April 2002
Page 1 - Battle for the Soul of Man by Rick Joyner
Page 2 - God at the Supermarket by Carol Greenwood
Page 3 - The Master's Institute
Page 4 - The ARC: A New Way of Being Church
Page 5 - Director's Note
The ARC: A New Way of Being Church
We are born into our family, then born again into God's. These are the two institutions established by God, one in the Old Testament (Genesis 1) and one in the New. The Church, the family of God (Ephesians 2:19), is an extension of the nuclear family. We could call the Church an extended family. Both the family and the Church have the same feel when functioning properly. Relationships are primary, not secondary. Decisions are made in a simple yet orderly fashion. Being comes before doing. When we gathered together last summer in Seattle for a family reunion, our purpose was to be together, not to carry out a function. We did some functions (cleaned the kitchen, mowed the lawn, went to church), but they were secondary. Everyone present described the time as fun and energizing. We hiked, swam, sailed-and ate a lot. We made decisions based on consensus, and because our relationships were built upon trust, we made decisions easily.
This is what we expect the ARC to be, a relationally-based network built on trust, in which decisions are not run through a bureaucratic maze but are handled in a simple manner. We expect our conferences to be like an extended family gathering--fun and energizing, in which the individual and autonomous families (local churches) want to be there. The primary purpose for coming together will not be functional but relational. The structure of the ARC will be in place to support the relationships, but the structure won't be visible, the relationships will.
Denominations don't usually operate in this way. When we think "denomination," we tend to think Chicago or St. Louis, conventions, delegates, constitutions, Robert's Rules, bureaucracy, big government. Decisions are not made simply, and they often take a long time. (Lutheran Renewal has waited for over a year regarding a decision from a denomination.) Complex structures on top of complex structures inhibit the process. Conventions are exciting for some, extremely draining for others, especially for evangelicals hoping for change. While many of the members of the denomination want to put relationships first, the wineskin (the structure) prohibits the wine from flowing. And as Lyle Schaller, Church Growth consultant and author, has said, "Mainline denominational structures are built upon distrust, not trust."
Our bodies have a functional structure called the skeleton, but the skeleton is invisible. What is visible is the living, moving body. The structure is only visible when it is broken. A visible skeleton is as grotesque as a church convention where feuds and voting procedures and platform speeches overshadow relationships, where the purpose for gathering is to do rather than to be. Many have quit attending these "family" functions.
Those who consider joining the ARC need to understand that this is a massive paradigm shift-from the "security" of structures to the security of relationships, from the "covering" of a denomination to the accountability in a family, from a Big Daddy government that controls the call process, establishes seminaries, sends missionaries, prepares and publishes materials, plants churches, and conducts business, to a decentralized government in which the local church raises up leaders, plants churches, sends missionaries, and controls the call process. Instead of Big Daddy saying, "We'll take care of you," ARC is inviting local churches to enter responsibly into the task of caring for one another. The funny thing is-when being is emphasized over doing, the doing gets done more efficiently-and its fun! One of the highest values of the ARC is relationships (being). And this will enable the vision (doing) of renewing and planting church to take place.
