Love Jesus, Loathe the Church?

By John March

It's en vogue these days to say you love Jesus but don't think much of the church.  It's understandable.  When Jesus walked the earth, he did amazing things.  He also taught with a wisdom that was unique.  Both in word and in deed, Jesus displayed the character of God.  And despite the fact that the crowds of Jesus' day ultimately crucified him, we, from a historically distant perspective, can recognize what an amazing leader he was and say we follow him but not the church.

The problem is: the distinction might be fallacious.  There might not be such a distinction between Jesus and His church.

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.  Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"  And he said, "Who are you, Lord?"  And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." (Acts 9:1-6 ESV)

Notice: Jesus doesn't say "Saul, why are you persecuting the church?" or "Why are you persecuting God's people?" He says, "Why are you persecuting me?"  The connection between the Body of Christ (the church) and the Risen Christ is so intimate that any persecution against the church is experienced by Jesus as persecution against himself.

This is crazy, and it gives me pause when I am about to criticize the shortcomings of the church.  In all its brokenness, the church is Jesus' chosen instrument to proclaim the presence of his kingdom in the world.  Perhaps the best way to understand the relationship is what Paul talks about in Ephesians.  He says that Jesus is married to her.  He has become one flesh with his bride, the church, in a way that causes him to experience persecution directed at the church as directed at him.

That means criticism should be done from within the church out of love for Jesus.  I want the church to reflect the character of God more fully by closing the gap between the words and deeds of the Christ and the words and deeds of the church. Criticism that moves the church in this direction out of love for Jesus feels better to me.  It's like a husband and a wife sitting down at the table to work on their marriage.  It's like going to a marriage counselor to work on the relationship.  This is good and constructive work for us, within the church, to engage in.

 

This first appeared as "Love Jesus but Not the Church?" on the blog pilgrimmarch.com.

John March lives in Edina, MN, with his wife and two children. He is planting a church in the western suburbs of Minneapolis with the Evangelical Covenant Church.