Somewhere in his voluminous writings Karl Barth ventured to identify the one sure mark of a true church. It is not unlike the crusty old theologian to be so daring. And so surprising. Some years ago when the famous Swiss was visiting an American seminary, he was asked to name the greatest idea he ever had. The inquirer might have expected one of the most influential theologians in the world to draw something from Hegelian idealism or Kantian metaphysics, but if so he was in for a surprise. He said the greatest idea he ever had he learned at his mother's knees, and he sang, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." That's Karl Barth!

When he was asked to identify a true church, he again spoke in simple terms: A true church is where the power of Christ is present in the lives of the people. The time was when I was incapable of comprehending such an answer as that to a question that I often heard raised. When I was a student at Freed-Hardeman and Abilene, where I studied with the foremost in the Church of Christ, we had sermon outlines on how to identify the true church. The identifying marks were the right name, right worship, right organization, right practice, and of course the right plan of salvation. One illustration intrigued me, one that I used myself. If I tell you to meet my cousin at the train, you will know who he is because he'll be wearing a white suit, a straw hat, and will have an umbrella in one hand and a bird cage in the other. The point of course was that it is as easy to identify the true church as it would be to find my cousin.

I sometimes wonder, thinking about those days, what would have been the response if someone had suggested in brother Hardeman's class that the way to find the true church is to look for the power of Christ. The response might have been positive. Ideas like that simply didn't come up. I think we were all terribly deprived. The power of Christ in a church! We did talk about the power of the gospel, and we memorized Rom. 1:16 - all good stuff - but we never thought of "the true church," a term we often used, in reference to the power of Christ.

I also wonder how Prof. Barth would have responded if one of his students had referred to the true church in terms of name, doctrine, organization, and practice. Again it might have been positive, for all those things have importance, but I suspect he would have cautioned against having form without substance, a church without the Spirit, and he might have pointed to 2 Tim. 3:5, "having a form of godliness but denying its power."

We all well know that one can have the most elegant piece of machinery, such as a computer, and that it is worthless if it is not plugged into the power. It means nothing to have a Mercedes in the driveway if it has no power system. Our VCR has a button marked "Power: On. Off. " Even a child knows that nothing happens if the power is off.

There is that kind of thinking in Barth's distinction between a true and a false church. The true church is where the power of Christ is turned on. This would at least mean the power of forgiveness, love, and peace in the lives of the people. It would include a joyous unity amidst diversity, such as is implied in 1 Cor. 12:4: "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit."

Some of us have been a long time understanding the power that Paul speaks of in Rom. 14:17: "The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." The false church, we may presume, is the one that supposes that the kingdom is a matter of being right about food and drink or forms and procedures and knows nothing of the joy of the Holy Spirit. We are also slow to see the likes of 1 Cor. 4:20: "The kingdom of God is not in word but in power." This may be an ellipsis, "not in word only but also in power," for the kingdom certainly includes the proclamation of the word. But if there is the word (and all churches profess to teach the word) without the power it is not a "kingdom of God" church. At the least the passage is saying that the word must be preached with power, and that our lives must reflect the power of Christ, not only his teaching.

Our worship services are often boring and lifeless. There is no sense of urgency. Preachers orate lackadaisically and a listless spirit permeates our assemblies. It all seems routine, a kind of humdrum, hands-in-pocket, take-it-or-leave-it attitude. In what we call "fellowshipping together" there is far more small talk than Christ talk. Preachers need to rev it up, but without shouting. Enthusiasm! If a preacher doesn't put fire in his sermons, he ought to put his sermons in the fire. We are too laid back. We need to be more like the winning team in the dressing room after a Super Bowl game.

Many of our folk seem to find church so meaningless that they must view it as an ordeal to be endured out of duty. They feel guilty if they "forsake the assembly." They arrive at the last moment if not late, and they leave as soon as possible, speaking to no one and giving nothing of themselves to the service. or so it seems. They may not sing and may not even listen. They are languid, listless, and lifeless. Not only are they not "aglow with the Spirit," as the Scriptures urge, but they seem unaware that the Holy Spirit has come to us as a guest of heaven.

But I have more sympathy for them than censure. We have so institutionalized the church and professionalized the ministry that "the love of many has waxed cold," to quote Jesus. We have become so much like the world and other elite churches that we have little concept of "Body life" or what the Bible describes as "the whole body grows and builds itself up in love" (Eph. 4:16). We have a professional in the pulpit, "the pulpit minister" we now call him, who often commands a salary far beyond those of comparable education and background, who satisfies more than he edifies. He is part of the System that is more concerned for getting a crowd and meeting the budget than in reaching out to the poor and oppressed of the world. We spend most of our great wealth on ourselves and in building our own denomination. All this gives us form, but does it give us power?  

Yes, our people not only become bored but disillusioned when they are cut off from "the resources of power" (Eph. 1:19) that God intends for them in his ekklesia. The message they get is that they are not supposed to think for themselves or entertain a new idea or suggest a new way of doing things. They are repeatedly brainwashed to submit to "the authority of the eldership," which is one of those myths that keeps us tied to the mentality of the 1930's. It usually means that the elders are never to be questioned, never mind what decision they make. And it nearly always means that the rank and file members, who pay the bills, have no part whatever in the decision-making process. The women, who are often the ablest in making decisions, are not only never consulted but hardly have any place at all in the ministry of the congregation. Our churches are made up of spectators, who, unlike their Lord, come to he ministered to, not to minister. All this means stagnation. No power!

To overcome this weakening syndrome our elders must become the shepherds of the flock as the Scriptures teach and quit functioning as if they were corporate executives. The congregation must learn the power of Body life and ministry. Our hired preachers must cease being pastors in the churches and go out into the world as evangelists. We can't "go" for God in a world aflame unless we're plugged in.

Moreover, we must cease nursing our sectarianism and start dealing with it forthrightly, for it is a root cause of our powerlessness. So long as we do not accept other Christians as equals and preserve the old mentality that we are the only true church we will he ineffective in a world that can he won for Christ only by a loving and united church. More of our preachers must find that "convenient season" to say what they really believe about our debilitating sectarianism, even if it means letting their jobs he hanged. "God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control" (2 Tim. 1:7).

Another way to say all this is that we must recover the proclamation, purpose, and power of the ancient Christian faith. The proclamation is that Jesus is the risen Christ, a message that is to be preached, not to those who have already heard it, but to a lost and dying world. The purpose is the salvation of the world and the building up of the Body of Christ. The power is faith in the risen Christ and the joy of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Paul says it well in Rom. 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." The apostle names joy, peace, faith, and the Holy Spirit as resources of power. He goes on in the next verse to name simple goodness, knowledge, and mutual ministry: "I myself am satisfied about you, my brethren, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another."

It isn't really all that difficult if we are interested in recovering the power of the ancient gospel for the living of these days. The facts and truths are all there, as are the resources of power. The question that remains is whether we are willing to plug in. —the Editor