Reformation
What is reformation and is the church in need of one? The meaning of the word in itself is not really helpful: “the action or process of reforming an institution or practice”. So, we need to ask the next best question: What is the meaning of the word reform?
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary it means a lot of things, and all of them quite important:
Reform (verb)
1a: to put to change into an improved form or condition
b: to amend or improve by change of form or removal of faults or abuses
2: to put an end to (an evil) by enforcing or introducing a better method or course of action
3: to induce or cause to abandon evil ways
4a: to subject
b: to produce
c: cracking
5: to become changed for the better.
Well, is the church in need of some change or improvement? Are there any evil or potential abusive systems? Another question to help us in the right direction: Is the church still being built on the pattern we see in the book of Acts and is Jesus Christ still “The Cornerstone”?
When we think of Church reformation, we think of Martin Luther and the 95 Thesis’s he nailed to the door of a German church many years ago. Depending on your church history knowledge, you will know that it wasn’t taken so well by the formal church structure and the result was real-time killing and war over it. But, thank God, it changed the course and direction of the church and the world.
If we need another reformation, who has the authority to initiate one? This answer is easy: The head of the church- Jesus Christ. And then the Holy Spirit will act as governor to oversee it!
On 31 October 2017, we’ve celebrated 500 years since Martin Luther nailed the truth to the church door. This is some big number- 5 centuries. This time, we are not in need of a theological or doctrinal reformation, we are in need of a more practical one- THE WAY WE DO CHURCH.
The way we do church is another very old problem. If we look how the church started back in the Book of Acts we can already see it started, by the Holy Spirit, as a living organism. Their roots were about being witnesses through the power of the Holy Spirit, sharing a common life, listening to the teachings of the apostles (as Jesus taught them), eating together, having communion and praying together. As the church grew in numbers, the administrative structure changed a bit by adding a few men to serve the practical needs of the church. At that stage the church was well over 25 000 members. So, most of what happened in the church was not driven by the leaders, but the members. Just think of it- only twelve apostles, and all 25 000 plus people had communion on a daily basis… A lot of churches think that communion can only be served by eldership and in a church. Back in those days, the saints had the freedom to celebrate the death of Jesus by themselves. If you still wonder about this, you may have communion at home with family and friends.
As more churches were planted, more Godly structures to govern were put in place through the apostolic leadership of those days, and we see that the church was led by eldership under apostolic covering. Everything went smooth for the next 300 plus years without any real change. This was until the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine (306-337AD), when Christianity became part of the state. The governing of the church dramatically moved away from the New Testament model. It wasn’t governed by Jesus anymore, but by the state. Apostolic government via eldership changed into a structure that evolved to become the Roman Catholic Church. Unfortunately, this became the model for the modern church- an institution. If you understand how God’s authority flows through a system of delegated authority as directed by the Word, you will understand that this was a major blow. Constantine did not allow people to meet for church in their homes anymore and started to dedicate certain buildings as official places of worship. A huge reason was to control what happened in the meetings (another bad thing the church got good at- control and manipulation). Thank God, not everyone complied with the ideas Constantine promoted, unfortunately though, most of them got killed.
Now because of that, we think that church is what we do on a Sunday morning in a “sacred building” that is only maintained to be used once a week. This is crazy! So, I affirm, the church is in need of a reformation.We have become an institution regulated by some constitution. We have become consumers wanting to hear a message that will soothe the ears, but not the type of message that will move us into action. The church is not Spirit driven anymore. Lord, we are in need of a reformation!
Well, how is God going to bring forth reformation? I am going to simplify it with two major facets. He is going to challenge denominational structures to bring forth change from the inside (by placing reformers in denominational structures). And He is going to plant a lot of new wineskin churches that will allow the Holy Spirit to build it the way He wants it to be. He is going to lead apostolic leaders to build a foundation fixed to the cornerstone (the Lordship of Jesus Christ) again. The paradox is that it is not really going to be a “new” foundation or actually “new” churches, because the blueprint is already in the New Testament. Those leaders and churches will pick up on the “old pattern” set in the New Testament and follow the Holy Spirit’s direction for them. In April 2002, Ron Kussmaul prophesied the following over me: “You don’t fit the mould anymore, but you are going to break new ground…”. It was only years later that the Holy Spirit told me what it meant and that He has called us (Spirit Formed Ministries and Tell the Nations Ministries) to be part of His reformation plan.
One thing I have learned is that reformation starts with challenging and changing the culture, and that is one of our mandates. A culture is a way of life of a group of people- the behaviours, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them. This way of life is transferred, communicated, or passed along to succeeding generations. Really- not something you do overnight and not something taken well by most people. Constantine institutionalised the church 1700 years ago, it has only been in the last 100 years that people started to recognise the five ascension gifts (apostle, prophet, teacher, evangelist and pastor) again, so it is going to take a while and a powerful work of the Holy Spirit for this new reformation to take shape.
But people are starting to get very frustrated with the church, and that is a good thing. Frustration has the ability to get us into motion. By the rate that some denominations lose members, we start to see that the church needs to change, and we pray that God will give us the wisdom and strength to bring in the change. In America alone 4000 churches close every year compared to only 1000 new churches started. Europe is enjoying only 2 to 4 percent of their population attending church. We see these negative patterns following South Africa, we are not immune to what is happening. While this is happening, the Muslims are the fastest- growing religious group in the world. It is predicted that at their current growth rate, it will take about 50 years and then they will surpass Christians. While the church loses relevance in Britain, Islam is the fasted growing religion there. Don’t lose hope, even with all these statistics happening there is a sector of the church that is growing faster than Islam, it is the sector of the church that is allowing God to change them, and then use them. God is not leaving His church alone, but He is bringing in some needed changes in the church and He is breathing new fire in His church. God is changing the expression of the church for the good. He is changing the expression of Jesus Christ. Soon we will understand what church is all about and we will see the lost coming to a caring, loving, practical, relational, supernatural church. We (the church) will again become Gods ultimate plan to disciple nations. The church will not be known as an institution anymore, but as an organism again. A sending station sending people as yeast into all the world, causing change everywhere.
In a sense, you can say that the church is splitting, not dying. The living organism is moving away from the religious system. They are getting out of the grip of the constrictor into a realm of freedom. Yes, where the Spirit of the Lord is- there is freedom. People are starting to see that the Glory of the Lord moving on, not departing. As in the days of the Israelites, we need to see God move, and we need to move with Him. Which part of the church are you part of? The passive one, just consuming the life out of everyone, or the active, on-fire disciple of Jesus Christ that is ready for action? Maybe we are ready for the final question: Are you a reformer? Are you working with God to bring the needed change? Or are you resisting change?
Be part of the change- become a reformer.
Steve Pretorius
