I've been able to spend some time with Dr. Gilbert Bilezikian on a few occasions and several years back we had him speak at Community Christian Church. He was Bill Hybels mentor and was an influential leader in the founding of Willow Creek Community Church. I always find Dr. B interesting and I recommend two of his books, Community 101 and Beyond Sex Roles. Thanks to Todd Rhoades I found a an interview with Bilezikian while he was speaking in New Zealand. He says some interesting stuff about the future of the church, Willow Creek and his favorite topic - the church as the eternal community of God. Take a read and tell me what you think.
Bilezikian says, “Christ did not die just to save us from our sins, but to bring us together into community. After coming to Christ, our next step is to be involved in community. A church that does not experience community is a parody, a sham. But the church in the West is being overtaken by individualism, which entails increased material pursuits, so you can afford to be self-sufficient. Strong anti-community forces are at work. Family life is practically non-existent as we are pulled away in different directions.”
Mr. Bilezikian fears the church has become irrelevant to both the purposes of God and to the needs of the world. “The bane of the church is that it becomes worldly. Instead of imparting the Word and becoming an agent of change, it adopts the values of the world and integrates them into its structures and life. “The biggest problem is the definition of its leadership structures. There are very clear directives in the New Testament for how the church is to be constituted, on the basis of community, which implies congregational participation, consensual decision-making, accountability of leaders to the congregation. Leadership should not be directive but developmental.”
However, Mr. Bilezikian says the church has discarded these directives and replaced them with worldly models of leadership, such as those found in corporate business. So we find the pastor as CEO. “We even adopt the language, for example, calling them senior pastors. Where does that come from?” He says today’s highly hierarchical models of leadership smack of Government, military or political administrations and they result in the Church becoming institutionalized. “Instead of being a movement, it becomes an establishment. This is not new, of course - it started when the Roman Emperor Constantine established Christianity as the state religion.”
Mr. Bilezikian chooses his words carefully, but he is not without criticism of Willow Creek itself. “Willow Creek was on target originally,” he says, “but there’s always the temptation to seek success, as defined by the world, meaning preoccupation with numbers, with business, with facilities, and as a result there is always a danger for a church to become bureaucratic and hierarchical.” He says this temptation is the same, though, for a small church as for a large church. “The church becomes dominated by little bosses and instead of developing leadership they hog it for themselves and run the congregation like tyrants.”
While Mr. Bilezikian raises the warning flags, he is not without hope. He points to a community movement which, he says, appeared at the end of the 20th century and has taken hold. These are churches in which lay people and clergy are raising basic questions about the identity of the Church, and about the definition of its workings. “It seems the Holy Spirit is operating a kind of quiet revival which is primarily aimed at recovering the dynamics of the Church of the Book of Acts, which results in renewed incentives for outreach in a pagan world.” Mr. Bilezikian has come in for strong criticism for his promotion of women in ministry. “There are some people who hate me for this,” he says. But he makes no apology for his stand.
“I don’t think there can be genuine community where there’s differentiation of rank, or class, or ethnicity and gender. This is not a case of bringing in any feminist agenda, but a case of concern for community. In fact, the feminist agenda is the opposite of what I am saying - it is a struggle for equal rights and equal power. I am convinced from scripture that relationships have nothing to do with rights and power. They have to do with mutual submission and reciprocal servanthood at all levels of church life, and every role in the church,” Mr. Bilezikian says.
Ok, what do you think? I love that last paragraph It totally reminds me of something Tim Sutherland (CCC/Newthing teaching team leader) would say!
Whoa! That's some steaks to chew on Dave! Radical. Community ("a unified body of individuals") is an interesting topic. I don't think much of the church today exemplifies community nearly as well as they do club. But isn't this to a large degree a leadership problem? The church needs to be lead there; so leaders gotta go there. Many people would follow don't you think?
As for leadership: servant leadership, and the development and involvement of others is clearly the scriptural mandate, ideal, and model of Christ. And the church is really missing it here. (Is that not why there is so much dependence on schools and seminaries to raise up our leaders?) But I'm not sure that even in the best leadership environment "directive" qualities are to be entirely absent. The style sometimes is determined by the circumstance.
Posted by: Jeff Pessina | February 23, 2006 at 08:52 AM
Interesting comments. I would love to be a part of a church like that. There are some dynamics between male/female that we are born into, and I think Jesus took that into account. Overall, I think society and the church have taken it overboard...in opposite directions! Women have gotten a bad rap from both directions! They have alot to offer to the church other than teaching small children. I love the way you guys have given women opportunity to grow and expand in ministry. More churches should follow that lead.
Posted by: Francie | February 25, 2006 at 12:40 PM
I have a paradigm of the whole world that any problem is ultimately a leadership problem...so yes, I think it is a leadership issue. And if leaders will lead, people will follow.
I think there has been a shift taking place where the schools and seminaries are no longer the primary influencers...it is now the large and dynamic church. I don't know if that is also the case in your part of the world, Jeff? So with that influence and our understanding that leadership solves all (or at least most) problems...we need to be about creating these kinds of churches!
Posted by: Dave Ferguson | February 25, 2006 at 01:46 PM
Francie, "what do you mean that women have gotten a bad rap from both directions"? Do you mean from the church - trying take away the opportunity to serve AND culture - trying to force them into power rather than service? Explain, please.
Posted by: Dave Ferguson | February 25, 2006 at 01:49 PM
You bet Dave. The church was always supposed to be that kind fo Church. Leading in great strength, full heart, passion, and continually passing it on. Somewhere (it would seem) she lost (never completely) the mission, the mandate, or the potency to do the job??? I'm not sure where, when, why, or how... but I agree that, worldwide, seminaries and schools are not the greater force for leadership development today, but rather vision-filled and inspired Churches. May God get us all there! The Church is the light of the World!
Posted by: Jeff Pessina | February 25, 2006 at 07:09 PM