Church in the House: Wild vs. Organic

I’ve been pondering this question for several days now.  When we speak of “Organic Church”, i.e., the Body of Christ as a living organism rather than an organization, how au naturale should it be?

Just as there is an eternal debate on God’s sovereignty vs Man’s free will, there is a similar debate on freedom vs. uniformity in the Church.  We Simple-Church advocates are often too quick to point out the perils of organized religion while failing to raise red flags over dis-organized religion.

If the Church is treated like seed scattered on the side of the road, that requires no initiative or intentionality, then we diminish it by failing to follow the Garden Mandate given to Adam.  If we turn the Church into a machine or a bureaucracy, then we become guilty in another way.

Sometimes we can become so afraid of getting in God’s way that we choose to do little or nothing.

What’s my point?  That even in an organic garden there is mission, intentionality, and action.  The same can be said of God assembly.  Let’s not be too afraid of having an agenda, as long as we know who is welcome to disrupt it.  Let’s not be afraid of making plans, as long as we still value flexibility.  Let’s not be afraid of instilling order as long as it is fitting and prevents chaos.  Let’s not even be afraid of creating new traditions or following old ones as long as they don’t violate Scripture and we keep the right attitude towards them.