I would have said a few months ago that it was church ruins. But now I have a new word for it: an "empty clay pot".
In 2 Cor 4.7, Paul, speaking about his ministry, his sufferings and the treasure of the gospel, wrote, "we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." He was speaking, of course about his body, calling it a "jar of clay" in comparison to the surpassing worth of the gospel. Ha! That's what we are! Clay pots! (Have to admit I look more and more like one!) Tasked with holding and carrying the greatest treasure the universe has ever known! Well, clay pots are important, and God is happy to use them. Paul is making the point that the pot has a purpose stunningly beyond its own value: to serve and carry God's gospel treasure.
Our bodies and ministries aren't the only pots around, either. Church buildings are clay pots. Church structures are clay pots. Denominational systems are clay pots. Human traditions can be clay pots, too. God raises them up to serve and carry the treasure of the gospel.
But here's what happen over time: People can confuse the pot and the treasure. They can grow to love the pot more than the treasure. Especially when the pot is beautiful, or expensive, or impressive. Or, more darkly, when the pot has lost its heart for the treasure. Then, instead of the pot serving the treasure, the treasure is asked to serve the pot. And people are asked to serve the pot. That can happen to ministries and leaders and congregations and whole denominations.
Look at the empty churches in Europe, look at the ruins in Ireland pictured on these pages, walk with me on the streets of modern Oxford, or look at the history of the mainline denominations in America over the past 50 years.
Leith Anderson wrote about this: "While the New Testament speaks often about churches, it is surprisingly silent about many matters we associate with church structure and life. there is no mention of architecture, pulpits, lengths of typical sermons, rules for having a Sunday School. Little is said about style of music, order of worship, or times of church gatherings. There were no Bibles, denominations, camps, pastor's conferences, or board meeting minutes..."
What the New Testament speaks volumes about, of course, is making disciples of Jesus. That's the focus, and everything else is a servant of this goal. Everything. Budgets, buildings, liturgies, lessons, programs, strategies, staff: they are all servants - not masters, but servants of Jesus and his gospel.
When we lose that focus, God no longer honors and protects the pots; structures and ministries and leaders, raised up by God to serve the Gospel, just waste away: empty shells, relics and museums of a past faith. Graveyards.
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