I used to really struggle with Paul’s invitation to imitate him as he imitates Christ. I misread it thinking that he was telling people to imitate his imitation of Jesus. Sort of like someone impersonating an impersonator. Like me impersonating Frank Caliendo as he is impersonating John Madden.
But what Paul was calling them and us to do was to imitate Christ, just as he was seeking to do. Instead of an expression of arrogance it really is a solid principle. We are to all be imitators of Christ. We are to mimic Him…we really are to play the part of Jesus in the movie called our life.
What neither Paul nor Jesus calls us to do is imitate each other!
I heard Erwin McManus say and I will paraphrase, “I don’t want to be relevant. Relevant means just like everyone else who is already there.” If I understood him and I think I did, the same thing could be said about contemporary. Both basically mean, “ just like those around you.” It simply means existing in the same time period.
The church seems to be very happy with being current. We are very happy to just be like whatever is current. It seems to me that the biggest bunch of copy-cats on the planet is the church. You let one church find an effective way of reaching people in a certain place or with a certain style, and look out! Let the cloning begin!
It is amazing to what length churches will go in order to succeed. If a new church is succeeding and their name is different, the church down the street will change their name. If another church is drawing crowds with black curtains, rock bands and light shows you can then count on others will follow the pattern. It’s really no different than steeples or Colonial style buildings from fifty years ago. We see something and we think that what we see is making the difference, and we clone it.
When I find myself ready to copy some other ministry I have to wonder is it really about the kingdom and the calling. Could it be really be about competing? Sometimes it seems like churches are not partners in the kingdom but rather competitors vying for the same market share. It starts looking a whole lot like it’s more about commissions and not “The Commission.”
Could it be that just as Jesus has called each individual to be his or her own unique and gifted member of the body that this is what he wants for the local church too? Maybe He has called each church and each pastor to lead each church in such a way that together all the churches can reach the whole community and or region. What if instead of trying to clone the most recent methodology for success we started really trying to imitate Christ?
When John the Baptist was challenged with the success of Jesus he responded simply, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.” John did not start copying Jesus methods so he could compete. John just kept on doing what God called him to do.
How has God gifted you? Who and what has he called you and your organization to be? Instead of worrying about competing, let’s become partners and serve as compliments to each other. Instead of cloning a ministry that is having success in the area, why not partner with them. Instead of spending a fortune to become competitive why not try to become more like Jesus.
What if we stopped trying to copy what we can see and started trying to copy the one we cannot see…Jesus. What if we really invested in being REAL instead of relevant? What if we started trying to be Christ-like instead of contemporary? What if we stopped trying to tap into current trends and we tried to tap into an ancient truth: “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord.” Or to be more relevant; Not by trends, nor by production teams, but by my Spirit says the Lord. What if we stopped cloning the competition…and started really being imitators of Jesus. I am pretty sure that is what the word Christian is supposed to mean.
