Church in the Image of God
Issue 006
MARCH 21, 2018
WRITTEN BY DR. ROBYN BISHOP
Dr. Hunter served as senior pastor of Northland Church in Longwood, Florida for 32 years. In 2017 he transitioned from that role on a mission to “go from my best interpretation of what the Bible says, to my best imitation of how Jesus lived.” Now, Dr. Hunter, a full-time volunteer, serves as the Chairman of Slingshot and of the Community Resource Network, a non-profit organization, he founded, that focuses on helping the marginalized - specifically homeless families.
To whom or to what do you look for an example? The answer to that question will reveal both the way you are forming your life, the group to which you belong, and the results of your efforts no matter what your intentions.
Years ago, I read an insightful book by anthropologist Edmund Snow Carpenter, They Became What They Beheld. In upending the traditional rules of writing, he warned: we teach students to consume; we want them to co-produce. In trying to project an image that is pleasing to a broader audience so that they will want to accept it, we sacrifice the more valuable, if flawed, reality that could require participation if grasped: "Oh what a beautiful baby!" "That's nothing," said the mother, "You should see his photograph."
The Western form of the church has not been modeled on the nature of the God it worships, but rather on the structures of the world it intends to imitate. Historically, the structural models came from the Holy Roman Empire in which Christianity spread. Imitating either the Emperor (Pope) model or the feudalistic economic model of society, the models were both hierarchical and geographically-centered. In common with other religions, they came up with elaborate rituals that were beautiful and mysterious but evolved into more mechanical ways of thinking and behaving. They tended to fix believers' attention on religious authorities or buildings and institutional procedures rather than the God who is Spirit. "Oh, what a beautiful gospel!" "That's nothing," said the church-goer. "You should see it's clergy and buildings!"
“A church in the image of God is not one of insider vs. outsider, or of the holy people trying to convert the world, but of being a blessing to every family (Genesis 12:3) and of using any power we’ve been given to help those left out.”
If our focus is God, and our fond desire is to be transformed into His likeness (II Corinthians 3:18 "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit."), then let's see what characteristics we should expect to see in the church. The nature of God is love that exhibits itself as:
Constructing - A church in the image of God organizes something productive and life supporting out of chaos. In Genesis 1:2 "the earth was formless...and the Spirit of God was hovering..." The nature of God is not to join what is already organized, but to create from the mess a life-giving, life-sustaining environment.
Going - A church in the image of God goes into the world to be with people as they are. "Go into all the world," was Jesus great commission because that is what He did in leaving heaven (Philippians 2:6-7) and came as a servant to us.
Connecting/complementing - A church in the image of God does not just "partner" with others but finds its completion in those similar enough to be close but different enough to be necessary. The complementary nature of the Hebrew word for God "Elohim" is that God is both singular and plural at once. He replicates His nature in man and woman (Genesis 2:18, 24) and the church (I Corinthians 12:12).
"Withnessing" - A church in the image of God emphasizes spending time with both God and the people He loves. Proximity is priority. From Jesus birth story descriptor, Immanuel "God with us" (Matthew 1:23), to the final picture of the new heavens and new earth where "God Himself will be with them," our role as the church is to spend time together.
Serving - A church in the image of God takes on the role of a servant. From Jesus description of greatness as servanthood (Matthew 20:26) to his own self-description as servant (Mark 10:45) the nature of the church is clear – go help somebody!
Protecting the vulnerable - A church in the image of God is not one of insider vs. outsider, or of the holy people trying to convert the world, but of being a blessing to every family (Genesis 12:3) and of using any power we've been given to help those left out by circumstances, the world, or the institutional church.
A brief definition of the church created in the image of God would be I AM (the non-name but Self-described nature of His existence, cited by God Himself) US(the plural but singular nature) FOR THEM (the mindset of connecting, "withnessing," serving, and protecting) THERE (the both geographical and biolgraphical act of going to where the "other" is and to be with them like they are).
This church re-made in the image of God will call for new forms of the church. The institutional church (as institutions of any kind) expects to be joined, conform to, and pressures us for separation from present obligations and relationships. The new church expects to love people where they are, and to gather a life of worship and service around them and with them. Of course, the above description could be read as the book of Acts all over again.