Irish Pubs Got Nothing on Local Churches
The World’s Largest, Deepest, Social Network
They've got one in Honolulu, they've got one in Moscow too
They got four of them in Sydney and a couple in Kathmandu
So whether you sing or pull a pint, you'll always have a job
'Cause wherever you go around the world, you'll find an Irish pub- The chorus to the song, Irish Pub, by The High Kings
While it is true that you can travel around the world and find Irish pubs, the influence of the Irish pub pales in comparison to that of the local church. In my previous two articles, I critiqued local church missions alignment with missions goals on the field. I also suggested that local church short-term missions has given Millennials a warped view of mission. Does this mean I am negative on the local church? Far from it.
Rick Warren, that polarizing figure of Evangelicalism, made an important observation about the local church that has stuck with me through the years. He was at a meeting in the early 2000s with Bill and Melinda Gates. They were talking about the biggest problems people face globally. Warren argued that poverty, AIDS, literacy, and other giant social problems were more likely to be solved if the local church was engaged. He called the church, “the world’s largest social network.” He was not wrong. With millions of local churches spread throughout the world, their influence is a powerful force.
The local church has within it the critical resources and relationships necessary to obey Jesus’ command to take the Gospel to the nations. We may have frustrations with the local church, but we cannot deny its unique attributes.
The local church is a “thick network” in which people have regular face-to-face contact and relationships with other people. There are weekly meetings; where else besides work do people meet regularly? There is a focus on fellowship with meals, social events, and prayer. The local church provides services at key junctures in the lives of its members. That makes the local church “thick” and more resilient than “thin” networks like xwitter, Facebook, and other digital platforms (and also why we cannot exchange physical participation with virtual watching).
Not only is the local church deep, but it is also wide. There are local churches in every political nation on earth. Yes, there are unreached people groups with few to no churches, and large populations with a huge need for missionary work. However, there is no other social network distributed as far and wide as the Christian church. There are more local churches than any business franchise in the world. While some products, like Coca-Cola, have claimed global domination, the presence of local churches in communities is more significant in the lives of people than a can of soda pop.
The local church’s decentralized nature (aided and abetted by denominationalism, autonomy, splits, and so on) makes it “antifragile” per Nassim Taleb’s definition. People will identify with a local church for years. There is continuity, loyalty, and lifelong friendships started and fostered in local churches. Because many of us reading this article live in the West, we may think that the church is fragile. This is a limited understanding of what God is about in the world. Despite the decline of the local church in Western culture, the global church is growing. There are more local churches now than at any time in history.
The local church has an organizational structure. Its leadership protects it and grows the local church, making it a stable force in many communities. There are deacons, trustees, staff, and teams designated for many aspects of ministry. This gives the local church the ability to act. A local church in a community is an asset. It provides valuable social services above and beyond its spiritual contributions. There are food pantries for the poor, immigration services, addiction assistance, counseling services, and too many others to name. The local church has influential programs for families and young people. Particularly in Western culture, which is increasingly hostile to the family, the local church stands out as a champion for the family.
The church, unlike almost all other aspects of society, cuts across all age groups in society. Where else can you go where infants and the elderly are together like they are in a church? Age stratification in Western culture has become endemic. The local church is a rare outpost where we find age inclusion.
Skills, financial resources, interests, and so many other aspects of human capital are found in local churches. Aggregated, they represent a substantial part of the world’s human capital.
None of what I have noted here addresses the theological reasons for why the local church is important. The local church is the outcome of the command of Jesus to evangelize and disciple the nations. All of us as believers are commanded to belong to a local church. There are specific instructions about how the local church is to be led. The local church, in the pages of the New Testament, is a central theme.
None of this is to suggest that local churches are immune from evaluation and critique. They make mistakes like any other human institution. Abuse happens in local churches. Leaders fail, teaching can be heretical, money is sometimes mishandled, and other problems happen in local churches. Yet, the local church is where Christians are commanded to meet, practice the sacraments, and love one another.
No local church will fulfill the Great Commission on their own. Yet, the Great Commission cannot be fulfilled without the local church. It would be a mistake to bypass the local church if your goal is to see the Kingdom expand around the world.
With the exception of beer, the local church has far more to offer than the Irish pub.
They’ve got them in Honolulu, they’ve got them in Moscow too
There are many of them in Sydney and a couple in Kathmandu
So whether you’re saved and preach a lot, or on a spiritual search
Wherever you go around the world, you'll find a local church!