Surprisingly, the Bible never defines the church. Instead, it presents it through a number of different metaphors. One of the reasons why the New Testament gives us numerous metaphors to depict the church is because the church is too comprehensive and rich to be captured by a single definition or metaphor. Unfortunately, our tendency is to latch on to one particular metaphor and understand the ekklesia through it alone. But by latching on to just one metaphor—whether it be the body, the army, the temple, the bride, the vineyard, or the city—we lose the message that the other metaphors convey. The result: Our view of the church will become limited at best or lopsided at worst.
What is the main metaphor for the church that is found in the majority of the New Testament? It is a family! The writings of Paul, Peter, and John in particular all saturated with the language and imagery of family. (Gal. 6:10 ; Rom. 8:29 ; Eph. 2:19) Their favorite image is the family. Familial terms like “new birth,” “children of God,” “sons of God,” “brethren,” “fathers,” “brothers,” “sisters,” and “household” saturate the New Testament writings.
This is a huge contrast to the dominating metaphor that’s typically constructed for the church today is the business corporation. The pastor is the CEO. The clergy and/or staff is upper management. Evangelism is sales and marketing. The congregation is the clientele. And there is competition with other corporations (“churches”) in the same town.
But the corporation metaphor has a major problem. Not only is it glaringly absent from the New Testament, it does violence to the spirit of Christianity. Because from God’s standpoint, the church is primarily a family. His family, in fact.
But the corporation metaphor has a major problem. Not only is it glaringly absent from the New Testament, it does violence to the spirit of Christianity. Because from God’s standpoint, the church is primarily a family. His family, in fact.
Ask yourself this question: Is my church living in the reality of being the family of God?
CHURCH!
Your argument starts out well and I agree with you that no single metaphor will adequately describe the Kingdom of God. No metaphor is a perfect illustration. Therefore, our understanding of Jesus' teaching is formed by the collective of the many metaphors and/or parables He used. Christ used the ordinary things that people understood to teach lessons that they did not.
ReplyDeleteLike any other symbol the corporate metaphor is not a perfect illustration but can teach many lessons to those who are familiar with corporate/business language, methods, and strategies. The successes of the corporate world in Marketing, Planning, Goal Setting, Human Resource Development, and Management are not divorced from biblical principles. The church could learn much by observing how the business world has transformed biblical principles into success, while many churches are floundering around in confusion.