More Than Skin Deep

by Tom Johnston

The debate in church development circles often centers around what models of ministry, what programs and/or what church structures have the most pragmatic effect – in other words, what brings the most people into the general worship services of the church. These issues of “wineskin” drive much of the debate, and consequently our focus becomes the constant redevelopment and upgrading of our wineskin.

The pragmatic drive for results, informed by a consumer-driven worldview of marketing cause-and-effect, makes us focus on the externals of church life and ministry, rather than the internal life of Christ in the Spirit. It is the “new wine” of the Spirit’s work – rebirth/conversion, transformation/sanctification, empowerment for mission – on which we should be focusing. It is the reality of Christ being formed in us which must take preeminence, with finding culturally appropriate ways of “doing church” flowing from that. We place the cart before the horse, and in the case of the church, the wineskin before the wine. Our efforts to make the New Wine of Christ Jesus attractive to the American spiritual consumer has degenerated to attempts at upgraded packaging. Yet all we really need is a good vintage of the Spirit flowing within our local church community - the life of Christ richly abundant, displayed in our lives. Such a vintage is irresistible.

In a recent development session with a number of pastors, a friend of mine shared an observation about the Apostles in Acts 4. When challenged by the elders and the scribes to no longer speak of Jesus, they replied:

Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. Acts 4:19b-20, ESV

They were so captivated by Christ, so inebriated in His Spirit that they could not help themselves – they had to talk about Jesus. So in love with Him, they could not keep their mouths shut. Their inhibitions gone, lost in Christ’s love, they didn’t care what would happen to them – rather they were compelled to speak of Him. We see, as an example of the outcome of this intoxication in the Spirit, what was already taking place in their community in the end of Acts 2, in verse 47:

praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

The outcome of their lives, overflowing with Jesus, was praise, the favor of others, and a rich and continuous harvest of souls. From there they made it work – they wrapped the structure around what they needed, they improvised a wineskin to contain the wine.

May the Lord shift our focus from manufacturing and upgrading our wineskins to a renewed focus on working with Him in producing the New Wine, in ourselves and our congregations. Such a life-giving vintage of the Spirit displayed in our church communities is irresistible to people, regardless of the packaging.