The church, like the tabernacle of old, may make a poor impression–until you enter in.
Recently, I toured the Canadian headquarters of a company that a friend of mine works for. The complex was impressive, inside and out—intentionally so. The company had spent several million dollars on the lobby alone. Overall, a tremendous amount of money, planning, and effort had been poured into ensuring that their headquarters would impress visitors and clients, and I have no doubt that they have achieved the desired effect.
This is a tactic that we see all around us today. People are concerned that their offices, homes, cars, clothes, etc. all send a message to others, particularly outsiders. Sometimes, as in the case of businesses, it is motivated by a desire to increase sales. Often times, however, the motivation is pride; we want to impress others with our success and we know that people largely judge success in material terms.
Regrettably, this kind of thinking can infiltrate our hearts, too—even with regards to spiritual matters. We don’t want others to think us “unsuccessful”; we want to make a good impression. What better way to accomplish this than to have extravagant headquarters? The bigger, the better. Let us show the lost how successful we are so they won’t be ashamed to join us.
It often comes as a shock, then, when we’re asked where our headquarters is and we reply that we don’t have one. People—even Christians—have come to expect that any truly reputable group will have a respectable headquarters, presenting a good image and ensuring proper order. Without one, we just can’t be taken seriously.
The first problem with such thinking has already been addressed: it’s exactly the kind of superficial thinking an unbeliever engages in, so it’s unlikely to be correct. Moreover, it’s largely based on pride. But there’s another, more profound, misunderstanding.
The fact is that we do have a headquarters. It’s just not on earth, for headquarters, by definition, is where the Head is. The Lord Jesus is the head of the church (Eph. 4:15; Col. 1:18), the head corner stone (Mt. 21:42; 1 Pet. 2:7), the head of every man (1 Cor. 11:3), the head over all rule and authority (Col. 2:10), and the head over all things (Eph. 1:22). He ascended to the right hand of the Father and currently sits in our heavenly headquarters, overseeing and directing all aspects of His church. As a result, all of the benefits we would hope to gain from an earthly headquarters are ours, only infinitely more so.
Safety
One of the dangers of a typical headquarters is that it gives the enemy a focal point for attack. It allows him to concentrate his efforts on one location rather than dividing his forces and waging war on thousands of fronts. The devil used precisely this strategy in Israel, long before the church existed: bring down the king and the nation will fall with him. And he has employed it effectively throughout church history when Christians relied upon earthly headquarters. All the enemy has to do is take down headquarters and the churches will fall with it.
But what can the enemy do against a heavenly headquarters? For such is ours—absolutely unassailable. As long as we are following a heavenly headquarters, the enemy’s only hope is to divide his efforts among the thousands of local churches around the world. That isn’t to say he will never have any minor successes, but it is infinitely safer than affording him the opportunity to bring us all down by one strategic victory. As the Lord Jesus demonstrated throughout His earthly life, He is utterly impervious to Satan’s attacks. The devil can attack our Head all he wants, but there is no possibility of success.
It is also worth pointing out that in times of persecution, an oppressive government can storm an earthly headquarters and quickly get a list of all the churches and leaders. How much safer when the names are written down in heaven!
Guidance
There is another kind of safety that a heavenly headquarters affords us. Not only safety from the devil and safety from a hostile world, but also safety from ourselves. One of the purposes of a headquarters is to give guidance and direction. Instead of every church having to make decisions based on limited resources and intelligence, we have the privilege of depending, not on a group of men who have slightly more resources than we do, but on our omniscient Lord.
This entails responsibility on our part, of course. One of the dangers of saying that we don’t have a headquarters is that we begin to act like we don’t—as if we were simply free to do whatever we deem best. But, in fact, if we want to enjoy the perfect safety and wisdom of Christ, we need to be sure that we are seeking His will at all times. The duty of elders isn’t to set policy for the church, but to discern Christ’s will. The church belongs to Him. He purchased it with His own blood and He alone has the right to set its course.
Fellowship and unity
Since we are all vitally linked to the Head, we enjoy fellowship and unity that no human organization can duplicate. This is not simply a theoretical truth, but an intensely practical one. I grew up in a denomination that was extremely structured with all of the organizational links man could devise. Yet, if you had suggested that I might know a person in another city simply because they were part of the same organization, I’d have thought you had taken leave of your senses.
Yet now, without any of the visible, human, organizational links, I enjoy close fellowship with believers around the globe. Union with the Head results in practical fellowship than no amount of human organization can ever produce.
These are some of the advantages and blessings we enjoy as a result of our heavenly headquarters. Whether we realize it or not, every believer…every church has the same headquarters. But the benefits can only be fully enjoyed if we act in accordance with this fact. Practically speaking, this has several implications.
We need to recognize and appropriate this truth. This means not only acknowledging it as being abstractly true, but understanding that we are to depend on the Lord Jesus at all times for direction and protection. At every juncture—but particularly in times of decision—we should remind ourselves that Christ is the head of the church and that our role is to discover His will through prayer and study of the Scriptures.
None of us have been assigned the task of running the church or setting its policy. We are His servants, here to implement His will. Are we in the habit of personally and corporately coming before Him in earnest, humble prayer about all aspects of the functioning of the church? Do we search the Scriptures, seeking to follow them as accurately as possible? Are we willing to dispense with our own ideas when the Word shows us a better way? Do we spend sufficient time before the Lord in fervent prayer, asking for His wisdom and seeking His blessing in all of our service, or do we proceed on autopilot once we get comfortable with a given task? Is it our habit to confess to Him our utter reliance upon Him for all of our needs, and consciously look to Him for His provision, care, and protection? Do we have a deep, inner conviction that without Him we can do nothing?
The more we understand and value the truth that our Head is in heaven, the more we will enjoy the advantages: safety, guidance, fellowship, and unity. Currently, we’ve been sent out with work to accomplish. One day—perhaps today—our time will be up and we’ll be asked to report to headquarters. And, if we’re still worried about appearances, we can rest assured that our headquarters is far more impressive and glorious than anything man has ever built.