I believe that Jesus planted a (the) church. In my last post, I wrote that His twelve disciples, plus the 70 or so others were a church. That means that everything that has been added to the church since then is, well, extra.

Praise and worship. A sermon. Professional clergy. Buildings, bulletins, committees, small groups, choirs- all extra. These things are additions. Not bad. Helpful, but not necessary.

Sure, some of these things were added to Jesus’ church quite early on. As the number of Christ-followers grew, church leaders looked for ways to add structure in order to effectively maintain it all. Centuries later, and we’re experts at the extras. Are we novices in the essentials like personal redemptive relationships (vs. “evangelism”) and relational discipleship (vs. program)?

The reason I’m writing about all of this is simple- our super-sized, value-added understanding of church is hindering the growth of the Kingdom. Church planters in America to reproduce extra-laden churches. Missionaries are expected by those who send them to be sure to build the extras into the churches they plant. Our understanding of church is essential to our missiology.