The Viral Church [part one] ...

In the golden age of the Internet in which we live, the goal of any content or message is to achieve a “viral” status.  You tell 2 friends and they both tell 2 friends, and before you know it entire email address books are geometrically expanding and promoting a given link and millions of people are said to have experienced the targeted content.  While this model seems to have the most meaning to advertisers with short messages and singular tag lines, or musicians sharing a single song, the model for a church has a few missing goals.  It is not only exposure the online church needs, it is not only the repetition, not even the propagation of the message to promote its viral nature … it is adoption of the content internally.  The “experience” of being set free from self cannot be relayed only in words, songs, or short video clips.  It must be personally experienced in order that YOUR witness is true, not simply the re-telling of what you heard someone else’s story to be.  Living the salvation experience provides a real-time view into what it means to love others like Christ loves others.  And that love comes out of you in all kinds of forms; from what you say, to what you do, to quiet deeds of charity that no-one will ever give you credit for - for credit is not what you seek.

Living the salvation experience, where through submission of your desires to Christ to be remade you become someone else; remakes “church” into a group of people who share this common Christian experience.  “Church” becomes viral at that point not only online, but in real life.  Messages are spread not only through our words and posts, but by people inquiring how we seem so happy and at peace all the time despite what life brings our way in the War with evil.  This model also however has one missing role that tradition has enforced in us that we “need”.  That is the role of Pastor, or church leader.  Tradition has made us lazy.  We expect our “pastors” to play the leadership role in the faith.  We expect them to “spread the word”.  We even expect them to be “holier” than us common folk.  In short, we have adopted the WRONG model of church.  And in our quest to organize a body of believers, we have allowed hierarchy to replace personal participation so that now only a few are held accountable for the success or failure of the forward momentum of the gospel.

But Peter held no such illusions.  Peter may have been one of the first after Jesus to promote the basis of a church organization that could and would go “viral”.  Peter understood the first goal of any viral church is to spread out the leadership responsibilities NOT to consolidate them into only a few individuals.  In his first letter to the church, he begins outlining exactly how a viral church should work in chapter five, beginning in verse one … “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:”  First take note that Peter does not begin his exhortation of encouragement by addressing the “pastors” of the church, nor does he refer to them as “priests”, “bishops”, or “reverends”.  His counsel is intended for those who are “elders” in the church.  Further he identifies himself as a fellow elder.  In this context he is leveling the playing field.  The encouragement he is about to offer is spread across the church for those who are more senior in the faith.

The common Christian experience that forms a true church is living salvation.  Those who have been living in this condition longer are by definition elders in the faith.  The designation of elder is not constrained only to those of advanced physical years (though typically they have had the most opportunity to be living in salvation the longest), it is simply about those who better understand what it means to be saved FROM YOURSELF.  Those who have had long held addictions to sin in any form, and have found themselves made free from that addiction, get it.  They understand what it means to be remade by Christ.  No longer wanting and craving the thing that once destroyed them, gives that Christian an insight into salvation that someone who has not had the same personal experience can ever truly understand.  Those who are in that journey, but not as far along are likely not elders.  Those who are in that journey, but much farther along, likely are elders.

Peter was around long enough to be a personal witness of Christ, but he immediately outlines that those who are fellow partakers of His grace and glory are also now revealed to be co-leaders in the faith.  Think how tradition has robbed the cause of God.  In a group of 100 church members, tradition dictates that the pastor is the sole leader of the faith and movement.  But in the model Peter ascribes, there would be a body of elders who are equally responsible for the growth of the church, both inside and outside its walls.  These elders would ALL have a role to play in the viral church, not just a supporting role to the singular pastor, but to be a body of pastors who not only speak the gospel, but live under its life altering power.  The transformation of the lives of these elders who have lived in this condition longer than the average member is THE witness for Christ that no single individual could ever replace.

Peter continues his counsel in verse 2 … “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; [verse 3] Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.”  Keep in mind Peter is NOT addressing a set of pastors, priests, or bishops … he may well be addressing you.  He begins by pointing out the first blessing of anyone who is living the salvation experience, the honor of “feeding” the flock of God.  He encourages those who understand salvation from a personal experience to take oversight of the body, NOT through force of constraint, but by choice and of a willing heart. 

This gift of feeding the flock is designated to the elders of the church, to those who personally understand living in salvation, not just the figurehead.  The “leadership” these elders provide is encouragement, counsel, and direction to those less advanced in the journey of transformation, of how to take the next step in the surrender process to Jesus Christ.  That is how the collective “we” feed the collective flock of God.  It is not about preaching formal sermons that take 6 days to prepare, and get delivered in 90 mins in a formal church setting once a week.  It is by daily interacting with the part of the flock we come in regular contact with and providing insight and sharing common experience of how to surrender even more to Jesus Christ.  It is by seeking out those who may have strayed from our company because we care about them, and realize that sometimes the War against evil inflicts casualties and pain.  Watching out for our sheep means going the extra mile to find the ones that stray and reminding them of just how much they are loved, not how guilty they may be for straying in the first place.  The Shepherd brings the lost sheep home on His shoulders, He does not spend the next 60 minutes giving them a lecture on how stupid they were to stray from His company in the first place.

The next tradition buster Peter has the audacity to be blunt about is … the role of Church leader, or feeder of the flock that was intended for elders not pastors, is an UNPAID position.  We, not the formal pastor-ship of a given church of believers, are to feed the flock as Peter says … “NOT for filthy lucre”.  Instead we do these acts of love because our minds are made ready by the transforming power of the love of Christ.  We too pick up the lost straying sheep, and tenderly lay them across our shoulders without ever voicing a word of condemnation, and gently invite them back into the fold of Christ, bringing them personally into His presence and love once again.  We, like Christ, meet whatever physical, mental, or emotional needs they have - that through Christ we have the ability to meet.  And we do ALL of this without a single thought of how much money it is worth to the church, or to the lost soul we minister to.

In the viral church Peter advocates, there are no offering calls intended to fund the work of the singular minister.  Instead resources are collected and distributed as the members have need.  That too is a radical departure from tradition in our churches.  Using collective wealth to benefit the members as they have need, with everyone contributing including the self-funded elders, is unheard of.  Musicians who gladly give their talents back to God for free in His services, or better, in His cause whatever the venue is a far cry from the paid positions that infiltrate the ranks of our wealthier churches today.  Peter continued his skills as a fisherman long after his additional role as Apostle and elder was taken on.  He did use donated funds to enable mission work and to establish churches in areas that did not formerly have them.  But he did none of this in order to “make a living”.  Nor did he aspire to the great wealth that could be had off the collective backs of believers who continue to donate to the cause of Christ.  He did not live with hand carts carried by slaves to ease his passage to new areas of the world.  In our vernacular, he did not go buy a Rolls Royce to get to church because he had the money, and wanted to make a statement about the blessings of God to His flock.

Instead Peter supported himself when he could, and used donated funds when the cause of Christ required him to.  What is more, he advocates the same model to the elders across the faith.  Peter continues his counsel of what it means to lead emphasizing that the elders are NOT to think of themselves as “Lords” over Gods people.  A Lord had every right in the day of Peter to expect compensation from his assets.  His servants worked to earn their Lord means to ever grow his kingdom.  Peter is quick to point out this is not the model for the viral church.  Instead the elders of which he counts himself, are to provide leadership by being examples to the flock.  Again Peter emphasizes that the distinction of elder is reserved for those who are LIVING the salvation experience.  The living example of what it means to be made free from sin, is the hallmark of an elder.  It is the very reason why an elder knows his own unworthiness, realizes how much he needs Christ in order to reach others, and is so grateful even to be used in the cause of Christ for the redemption of others.

When we love others like Christ loves others, our entire purpose for living is to lure the non-repentant sinner to the Lord of love through acts of unselfish charity and personal investment no matter what their response.  This is the mission of spreading the gospel, and it was never intended to be consolidated in the hands of single pastor, or single church leader, under the auspices of needing organization.  This role of elder was to be defined by how good one’s understanding of personal transformation to love like He loves was known and adopted.  Elder(s), plural, were to provide the leadership and living example to the flock of God, not as a paid position, but as stewards of his flock applying resources as needs were revealed, and contributing to this cause themselves as they were able.  This is the model that would create a viral church, both then and now.

Peter concludes his exhortation to the elder leadership of the viral church in verse 4 writing … “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”  Peter first reminds these intended leaders that they are under-shepherds and living examples in the cause of Christ.  The ONLY true leader of the church of Christ is Jesus Christ, the chief Shepherd.  When He shall appear, those who have pointed others back to the source of Love, will receive a crown of glory that will not fade away.  First, notice that it is not the sparkle of jewels illuminated by the eternal light of God, that are reflections of our accomplishments in the kingdom of heaven.  Stones are not the prize.   What will stand without fading in His kingdom are the souls who might not have been there, but for our choice to reflect His love to them at just the right time in their lives, no matter the conditions of our own life at the time.  Choosing to reflect love to others, not just when it is convenient to us, or expedient to us, but based on the needs of others results in the glory that does not fade.  Putting the needs of others ahead of our own, is the exact path Christ walked when He was here, even when it was not convenient.

The ministry of the leading elders in the church is not about the reproof of sin, or the watch guarding of standards, it is about the experimental love of Christ.  It is about living under the freedom from sin, that unburdens the soul and brings a level of happiness those who remain chained in sin want to aspire to.  Without living in freedom from the pain of self-inflicted sin we have nothing the world would long to acquire.  We have then only words, not deeds.  We have only stories, not experience.  You do not need to condemn the pain sin causes at all, if you can DEMONSTRATE what it means to live free from it.  Punishment, judgment, and consequences are not what is needed to call our attention to in the cause of Christ – what is so desperately needed is the WAY OUT.  Point the flock and the erring soul to the love of Christ, demonstrating how He can make them free from sin, just as He is doing for you.  Demonstrate to the flock of Christ that the freedom He has already brought you has taken away your self-inflicted pain and is making your life better every day, and you will find willing ears, and hearts that desire to find what you have found.  This is the way in which the cause of Christ is advanced, and the gospel spread in the power in which it was intended.

The role of leading the viral church was not ever supposed to be constrained to the few, but instead experienced by the many.  Tradition robs the leadership of Jesus Christ to replace it with limited humans in limited roles in paid positions of formal authority, and thus reduced what was supposed to be a viral church into a focused failure.  But it is not too late to return to basics.  It is not too late to see the gospel advanced by the living example of those who understand transformation to love others like He loves others.  When we begin to reflect the love of Christ to those in need, we become the gospel message in living form.  Until we reflect that love to others, we are sounding brass, and tinkling cymbals, full of fury and noise and meaning nothing to His cause.  It is not the stories of others that is needed to reach the person in your path, it is YOUR story he needs to hear and to see.  In this you become the elder who shares in the spread of the gospel.

But the counsel of how to achieve a viral church Peter intended was not constricted only to those of more experience He had ideas for those less experienced as well …