Recently, I sat in a denominational meeting. The discussion was about a particular program, organizational structure, and the implementation. In the middle of the heated discussion, the argument was interrupted by my friend, Vance, who said, “What we have here is a Jesus problem.” Then he proceeded to deal with what I believe is the basic problem that the Church must face: How do we place Jesus Christ at the center of all that we’re doing and trying to do in the Church today? There are strategic plans, goals, programs, staff; there is complaining about someone’s leadership or another group’s theological position; the laity complain about needing a better pastor, and the pastors complain about needing a better congregation.
Vance is right – what we have is a Jesus problem. Somehow, in the midst of all of our highly developed and sophisticated solutions, we need to get back to following Jesus Christ. That’s not a simplistic, evangelical criticism of the Church; it’s just the point that we must let the main thing be the main thing. If what we do is not based upon a clear commitment to Christ, an understanding of His teachings, and willingness to follow Him, we become hypocritical, confused, and ineffective.
Certainly, though it may be hard to say, it’s not always easy to ascertain the Christ-centered approach, but that’s our job. As I wrestled with how to get this clear for us as the Church, it seems that the simple answer is to begin by reading, studying, discussing the four Gospels. There are other things we can do to get on track – prayer, retreats, change of priorities, clearer responsibilities, better loving relationships. It seems to me, however, if we don’t remember clearly what Jesus Christ taught and who He is, we can continue to emphasize the wrong things.
There are 89 chapters in the four Gospels. Why not spend the next 89 days with Jesus? Join me, the Christyle Community, and Christians all across the nation in reading through those chapters as a start to getting our priorities in personal life, church life, business life, and the life of our country back on track. Follow along with our Facebook event (you will need a Facebook account to access the information).
I also have developed some free materials to help guide the study. Email me if you are interested!
