Learning To Love the Institutional Church

There seems to be one thing Americans can agree on—whether we are on the right, left, or somewhere in the middle: we don’t trust and don’t like institutions. Our trust in institutions has been in free fall in the last 50 years.

• A July 2024 Gallup poll shows confidence in institutions overall at 28 percent in the U.S. The church was no exception, with only 32 percent of people saying they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in organized religion and 38 percent saying they have little or no confidence in it.

While I don’t have actual stats on this, the stories I’ve heard show it is not just non-Christians who lack of faith in the institutional church; quite a few Christians feel the same way. Some Christians see the institutional church as rigid, too political, unresponsive to the needs of the culture, and an actual hindrance to discipleship. For them, the end of the institutional church can’t come soon enough.

• I believe that, in order to enter profound renewal and to influence the community, the church must own its institutional nature and seek to strengthen itself as an institution.

What does this mean for the church?

Meaning 1:

• It means seeing the church as the gathering of God’s people to be on God’s mission to bring his shalom to the world.

Meaning 2:

• It means seeing the church as a unique institution because it is the only institution formed by Jesus’s death and resurrection. As part of this uniqueness, the church takes its call and values from outside itself.

Meaning 3:

• It means being aware of when we are failing as an institution. Some churches seek to perpetuate themselves (country club mentality) rather than follow God’s mission. Other churches only reflect the culture (e.g., creating an American Jesus). Both are failures we must admit.

Meaning 4:

• It means striving for institutional health. Healthy churches have a clear biblical mission that is taught and lived out. They have good governing structures that empower the mission. Their people serve according to their spiritual gifts and are trained to use their gifts effectively. Their culture is marked by hopeful realism. They make wise use of finance resources for the common good. They build spaces that empower people and the mission. They create strategic alliances and collaborative partnerships. (See Institutional Intelligence by Gordon T. Smith for more information.)

Meaning 5:

• It means asking the right questions. What are we building? Will it last to the next generation and the next? Will it grow the common good? Will it find its life in being on God’s mission to bring shalom to the world? Will it bring people to bring praise to God.