The Passionate Unordained

The Passionate Unordained

Could the Holy Spirit be raising up the unordained to advance His Church like in the Book of Acts?

When I left campus based ministry to engage is MicroChurch ministry, I knew I wanted to communicate via my website and social media so that pastors would be able to reimagine how a church could function and operate outside of widely accepted paradigms. I am not sure what I expected to happen but I have learned from my experience.

I know of dozens of pastors frustrated with the current campus based paradigm, its prevailing focus, how it uses its donations, how it makes disciples and how it engages its community. However, I only know of one who has taken the step to be/do church differently.

Speaking from personal experiences, the cost and associated risks, are high. It is a hard thing to step toward what you feel God calling you to do when doing so results in the loss of your income and potentially your home. Telling your loved ones that your new goals include homelessness, potential poverty, and the sale of beloved keepsakes are tough conversations. Most are deciding those conversations are too tough and they press on where they are, hoping that giving one more year will finally see the longed for change.

Meanwhile, I don’t believe God is changing his mind on His strategic repositioning of his church in America and He isn’t waiting around for Ordained Clergy to make up their mind. Yes, I believe there is still a valuable role for campus-based ministries. However, I am more convinced that future trends are toward a smaller way that does not gather on church-owned campuses. I am having more and more conversations with the unordained who feel God is calling them to something more than the campus-based local church is offering.

What do they want?

*they want radical accountability where they are challenged with tough questions about their spiritual development and find people to walk beside them toward Christ.

*they want radical community that goes beyond, “How are you today?” “I am fine, how are you?” “I am fine, thank you.” They want radical community that goes beyond safe prayer requests in a Sunday School room. Many of the people in our congregations have never been in another congregants home, never had a teacher in their home and never sat at a table with other congregants. People are surrounded and they are lonely.

*they want to see their sacrificial giving used for more than building payments, insurance, utilities, programs, salaries and maintenance. They want the Body of Christ to use way more of the dollars given to impact the community in which they live. Something inside tells us the financial structure of the organized church is broken and honestly, the options for these campuses are few.

*they want to see radical personal transparency where there are no conversations off limits. The young want to talk about sexuality, how difficult it is to remain pure, same sex relationships, transgender issues, etc. Men want to talk about being mocked in society and pornography addictions. Women want to talk about abuse & the church’s rejection of their leadership. The elderly want to talk about new ways to use their gifts as they hand over leadership to the young. This is not an inclusive list. There are many more things that people want to talk about. However, talk about these is most prevailing model churches and things won’t go well.

*they have participated in camps and major events only to see the majority of kids fall away due to a lack of mentoring, ongoing discipleship and leadership opportunities in the local church. Because maintaining the campus based approach requires so much energy, the youth struggle to connect meaningfully and the data is deep on the number of High School graduates who don’t return to the church campus.

*Women especially are tired of what feels like a bait and switch in many congregations. “We want you here and you matter but only in ministry to children. You are not a guy so you are not allowed to preach, teach or lead.” Recent studies have been released that show women are leaving the campus-based church in larger numbers than at any time since the data has been recorded.

For these reasons and others, the passionate unordained are sensing God’s call to action. These women and men are no longer willing to wait around for the campus-based leadership to change. They are beginning to quietly walk off campus for the last time to gather people in their homes, workplaces, coffee shops and wineries to realize the beauty and dynamic of a smaller way.

If you share the passion for seeing the church become more and you are tired of waiting for it to change, read the Book of Acts and search the heart of God for your life. If God is calling you to launch a MicroChurch and you have friends who feel the same way you do, it may be time to act. Don’t act out of frustration with the campus-based ministry. Don’t make a scene. Don’t say this way is a better way. The reality is that the campus is a source of frustration for everyone who attends and that is okay. Don’t discourage them with your passion. Let the pastor know God is calling you to another path of being the church….then gather people at a table.

It is time to untether the unordained. It is time for the unordained to unleash their love on people who won’t step foot on a church campus but are desperate for Jesus. You may not be ordained but you are called. It is time to act on that calling.