Have you ever heard someone say something like, “The Church was never meant to be an institution”?
I have been hearing statements like this thrown around more and more, and it made me realize something: I need to look up the word “institution” in the dictionary. Honestly, I had an idea of what it meant, but I never actually looked up the official definition. While I had a general idea of the definition, one thing I understood with clarity was that the word “institution,” when connected with the Church, is almost always said in a negative manner. With that in mind, I found it helpful to look up the definition so that I can answer if the Church is an institution. And if so, is that a bad thing?
Here is the dictionary definition from Dictionary.com: “an organization, establishment, foundation, society, or the like, devoted to the promotion of a particular cause or program, especially one of a public, educational, or charitable character.”
If you were to look up those words—”organization,” “establishment,” “foundation,” or “society”—you would find that they have a couple of key things in common:
- People united by a purpose
- Structured practices overseen by leadership
Essentially, an institution is a group of people united under the same purpose/goal that is structured to pursue that purpose. With that structuring comes leadership to oversee resources, to come up with ways to achieve their purpose, and to work hard to remain true to their original purpose.
“An institution is a group of people united under the same purpose/goal that is structured to pursue that purpose.”
I personally think that institution is too broad a term to use in any kind of negative way. Banks are considered institutions, schools are considered institutions, hospitals are considered institutions, and yes, churches can be considered institutions as well.
There was one time when I was an intern for a bigger church, and I also worked at a Starbucks, where I had a team meeting for Starbucks and a staff meeting for the church in the same week, and they felt very similar. Starbucks was starting to introduce its mobile order system, which would allow customers to order their drinks from their phones which would be ready when they arrived at the store. Impressive, right? Then, at the staff meeting, the family ministry team reported an update to the children’s ministry check-in system. They just started an online system that would allow parents to check their kids in from their phone, which would print off a check-in tag that would be ready for them when they arrived. Both systems had the same goal: a smooth and quick way to do something they were already planning on doing.
Does an online kids’ check-in system make the church look more like an institution? I suppose so. A local church is an organization with a specific purpose and checks and balances in place to help it achieve that purpose. Does this make the online kids’ check-in system bad? No. Wanting a smooth, clear, and safe process for families to entrust their kids to the care of a children’s ministry team is a good goal to have.
“Wanting a smooth, clear, and safe process for families to entrust their kids to the care of a children’s ministry team is a good goal to have.”
Now, it might be easy to say that some local churches can be called institutions, but what about the Church? Local expressions of the Church that have 501C3 status are one thing, but does this word also apply to the capital-C Church, God’s community of believers throughout time and across all borders? Let’s look at some scriptures that can help answer this question. The key part of the word “organization” is organize. Is there an established order for how we ought to operate as the Church?
- Regarding worship gatherings, Paul emphasized that “Everything is to be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40, CSB).
- Specifically gathering for the Apostles’ teaching, the breaking of bread, the fellowship, and prayer (Acts 2:42)
- Jesus was intentional in laying out a specific process for Church correction (Matthew 18:15-20, CSB).
- John points out that even Judas was selected to hold onto the group’s money (and stole from it too, which honestly points to a need for more organization rather than less (John 12:6).
- Collection of money for the saints; scheduled giving and delivery (1 Corinthians 16:1-4)
- Setting up an organized system for giving to the widows of the Church (Acts 6:1-7)
- Leadership requirements and structure (1 Timothy 3:1-13)
This might seem like an oversimplification, but there seems to be clear evidence of organization and unified purpose. This involves leadership specifically chosen by their adherence and devotion to this unified purpose. It involves clear processes for how to address breaches of character and when accusations are leveled at others. If we compare the definition of an institution to the structure of the Church, we can see the two line up closer than we might have originally thought.
The Danger Isn’t in Being an Institution
Whether someone wants to call the Church an institution or not doesn’t change the fact that the Church is a unified gathering of “called-out ones” for the purpose of following and pointing people to Jesus. It isn’t being an institution that is a problem; it is when the processes of the institution become the main point. I like how Ray Ortlund said it:
“Institutions are not a problem. But institutionalization is. An institution can enrich life, but institutionalization takes that good thing and turns it into death. How? The structure, the mechanism, the means, become the end. The institution itself takes on its own inherent purpose. The delivery system overshadows the experience it is meant to deliver.”
The point he is getting at is if a church moves beyond intentional care for money to seeking to build wealth as the main goal of the church, then problems will arise. If the church puts all its focus into a well-timed and curated experience for people to have on Sunday mornings rather than intentional connection with people, then they may gain followers, but Jesus won’t.
Jesus Himself made the statement about the religious leaders in John 5 that while they searched the scriptures looking for life, they did not see or acknowledge that Scripture pointed to Jesus, and they didn’t approve of Him. Because of this, He told them they did not have God’s love in them (see John 5:39-42).
Could it be that in our pursuit of attraction, service, and clarity, these processes can slowly dull the love of God in our hearts?
“Could it be that in our pursuit of attraction, service, and clarity, these processes can slowly dull the love of God in our hearts?”
Going back to Ortlund’s point, I think the danger lies in devotion to organization rather than organized devotion to Jesus. If we care more about attendance numbers or service run times than we do about why we meet together, there is a problem. 
The Church’s being an institution isn’t the problem; it is allowing the characteristics of an institution to become the main point. If all that matters to us is that we create a highly attractive and planned experience for people on a Sunday, then we are very dangerously close to focusing on operations rather than serving, loving, and leading people to Jesus.
To put it simply: Putting process over people is the problem.
How can we avoid this?
As a pastor:
- Don’t get so caught up in the process of Sunday that you forget why you meet together.
- Are you able to stop and pray with someone on the spot, even if you are about to give announcements on stage?
- Don’t scrap crucial sermon points due to a set service end time. (Of course, you should be respectful of people’s time; but for the sake of clarity, don’t cut something out that helps wrap up the message.)
- Intentionally create follow-up processes to help move interactions with people in the church beyond Sunday.
- Don’t take the load all on yourself. Help people have ownership in the church ministry.
- Build relationships with your volunteers.
In other words, don’t let the love of God in your heart grow cold.
As a congregation member:
- Honestly engage in dialogue with your church leadership about concerns. Don’t try to communicate your disapproval through silence, withholding help, or leaving without saying anything.
- Don’t just point out problems. Try to be part of the solution. Ask how you can help.
- Break out of your normal routine during Sunday service. Talk to someone new. Invite someone to lunch. Move beyond the surface-level conversations.
- Sacrifice how you prefer the church to operate and instead seek to do your part in helping lead people to Jesus.
Institutions aren’t cold, heartless machines, but churches can be if we are not careful. It isn’t the Church as an institution that is the problem. The problem is when churches work harder to keep policies and processes than to point people to Jesus.
For more from Jacob, check out his blog Online Discipleship.
