The church as we know it in our day is not a God thing it is a man thing. It is just in the human nature to start groups and organizations. When you find a few people that have the same point of view, they start gathering stones, build some building, put a steeple on top,give it a name, get themselves a leader and a church is born. You have polarization, group norms and culture, partiality and exclusivity.
That is never what Jesus intended and neither that He told us to do. Jesus said to the disciples the great command to us Go into all the world, preach the gospel to all nations, baptize them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost and teach them to do all what I commanded you, that is His commission. We are ourselves to be disciples of Jesus Christ and we must make disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus nowhere commanded to go and build churches.
If we ourselves are not disciples of Christ if we do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. we cannot make disciples. Jesus taught His disciples, they walked with Him, followed Him, learned from Him. They themselves were disciples and they made disciples. Centuries later people started building churches. As soon as people build churches and organizations the focus is moved from Christ the King to the organization.
Jesus Christ came and He preached the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is about Jesus Christ being the King, Lord and Master. Jesus said: If you love Me, keep My commandments. He never said: Go and build churches He said make disciples. We must OBEY CHRIST and be part of HIS KINGDOM. That is what the Kingdom of Heaven is about, it is about discipleship, membership of the Kingdom of Heaven of which Jesus Christ is King and Lord. He said: call nobody your leader, because Christ is your Leader. He said: Call nobody your teacher because Christ Himself is your Teacher. He said call nobody rabbi, father because God is your Father. We are to follow Jesus Christ and to bring other people to Him. We are followers of Jesus Christ and we must daily get into a closer and closer relationship with Jesus Christ, obeying Him, doing His commandments.
The Bible is not difficult, Jesus commandments are not difficult to understand. A primary school kid can read the Bible and understand it. The Apostles were not educated people, they were fisherman. You do not need a college degree to explain the gospel. You only need to know Jesus Christ the King and His commandments. Anybody can read His commandments, go read it Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and do it. Just do what Jesus told us and we will be His disciples and we will be able to make disciples.
The Kingdom of God will grow and the body of Christ will grow because we are taking people to the Head and the Head Himself He will be guiding His church. It is about Christ, about the Kingdom of God, the Lordship of Jesus Christ. it is not about buildings and groups and people, It is all about the King of kings the Lord of lords Jesus Christ let us take people to the King. Let us ourselves follow Jesus Christ the King.
-Jan Boshoff-