Poor people at the Back
My Father in Law who is now 74 years old, vowed never to enter a church building after an incident at the age of 12 years old. In the little village church his family attended in Holland, the best pews were at the front with the pews getting cheaper the further back they were. At the very back of the church was a space where people could stand. On each pew was a plaque announcing which family owned and sat on that particular pew. Because of this system the richest families sat in the front rows, with the least wealthy families sitting behind. My Father in Law would stand at the back with his family and the poorer members of the congregation who could not afford seats. Even as a 12 year old my Father in Law could see the injustice and the conflict with what was preached and sincerely asked the Minister to explain it to him. The Ministers reaction is unprintable but 62 years later my Father in Law is still unwilling to enter a Church.

When I first heard this story I was very much a classical Christian, and if the story meant anything to me it was most probably thankfulness to God that the churches I was involved with were nothing like that. Looking back now I am not actually sure that my Church was any different. Circumstances were different, but similar values to the little church in Holland were perhaps being expressed in the Christian culture which I inhabited.

Most radical Principle of the Early Church
Early in the year I read an interesting book. I cannot recall the exact details, but the book was a secular book written by a Jewish Professor at Harvard University about ideas that have transformed the world. The largest chapter in the book was given over to what he stated was the most impacting idea that the Church had given the World. That idea (which was lived out in the New Testament) was that 'all men are equal under God'. Coming out of stratified societies of Aristocrats and commoners, Jews not wanting to be contaminated by Gentiles, and Romans not wanting to be contaminated by everyone else. There were more slaves than free people, and where Priests in all religions separated people from their God. Out of this stratified and segmented world view came this odd group of people who lived the very opposite. This odd group calling themselves Christians, sat and ate together not worrying about what race each other was, whether they were slaves or free, rich or poor, aristocrat or common. There were no Priests, everyone including the slaves had as much to say as the aristocrats. This was an incredible paradigm shifting action which according to the author is the most significant transformation the church introduced to the world. Sadly even this non Christian author points out that this principle was completely forgotten by 300AD as the church started reflecting the opposite and became in his words the most hierarchical and position focussed organisation in existence. Instead of the marginalised and the poor being the Church, they became a project of the Church.

Attractive Worship Teams
Have you ever seen a Church Worship team that reflects the marginalised or the poor. To be honest, when I have viewed the many worship teams that I have over the years, what I see reflected is the values of our secular society (especially those churches on television). The females are all attractive, slim, with an incredible number being blonde! I often joke that to join the Hillsong worship team it appears that one first needs to reflect the values of the church which is being blonde and size 10! Watching (and having been involved with some of these kinds of churches) it appears that those who are of a larger size or who do not appear attractive are at best popped up the back in the choir! "The trouble with you is that you make your decisions on the basis of appearance. You must recognise that we belong to Christ..." 2 Cor 10:7

The more complex an organisation is the more highly skilled the members have to be. As I love to quote, "The church is the most complex organisation on earth." (Bill Hybels) I don't think the Church as we know it (Institutional) has purposely gone out of its way to lose the power of equality amongst brothers and sisters. The reality is highly skilled people are needed, desired and cherished. Unskilled, uneducated and poor people cannot function fully and equally in a complex organisation. They are either marginalised or made paternalistic targets of evangelistic social welfare. They are unable to express there equality in Christ in a practical sense (and a spiritual sense). Below are two points that I believe back up the point that Institutionalised Christianity has by it's very shape excluded the poor and the 'ugly' (metaphorically speaking).

1. White Collar Elders
One observation I have made over the years is that as soon as a church grows larger than what I would call a self maintaining group (50 people and under) it begins to crave organisational skills more likely to be found in professionals then in 'blue collar workers'. In every single church I have attended or led, the wealthier you are, the more educated you are, the more likely you are to be involved in Eldership or top leadership in the church. As a church grows, the most desperately needed skills are not spiritual gifts but organisational gifts. The church does not crave five-fold gifts but excellent administrators and managers. The larger the church is the less likely you will find a fork lift operator for example on the Eldership!

Story
Have you ever wondered why so many pastors and there wives wear black clothes (especially in pentecostal and larger churches)? During the 1990's as part of the Church Growth push we were taught management techniques. One of them was that black was a very dominating colour which portrayed that you were 'in control'. Some added benefits were that it went with everything and was slimming, helping to create the right professional image as a Pastor. I kid you not when I tell you that I was taught this during my ministry internship. I remember being at a Pentecostal Pastors Conference in about 2001. I was with a friend from my church who had become a Christian about three years previously. I remember turning to my friend and laughing about all the pastors sitting up the front because all of them without exception were dressed in some kind of black ensemble (though I was a Minister at that time I was already a rebel sitting in the back and not wearing black!). My friend turned to me and said surprisingly, 'but I thought that was their uniform'. I nearly died laughing!

2. Blue Collar White Males
The most unreached people group in New Zealand are white kiwis who are not middle class, who lack education and are in lower income brackets (especially men). While the church (which is a bastion of middle class culture) busily institutes strategies to reach other racial groups it seems powerless (or unable to notice) to impact the poor and the disenfranchised amongst them. I remember when as a young Christian I went and worked at NZ Rail. These men at the Railways were completely untouched by the Gospel and I often thought that the church was such an alien and intimidating world for men who hid behind a drink, had dropped out of school, and where every second word was a swear word. Even if they found a relationship with Christ, they would have to perform a greater miracle in pretending to be something they were not to function in a church. I confess that those men impacted me more then I impacted them. Over the years I have often heard of great moves of God amongst prison inmates and Maori gangs. Sadly though, the chasm of middle class church has been too great and they revert to being marginalised by it until they limp away.
New Zealand is beginning a dangerous journey which is similar to the United Kingdom (which is our closest culture). Over the centuries Christianity and the Church were part of wealth and priviledge. Most of the great moves of God happened amongst the middle and upper classes who became incredible catalysts of change. However because of the classed society, the lower classes were basically untouched. Today this has caused the UK to have one of the lowest church attendance rates in the Western World, with its Church floundering. Australia is another classic example of this trap. The middle classes and the wealthy are being impacted by the church more then ever before in that nation, but the typical Aussie 'ocker' is completely unreached by these revved up middle class churches.

CHURCH AS WE KNOW IT IS STOPPING CHURCH AS GOD WANTS IT (Wolfgang Simson)

So what can we do to make a change?

Next Week Part 2

Have a Great Week
Philip and Kim