The Church and the Four Legged Duck

Researchers gave a woman suffering semantic dementia- a form of dementia which causes people to confuse categories of things- a picture of a duck and asked her to copy it. The woman, who had been a talented artist, produced a good quality reproduction. They took the picture away and talked about other things for a while. After a few minutes they asked her to draw the picture from memory.

The result was amazing ...

The woman produced a drawing similar to the first one, except that it now had four legs, eyebrows and other features that do not belong on ducks.

The researchers say that we tend to forget visual details very quickly and so rely on our understanding of categories (such as "duck") to help us fill in the gaps. In semantic dementia patients the categories become confused and so patients can mix up animal and bird features because they forget, for example, that birds have two legs and not four.

This reminded me so much of our understanding of the category called "church".

We have strayed so far away from God's intention for His people that we no longer understand God's plans.

For example, when we think of "church" we tend to think of an institution, of rules and regulations, of employees called ministers or pastors and bishops.

At the heart of God's nature is love- and the heart of the category called "love" is something closely related called "community." Our society has also corrupted these words so badly that they almost mean nothing.

The Bible tells us that "God is love." The Bible also tells us that the church is the "Body of Christ."

However we might want to interpret these very profound statements, I think at the very least it suggests that the church is meant to be a group of people who love each other and care about each other very deeply and very practically. It is something that is meant to be warm and welcoming, where every person is valued, where the person in leadership is more like a dad than an employee (or a boss for that matter).

How utterly different to the cold institution that many people think of when they hear the word "church"!

Rather than rules and regulations there should be grace.

Rather than itinerant ministers there should be permanent grace-giving equippers who invest their lives and hearts into the community.

Rather than meeting at set times, the church should be a 24/7 community.

Rather than people going off to try out a new church when the old one displeases them or (worse) just bores them, we should have a deep "to death us do part" sort of attitude to one another that says I will give my heart to you and continue to work out our relationship regardless of our disagreements. By the way this is not a form of bondage that says people aren't ever allowed to leave, but a correction of the "easy come easy go" attitude which many people have to church. Our commitment to church is not the equivalent of liking KFC rather than McDonalds.

Pastors rather than submitting to denominational hierarchies need to give their hearts to an apostle who is like a father to them. Too many pastors are too afraid to enter into accountability relationships- one to one relationships of loving confrontation and gracious empowering.

We all need a spiritual "father" who will encourage us to grow, allow us to take risks and pick us up when we fail.

Pastors need to be raising up "sons" in ministry who will emulate them, who will serve their ministry and enhance their giftings.

If that sounds like a big family rather than a church, then that's the model that God has given us. Church as "extended family"- i like that.

I thank God for Apostle John Alley who is a spiritual father to me. I've received various anointings from him, gifts which have added to my own gifts to give us a wider vision of the ministry which God has called me to. I'm also seeing that developing in my spiritual "sons".

It's an exciting place to be!

Praise God

Keith

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