"Where there is no vision, the people perish..." (cf. Proverbs 29:18).
"A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the LORD's work! ..." (Jer. 48:10, NIV).
"I will show you my faith by my good deeds" (cf. James 2:18).
"Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding..." (Isaiah 5:13, NIV).
"[M]en who understood the times and knew what Israel should do..." (1 Chron. 12:32, NIV).
"If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them" (cf. John 13:17).
We take our marching orders directly from the top--Jesus Himself, who has an open-door policy through the prayer ministry! He issued the Great Commission and has entrusted the faithful to bring it to fulfillment until the day of the "Great Completion." We are not here to usher in the Millennial Kingdom nor to be utopians, but to be salt and light in a dark and lost world that doesn't know the way- Christ is the Way. Christ is to restore the kingdom (cf. Acts 1:6). Christ, who Himself will usher in His kingdom and we are here to advance His agenda and cause in making Christ known to the lost, while also paying heed to our cultural mandate or "Social Commission," which is not a social gospel.
This is not to be confused with the so-called social gospel which is a misnomer (noting that every great social cause in history can be attributed to the church, from universities to hospitals and missions) and we are to be the hands, eyes, heart, and ears of Christ that needs a helping hand--we are to multiply bread and fish and "feed the people" or to meet needs as well as preach. We are commanded to "remember the poor" (cf. Gal. 2:10). We are not to merely turn stones into bread, or do good deeds for their own sake, or lose focus of the main objective which is to preach the Word; there's no social gospel, but there's a social mandate to combat evil and be salt and light.
The church is meant to fulfill more than the gospel, but also to make disciples and to teach and prepare for the ministry to the needy, so that they will obey all that Jesus taught. We are examples to the world to whom we may be the only light they will witness. There is just enough light to see and just enough darkness not to, and we are to make a difference to those with a positive and willing attitude--(cf. John 7:17) "If any man will do His will," he shall know the truth to set him free.
But witnesses are to tell their personal story that cannot be refuted (Psalm 107:2 says, "Let the redeemed of the LORD say so..."), though there is never enough evidence for the unwilling or skeptic, no one can disbelieve for lack of evidence, for there is ample evidence for the willing and open-minded. You must be willing to go where the evidence leads to find the truth and not rule it out as a possible reality from the get-go. Christians with faith have nothing to fear from the facts because it's an evidence and fact-based faith. Unfortunately, skeptics have their minds made up and don't want to be confused with the facts--no amount of evidence will convince them.
Now, what purposes do the churches fulfill in detail? The primary one is the worship of God, the second is of love towards our fellow man demonstrated by works and good deeds as a witness to the world of Christ's love (mission), the next is to train up the people of God, and then provide for an opportunity of fellowship and communion of the body (contrary to popular opinion, the primary purpose of going to church is not to hear a sermon--that's only part of the equation). The discipline or training up of believers is a primary function of the church (cf. Eph. 4:13). People are to get a positive image of Christ and this can only be done when the church is doing its job, but unfortunately, today's church is largely absentee and in dereliction of duty, and many people see evil in the world and wonder where God is, but should be wondering where the church is--e.g., it has a calling to pray for all those in authority.
Secondly, the church must support mission work and contribute to the needs of the saints in the body--there should be no one who is overlooked in the time of need by a body that is blessed in order to be a blessing. The church that is not reaching out is a contradiction in terms. People often wonder what's wrong with the world and should be asking what's wrong with the church. A focus of the church largely ignored is what the Roman Catholic Church did in colonial days-- spread the light of Western civilization to a primitive world and be a cultural force to be reckoned with. It isn't necessarily the turf of the church to directly involve itself in political movements but to train in the Christian worldview that believers can go on to be a force for good in the world at large.
The church needs to realize what's going on in the world become informed and heed the wake-up call to action, flying its colors and taking its stand for Christ wherever needed no matter the cost--it must defy evil and illegitimate decrees from the government, for Augustine said that "an unjust law is no law at all." Isaiah 10:1 pronounces woe on those who decree unjust laws. The church is not to sanitize society, but to be a positive force and influence for good so that there will be an opportunity to preach the Word and minister to those in need (sad to say, though, the church has become lax in its social commission, even as the moral conscience, compass, or fiber of society). NB: It's not the government's role to outlaw all sin but to keep evil at bay and protect human rights.
In God's economy, there's always a right way to do things, and we must realize that the pragmatism of politics is evil. The world cannot survive without the aid of the church as its preservative. The apostolic church devoted itself (cf. Acts 2:42) to sound doctrine, prayer, fellowship, and communion or the breaking of bread (which presumably included fellowship meals to share with the needy and reach out in ministry and mission).
The church is to reach out to more than one demographic, recipient, or audience: the seekers, the skeptics, those of another faith or no faith, the infidel, the pagan, the atheist, the agnostic, the nihilist, the polytheist, the anti-theist, the agnostic, the mature, and last, but not least, even the baby or newborn believer--anyone's guess who's in church. Meanwhile, it must inform, educate, enlighten, and transform by preaching and teaching the Word faithfully, giving heed to sound doctrine (for heresy can creep in unawares and people become blind or callous to an orthodox faith). We must admit that doctrine is not too arcane for the Average Joe believer, for it's a matter of the enlightening of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of one's heart--though some have become hard of hearing spiritually speaking. All this is accomplished in toto by the cooperative effort of the body exercising their God-given gifts of the Spirit--all needing each other in some respect to use in ministry to each other.
The calling of the church is five-fold: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry (to believers), and mission (to the lost). Above all, the church belongs to the family of God and is to be known as a house of prayer for all members. Unfortunately, today's church seems to be the so-called "Church of What's Happening Now" and into the latest fad or movement (political or social), and is guilty of moral and spiritual laxity and negligence all for the purpose of making a name for itself, not a name for Jesus (for we are to minister and reach out in His name--e.g., too many churches are erecting edifices at great expense but have their priorities misplaced).
Our marching orders may be summed up as follows: occupy or stand our ground till Christ returns, do business as usual, not be doomsayers, purify ourselves in holiness in sanctification (living each day in readiness for the Lord), watching for Christ's return (i.e., reading the signs of the times and being ready), worshiping and glorifying our Maker and Redeemer, all while reaching out to a lost world that needs salvation. All in all, it should be the custom of believers not to forsake (cf. Heb. 10:25) the assembly together of themselves (all the more as one can see signs of the coming of Christ) and to meet with God regularly with a genuine and real encounter or experience with the Almighty in the fellowship of the body where no one is the rock but Christ (1 Cor. 10:4).
The church has always been a light to the world of its devotion and mission: Saint Theresa said she wanted to build a convent. Someone asked her how much were her resources, and she replied twelve pence. They told her that even Saint Theresa couldn't build a convent with only that at her disposal. She retorted that Saint Theresa and twelve pence and God can do it! We need to be examples of our faith in action and that God will always provide the provisions for His work and will. "Seek the welfare of the city I deported you to..." (cf. Jer. 29:7).
This goes a long way in making an impact on the community making a difference for Christ in the world at large and setting the example for the body of Christ at large, and so God has done something about the evils and problems in our world--He made the church and expects believers not to be remiss of their commitment to it, knowing that true faith expresses itself, because the faith we show is the faith we have!
The bottom line of the church's mission is that the members should know their place in the body (or they'll be a fish out of water!) and know what they believe (instead of pointing fingers and fixing blame we should find solutions and take responsibility) and realize the faith is defensible and they should be ready to take a stand for the truth in the world as Christ's ambassadors--the church is not a hotel for saints as much as a hospital for sinners and a training camp for soldiers of Christ to be equipped for the angelic and cosmic battle with Satan and his minions; i.e., having a working knowledge of apologetics and be ready to be defenders of the gospel and Christ. In other words, Job One is the Great Commission and we must never lose focus to keep the main thing the main thing--getting people saved is only the beginning; there must be a follow-up!
We don't just go to church just to hear the preaching of a sermon (or corporate worship), but to get a spiritual checkup, take spiritual inventory, interact in the body by means of fellowship, minister in accordance with one's gift, serve one another even in the order of the towel or the servile act of foot-washing as an example of humility if need be, to charge one's spiritual battery pack, and ultimately to prepare for the mission, which is the world, and for the angelic conflict, fulfilling the Great Commission in accordance to one's gift and preach the good news and the Word where the door is open. However, though the church at large has a directive from God, it's focusing on movements for pragmatic and expedient reasons.
"Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?" (1 Cor. 14:8).
KEEP THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING! DON'T MAJOR ON THE MINORS!
The church today is sidetracked with many foci that are not commissioned by Christ--personal agendas and political causes, for instance. The church was given the Great Commission and this should be the focal point of its ministry. All other ministries are secondary and should be relegated to a lesser degree of importance--they are not of paramount value compared to the number one goal of achieving the calling given us to spread the gospel and make disciples of all nations. This commission, by the way, is not any one person's burden, because no one person has all the gifts, but it is the shared burden of the church at large. We need to do our part as an individual, as well as corporately as a church.
What we have today is the social gospel where churches are into causes so much that they are derelict in their evangelical duties (not just for evangelists--Paul exhorted preachers to do the work of an evangelist). You might say they are turning stones into bread or multiplying bread to feed multitudes and attract crowds, not converts. People are being converted to the cause, not to Christ. Bleeding Hearts is into the church and taking over because they see it as a social vehicle for change--an opportunity to spread their agenda. They have no interest in Christ Himself and no love for Him, but if He is not the center of church life they feel right at home because they have a concern for the betterment of society and to usher in their idea of peace on earth--and the church is only a vehicle for change.
The priority of the church is the Great Commission and if this loses emphasis the people never get converted to anything other than a cause. They are, in reality, converted to a program, not to Jesus Himself. The Great Commission includes making disciples (not just converts--they must be followed up and mentored or trained in the Scriptures), and in taking part in spreading the good news first at home (teaching members how to spread the good news too is implied), then elsewhere via missionaries, etc. There is no limit to the amount of impact one obedient church can have, and this does not depend on its size, because Christ was more interested in quality than quantity.
Today, with all the so-called mega-churches, we see attention given to size as what is impressive, and what most of them are is really crowds, not families; a church is a local body of believers who function as a family in Christ, not strangers who just happen to worship together. The order of growth is to believe in Christ, to belong to His body, and the church, and to grow and become what He wants for you in Christ.
Until Christ comes the marching orders for the church are not to sound the alarm as doomsayers as some today are wont to do, (we are to be ready, yes, but not to predict or act as if we know some secret revelation from God Himself as a latter-day prophet would), but to occupy the land or you might say do business as usual, in obedience; to proclaim the Lord's death till He comes; to purify ourselves in holiness and sanctification; and to watch the signs of the times (be ready saying every day, "Lord, will this be the day?"), so that we can judge for ourselves whether we feel the time is near and as we do to not forsake the assembling together of ourselves (Heb. 10:25); and most of all to worship God corporately and personally.
We are not to have an agenda of being prophecy nuts or of warning people of the coming of Christ and of coming judgment as if we are unbalanced or fanatics (what we need are more clear-thinking interpreters of the times who understand the Christian worldview, not self-appointed ministries claiming indirectly to be prophets or to be prophesying).
Many errant preachers have presumptuously predicted the coming of Christ and have been wrong (i.e., William Miller on Oct. 22, 1844, called the Great Disappointment because Christ was a no-show). The last hour was announced by John (cf. 1 John 2:18) over 17 million hours ago and Paul rebuked believers who jumped to the conclusion that the coming was near and refused to even work. It should be comforting and encouraging that Christians will be finally delivered ("Therefore comfort ye one another with these words").
In summation, '"Where there is no vision, the people perish." (cf. Prov. 29:18): The sole emphasis of the obedient and model church is the Great Commission, and any other ministries are only secondary as they only should serve to unite the body and to reach out and spread the good news as a body. Liberal causes are rampant in the church and the church has no business getting into political causes or the so-called social gospel, which is a misnomer, and should stay focused on the gospel. The great inquiry and judgment on that day of judgment will be whether we did our part in this Commission. Causes are not taboo, but the church's function is not that; individual believers can be involved in them, but this is their own business and calling in life as they see fit. The church can give out bread, but only if it also gives out the gospel first. What we need is a wake-up call to the church, not an alarm to the world at large! Soli Deo Gloria!
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