Under New Management
A preaching friend of mine who lives in Michigan recently told me that he saw a very interesting statement written on the marquis outside a local denominational church. It read, “Under New Management.” In our conversation, he and I were attempting to figure out exactly what that meant.
We all understand the concept of new management. When businesses are struggling, sometimes drastic measures need to be taken in order to achieve financial success. We watch college and pro sports programs fire coaches and executives every year when their teams don’t win. We see local restaurants with bad reputations sometimes close and reopen with a new menu – or perhaps they get replaced by a different restaurant altogether. Sometimes mega-corporations and large manufacturing companies experience a complete overhaul from the C.E.O. down to the maintenance man. But what happens when a church changes who’s in charge?
One statement that comes to mind has to be what Jesus said in Matthew 28:18 – “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Other New Testament passages tell us that Jesus is the only head of the church, which is his body (Eph. 1:21-22; 5:23, Col. 1:18). If the church is in fact the true church, there really can only ever be one manager, Christ. There only can ever be one doctrine, the New Testament. There can only ever be one body, one Spirit, one hope, et cetera (Eph. 4:4-6). So if the sign was expressing that those who meet to worship on the inside of the building were making changes that were not in keeping with the laws and ordinances of the only King of the kingdom, then a person would have to conclude that this particular church was not the one that Jesus built.
There is, however, another alternative – another possible meaning to the words on that marquis. Jesus gave this condition for discipleship – “If any man come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24). If we are looking at this from an individual perspective, we should all be able to see the need we have to be under new management. The Bible tells us that there is a way that seems right to man, and its end is death. It tells us that it is not in us who walk to direct our own steps. We need the Holy Spirit to lead us. We need Jesus to command us. We need God to forgive us. We need to tender our own resignation and let God take over. Otherwise, in the simplest way to say it, we are destined for hell.
So – If you want me to leave the church that Jesus bled and died for that was established by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost through apostolic preaching and corresponding human obedience, I’m going to have to pass. But if being under new management means that it is time for me to stop trying to be in control of everything and submit my feeble, stubborn will to the perfect and greater will of God, then maybe there are times when certain statements we can read on church marquis are pretty genius.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God…” – James 4:7
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AUTHOR: Jeremiah Tatum
