A good churchman?

A good churchman

Twice recently I have heard someone described as a good churchman.

What does that mean?

One meaning of the phrase is that a good churchman is devoted to the institution of the church. This is the person whose bumper sticker reads: My church right or wrong. They are attentive to the ordinances of the church. They know its rules, keep them themselves and do their best to ensure that others do the same. They are measured and avoid extremes. They don’t rock the boat. They are loyal to the institutions and its leaders. They can be relied on. They know and treasure the traditions of the church. They want the church to survive and work hard to that end.

Some of those descriptors are real positives. What church doesn’t want someone who is loyal, works hard, works within boundaries and who is measured in their passion and views?

Others of the descriptors have problems. At its worst, this kind of churchman wants to cling to the past, opposes all change and is essentially the curator of a museum.

However, there is something missing, that reveals a deeper problem.

Read the description again. Christ is the great omission in the above definition of a churchman. The danger is that this churchman puts the church in the place that belongs to Christ and so makes an idol from a good gift of God.

So, let’s redraw the definition of a good churchman and put Christ at the centre.

A good churchman is someone who actively recognises that:

• Christ is the foundational capstone and cornerstone of the church from whom it derives and on whom it rests (Eph 2:20-22; 1 Pet 2:5-8).
• The church is the body and bride of Christ (2 Cor 11:2; Eph 4:11-16; 5:32; Rev 19:7).
• Christ is the head of the church (Col 1:18)
• Christ sets the mission of the church (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 1:8)

The texts can be multiplied but their cumulative force is clear.

A good churchman is someone who sees and relates to the church in Christ. He is committed to the church through, in and for Christ. He values the church not in itself but as the body and bride of Christ. His loyalty to the church is conditional on and conditioned by his loyalty to Christ.

To adapt a John Piper poem, a good churchman is someone who says of the church: Let me love you more by loving you less. This means that he stands slightly to one side of the church. He will critique it in the light of and for the sake of Christ. He is jealous for the rule of Christ over the church, for the mission of Christ through the church and for the glory of Christ over that of the church. He will advocate for change that makes the church more the body of Christ and more effective in his mission for the church. His greatest love is for the Lord of the church and not for the church in itself.

Now that’s the kind of churchman to pray for and desire to be – a churchman in and for Christ.

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