THE JOURNEY TO REFORMING THE CHURCH. Slavic Church – Return to the Roots

Slavic Church – Return To The Roots

The church in every generation needs to be a church which is participating in reforming itself to follow the words and life of its founder and source – Jesus Christ. (RETURN TO THE ROOTS) After several decades of wonderful growth, the Slavic Church finds itself in need of just such a reformation to reverse the current stagnation (Crisis) of its health and growth.

While some would like to repeat the 1990’s or modify today’s church, the only way forward is to fully return to the life, work, words, and model of Jesus Christ, and to follow His examples. Jesus gave us His example of suffering, sacrifice, obedience, submission, servant hood, mercy and love, and simplicity. Jesus was a missional (sending), itinerant, and incarnational God.

As Christ followers, we necessarily need to examine all that we are and do as the Slavic Church in light of Jesus Christ. Let us take quality time to examine our church patterns and methods of education, leadership, evangelism, church planting, worship, organization, and stewardship by asking, “Are we in tune with the Spirit and ways of Jesus Christ?” Where do our ways divert from the ways of Jesus and those of the early first century followers.

Let us consider what we do and who we are through the eyes of Jesus Christ. Have we lost the ways of Christ? Have we replaced simplicity with complexity, sacrifice with sufficiency, obedience with options, organism with organization, incarnation with attraction, discipling with academia, and missional with stationary? In different terms, let us rediscover our Christology and allow that to determine our missiology and ecclesiology. If we discover we are off course, let us have the courage and will to change our ways in spite of all opposition. For this purpose, let us gather to pray, examine, and discuss where we go from here.

At an October 2008 forum, two hundred and fifty spiritual leaders gathered to discuss the state of the Slavic church. Here is a short summary:

PAST: There was a significant consensus that the 1990’s were a very special time with many conversions, new churches started, theological institutions opened, buildings built, literature published, and multiple ministries, of all types, launched. This was a period of incredible activity at home and abroad for Slavic evangelicals.

PRESENT: There was equal consensus that the advance of the gospel has stagnated. Conversions and baptisms are declining; new church plants are at a low level, (although there is some good foreign work), theological institutions are struggling for students, buildings are only partially filled. Although the needs and opportunities are still tremendous, there is an indifference to these needs. There is no reproduction of churches, nor has there been. The fire seems to have been extinguished.

FUTURE: There were very few, if any ideas or presentations about changing the current course or direction. Most were saying: this is what we do regardless of outcomes. God is in charge. “Success has thousands of friends, failure is an orphan.”

The Journey To Where We Are

Consider the following statistics:

• New church plants are 15% of their peak in 2000.
• Baptisms are 50% of their peak in 1999.
• Church membership is trending lower since 2003.

Areas of concern: Attractional Churches, Dualistic Spirituality and Hierarchical Organization

We believe there are three major areas of concern for the Slavic churches which if not altered will hinder a movement of rapid reproduction. First, the evangelical churches often have a strong mindset that people are to come to them. There is almost a spiritual fatalism which says, “When God is ready, they will come (to us).” The church has an attractional mindset. Until this attitude is changed to reflect the incarnational model of Jesus who went to the world to transform the world, the church will not reach its culture. What is doubling disturbing is that the church which depends on being evangelistic/attractional (come to us) is not attracting the culture. When the church does go – it most often goes to speak at people in mass settings without a relational tie to the people. Evangelism follows the pattern of proclamation followed by decision followed by acceptance and fellowship. Incarnational evangelism begins with fellowship and acceptance followed by conversation and ministry followed by decision and discipleship. Even though mass evangelism has shown limited fruit for the Ukrainian church, the method continues to be popular as if another way is not known.

Second, the churches are often spiritually dualistic. A high wall is created to separate the sacred from the secular, the holy from the unholy, the saved (in) (us) from the unsaved (out) (them). There is a theology of separation in doctrine and practice. The result of this mindset is very similar to the result that comes from being attractional. The Christian life is seen as a life lived out within the four walls of a sacred, holy building, by holy people and their priests/pastors. Because we are holy and the world is unholy, a life of separation from the world is justified. This is unlike the example of Christ and is a misunderstanding of Pauline doctrine and life.

Third, the churches are often highly hierarchical, bureaucratic, with top-down authoritarian leadership structures which choke off innovative, entrepreneurial leadership, apostolic leadership, and methods leading to spontaneous expansion and rapid reproduction of the church. Authoritative leadership styles dominate church structures. Decentralization is seldom practiced because lost of control is feared. Fear of heresy and fear of losing control of the morals of its people are spoken and unspoken motivations for keeping tight authority of its systems and people. The early church grew from 25,000 in 100 AD to 20 million in 301AD looking like a decentralized network.

The hope for the evangelical church depends on its willingness and ability to become incarnational versus attractional; to be messianic in its spirituality versus dualistic; and to balance its leadership to give place to apostolic/missional leadership who will lead the church outward.

These are not insignificant paradigm changes. They are gigantic and transformational changes which will require nothing less than revolutionary thinking and action. I believe that incremental, evolutionary changes to the church in the context of rapidly changing cultures will leave us in the same place tomorrow that we are in today. A tweak of change here or there will not take us to authentic change. Rearranging the deck chairs will not save the ship nor allow us to see a revolutionary evangelization of Slavic nations. Those who highly value slow change and stability are destined to leave the church mired in Christendom.

It is my hope that a new generation of churches will accept the responsibility to break down the barriers to change in the face of opposition and the ever present reluctance to change. That they will be early innovators for the sake of the gospel. That they will have a healthy dissatisfaction with traditions and styles that no longer work to reach emerging generations, that their signposts will be – INCARNATION, MESSIANIC SPIRITUALITY, APOSTOLIC/MISSIONAL LEADERSHIP, SIMPLE CHURCHES, REPRODUCING CHURCH. This is the best and perhaps only way which the Slavic nations will move beyond its current small percentage of evangelicals. Does not the Holy Spirit want more for the Slavic nations? Has not the Holy Spirit shown the way through the example of the early church and multiple movements in the history of the church?

The Hallmarks of Christendom

Christendom is the defining traits of the church since 300 AD. The church evolved for better or worse from the example of the early apostolic times. Christendom is defined as a dependence on dedicated buildings, dependence on professional clergy, institutionalism of the Lord’s Supper and baptism, and the institutionism of the organization. Some would say that these traits hinder the spontaneous expansion and reproduction of the church. Brother Yun of China describes the nature of institutional churches as bird cages which keep the birds from flying free with the gospel (Heavenly Man).

Outsourcing of Education

Professionalism leading to a clergy/laity divide is a key component of Christendom. Ukraine has certainly embraced theological education and other forms of formal education.

Our needs to give serious consideration to church-based, non-formal, vocational education as a foundation to the health and extension of the Slavic churches.

Reproduction of the Churches

The key to the expansion of the church has often been the reproduction or multiplication of churches. Ukraine has experienced a significant movement of addition of churches lacking reproduction. This is where we are. How do we experience reproduction?

Preparation For The Journey To Reforming The Church

Agreements

Raising Issues Leading to Change

As we discuss and wrestle with issues, there will need to be a common foundation if we expect to promote and participate in change.

• We will need to agree that there is a problem to be addressed.
• We will need to be personally open to necessary changes in our spheres of influence.
• We will need to be willing to pay the price for being a person of change.
• We will need to agree that we are God’s method of change.
• We will need to agree that God wants so much more for us.
• We will need to see and discern those things which promote and those which hinder the work of the gospel.
• We will need to share a common understanding of words and concepts.
• We will need to be open to learning from each other, the Scripture, and other historical believers and churches.

Rich Correll

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