets the job done! It is at this point, when considering the Church, we run into the problems. Church was never supposed to bear the marks of the institute. Yet it is this system and structure that drives those with spiritual questions away from the doors of the Church. But doesn't the church have a 'product'? Isn't the spreading of the gospel a 'product' of sorts? The answer is 'yes' but the purpose of the Church is not primarily to do this. Apple carts were not the way to make this happen. The tree, with juicy fruits hanging from the branches was sufficient to catch the attention of the one searching for spiritual nutrition.

Now here's the science..
The first century Church also wanted to do the done thing by making an institution. Jesus had clearly opposed the gentile systems and structure of hierarchy in his conversations with James and John (Mark 10). He slammed the religious officials of the time (Matthew 23) with their hierarchical structures; apples were flying everywhere when Jesus spoke! Paul the Apostle also warns the Corinthian church not to take on the 'wisdom' of their culture by having divisions between them. An objective look at 1 Corinthians chapters 1-4 will show that their divisions were not horizontal but vertical. They were following the men who had outward displays of gift/talent/ability. This is exactly how our institutes work. We place those with higher levels of ability in a higher position... institutional rank. The Church was to be different. 'Not so among you' came Jesus command to flee the gentile system of hierarchy. It was not the people that were subject to Jesus' disdain, it was the system. We cannot conclude then, that hierarchy is a problem with individuals. It is itself a problem as a systematic approach to organisation in Church.

The primary reason that institutional formula was not to be present among the Church was because the factor that placed you in the Church was of spiritual nature. The Christian has had a spiritual revolution in meeting the living Christ. Therefore how the individual relates to, and is related to by the Church must be spiritual first and foremost. The uniting factor then, with Christians is not belief itself, but their spiritual position. 'In Christ' is the bottom line. With spiritual position as the foundational consideration in the lives of Christians, therefore the Church, it is absolute folly to impose a rank of any sort in the body of believers. How can spirituality have rank? We are all created spiritually equal! Our abilities and talents are acquired in this world after our life is given to us.

An argument to this could be that we all have diverse spiritual gifts. This is a good consideration but we need to understand the nature of a gift. It is true that a gift is given to us by God but do we also understand that the gift to us is not for us but to be passed on to the body of Christ? There are no gifts that are meant for the benefit of the one who gives it! Yet when labels are placed on the gifted person ownership is taken of the gift. At Christmas the Father gives his child a bike. Because he has given the bike doesn't mean he is now 'Bike-ist!' In the Church the Vicar or Pastor for instance is so-called because of what they are gifted by God to give. In doing so they have become Tesco's! All who need care and support...go to the Pastor. The biblical answer is not Tesco's. The answer is to go to God and he will lead you to the appropriate tree and it's fruit. That way we can be helped by God's answer, not the answer of a contrived system.

'In' the world but not 'of' it
With this in view, when we rank spiritual gifts, it is placed in a format that is devastating to spiritual function. Those who are searching after spiritual answers, or even the God who created them, have a sense that the institutionalised Church is somehow wrong to mimic the systems and structures that have contained and suppressed them for years. They are right! The Church is entirely wrong to endorse the system. Spiritual people deserve to be in an environment where all are equal regardless of gifts/talents/abilities. When a person begins to live from their gifts/talents/abilities it is a short step to disaster. Their concerns go from meeting the needs and requirements of the people to their own position, possession and progression.

These three considerations constitute the basis for every single case of strife, injustice and warring on this planet today. Christians are supposed to be outward looking, yet the institutional structures they find themselves in, forces this inward assessment. Today's Christian leader wrestles with the passion and desire to be outward and facilitating, and the inward leanings towards position, possessions and progression. Christendom is heaving with 'how to' formulas. 'Be a good leader, have prosperity, be purpose driven' are today's Christian catch cries. These are not present in the New Testament. What we find is chapter upon chapter of how to 'be' in Christ. There's little on what to 'do'. Even the instructions for meeting are given in the simplest of terms. Meet like a family, have a meal where you remember Christ and share your gift. What is the purpose of this meeting? Answer: Encouragement and building up of the Christians! How complicated can we make this? 'Very', it seems! The institute can get things done but does not allow the freedom to be who you are. Jesus leading his Church towards affecting this dark world depends on you being you with no artificial controls or additives. The Bible has no record of institutional Church, the experts all agree that the first century Church met in the simplest of formats, and let's face it... It's not exactly working the way Jesus said it would.

Beat the System!
Jesus upset many apple carts. Having left what had become a religious system in the Old Testament, he went on to point out the corruption. Even when leaving the temple where he was brought up, Jesus couldn't help reminding the officials that God doesn't always work for the benefit of Israel. They wanted to kill him there and then! At every opportunity Jesus flouted the traditions of the religious officials and even taught his disciples to do so. They were furious and threw every accusation they could at him. However, Jesus knew what God's word said, so all the man made traditions that had become a ring of steel around the people should never bind the people again. Because we have the similar traditions and man made religious fences today, I have no problem following Jesus in his apple cart ministry. Like our Lord, I want to see righteousness more than I want popularity. I want to see this world witness an authentic, biblical Church upon this earth more than I want status and profile.

Next time you go to Tesco's and see the pretty apples all lined up in a row, remember they have been handled, treated and manipulated to look that way. The lights shine upon their polished skins. They all look the same. While we can all polish ourselves and present a flawless image, most of us know we aren't really that person. If we're honest, we all have maggots! We all have areas of blemish and sourness. We are not all the same.