I really like the bottom part about extended families. Churches are too big. Why are they so big? It doesn't make sense. Community is so much more effective in smaller groups. I'm not talking about "small groups" here... Many big churches have "small groups" so that people can find a smaller community within the church to be part of. It's a nice patch. But, why have a church that big in the first place? What benefit is there? We keep Navigators going at Tech without a budget and without a full-time staff. That's largely possible because of our relative size. We're just a little community of people seeking Jesus together. An "extended family" does seem to be the right size. Small enough not to get lost in it, big enough to find authentic fellowship.
I also like his bit about how efficiency does not equal effectiveness when it comes to church. It may work that way in business, or pretty much anything else for that matter. But churches should be led by the Spirit. And the Spirit doesn't much care for the logical, efficient method. Jesus never heals people the same way twice. Jericho's walls didn't fall down because of sound military planning. Efficient, logical thinking isn't bad in general, but God simply doesn't work that way most of the time.
I looked at 3DM and I'm confused. Maybe they just need to work on their website, but I don't see what makes it unique, other than emphasis on discipleship. I don't see this extended family idea being played out. He uses this diagram...
He argues that "Movemental" is the best, but I think my opinion is more towards "organic" (whatever he means by that). My rebuttal to his downsides:
There wouldn't be few followers or leaders- they just aren't in the same place at the same time. They can certainly "move", I'm not sure why he thinks smaller groups don't send people into action. And as for vision, it's my opinion that churches don't need a unifying vision beyond Jesus. (individual churches ought to have unique vision, and perhaps local churches may sometimes come together with a shared vision. But for the most part it's silly to say churches need a unified vision)
I'll describe what I imagine to be my ideal church, based on my current opinions...
Extended family sized... say... 20-40 people. People of all ages that is, including children. Basically, it's big enough that everyone has a few people they can really connect with, but small enough that everyone knows each other (more than just names).
They would meet once a week (Sunday is perfect), preferably at someone's house. Eat together, worship together, pray together, some teaching and/or Bible study together. (not necessarily in that order) The key here is "together". Anyone can do all these things on their own. We need a church because we need a community of believers. You don't necessarily need a sermon, just biblical teaching of some kind.
Depending on the size, you may or may not need a full-time or part-time pastor. I can see that it would make sense to have one, if there's enough others to support him. His job would definitely be more about being a pastor (a shepherd, looking out for the members of the church) than the guy most churches hire to give sermons and lead.
There would be elders- a group of men who have been part of the church for a while. When the church needs to make decisions, particularly tough ones, it's their job. They're the leaders.
It would also be good for the church to be somewhat networked. The leaders at least. Particularly to other local churches. In fact, it would be best if those leaders got together occasionally. Plan together, build unity, share vision for your community...
Of course the church needs to reproduce. When one gets to a certain size and they feel called, a church will naturally divide in two. May be bittersweet, but it's good. It's how the world works... a family is formed when a couple marries and has children, multiplied when that couple's children mature and marry others, and dissolved as families grow apart to make room for new families.
I imagine they only really need to meet once a week, in an official sense. When I was younger, I loved having church stuff every night of the week. But as I get older I realize how precious time is. And as much as I love my church, I need to step out and minister to the world. Of course people will be friends, and will thus naturally spend time together more than once every Sunday. But programs and small groups and socials and service projects... it's easy to get lost in them and have no time to go into the world. The church may facilitate these to a point... particularly if it relates to a unique vision that church has. But I think (for the most part) churches ought to equip/encourage its members to go into the world and then step back and give them room to do it.
Discipleship is important. It needs to happen within families (parents discipling children) and between church members (older members discipling younger members).
Hmmm... that's all that comes to mind at the moment. Feel free to comment. I probably forgot some important aspect... I may have flawed thinking somewhere. :)
Anyways, I've just been frustrated with typical churches, and this is all something I think about more and more as I get closer to being a "real person" out in the world, looking for my own church to be part of.
