Afraid of Form

I have a friend who just bought his first house. He and his wife are excitedly stocking the house with furniture, appliances, and rooms full of love. I am really happy for them but I do have a concern and that is this... What kind of house did they buy? I mean, is it a ranch, a bungalow, a colonial, or a Tudor? Is it one of those cookie cutter houses in the suburbs or is it a house we describe as having lots of character which really means that it will suck all the savings you will ever have? See, here's the thing, I am comfortable in only a few types of houses. I live in a typical 1980's Michigan colonial. Sherri is partial to vinyl-sided ranches with the garage on the side so that’s not the first thing you see. I like houses with alot of stone. Anything else is suspect and I'm not sure that I can really hang out with anyone not in a house that is in the style of the three mentioned previously. I once knew someone who lived in a Tudor--they were jerks. Therefore, I don't like Tudors because they house mean people. I do like vinyl-sided ranch houses because that was the first house I ever bought. I'm pretty sure only good people live in those. It's funny how I'm not concerned about the materials in the house, just the style. Asbestos? Lead based paint? Cat urine in every corner? That's fine as long as the form of the house is to my liking. Surely I am insane! This is not for real, is it?

No, rather than talking about houses, lets talk about churches. Instead of the style of a house, let’s talk about the form of church. There are traditional, orthodox, charismatic, emerging, modern, post-modern, contemporary, and mega churches. These are all forms. The interesting thing is that some of us are afraid of the very mention of one or more of these forms. "I hate traditional churches because they are boring and the typical pastor doesn't even try to be relevant." "I think that post-modern churches are of the devil. I don't even think those pastors know who Jesus is!" I got into a conversation with someone who wanted to learn more about this thing called the emerging church as if it was some import from Japan. So, I gave him a few books and he is on his way to enlightenment.

At the very bottom of everything, I am not so sure that traditional, postmodern, contemporary, emerging, or modern is something that really matters. It's just form. The only real churches are the churches whose content and raw material is reflective of the Jesus who is revealed in God's Word. If a church is has that, then the form must take whatever will best reach the immediate community where it serves. I don't care what "form" that is because it becomes meaningless if no one is being connected to Jesus through it... and it would be nice if there was a steeple, because that's how a church is supposed to look.