Church Without Shoes

I in them and you in me. Then they’ll be mature in this oneness, And give the godless world evidence That you’ve sent me and loved them In the same way you’ve loved me. John 17:23 (MSG)

Church, smug, righteous, even distant, superior perhaps, but humble for sure! We church people, especially we church leaders, are proud of our differences, our uniqueness. Jesus, however, suggested it is our sameness that is a sign of our maturity. We like to point out how special and different we are. Jesus suggested oneness a better advertisement to a hurting world than competition.

I don’t know. It’s just an idea. But then it was Jesus’ idea. No, it was more than an idea . . . it was a prayer, a really serious prayer. It was Jesus’ prayer for those who would be called his followers. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; John 17:20 (NASB)

It’s a prayer that Jesus prayed for you and I, even you and I who are church leaders. We are “those also who believe in Me through their (the first disciple’s) word.” It’s more than just a prayer, it’s part of Jesus’ longest recorded prayer. It’s Jesus’ climactic prayer before he goes to the cross to die for the sins of the world. It’s Jesus’ last open dialogue with his heavenly Father before he is betrayed, and he is praying for you and me. . . the future church, the church today.

Jesus’ prayer for the future church is that we (the church) would live life in a way that sent a message, a message not about us (the church) but about him. . . the Lord of all .. . the only Savior, or in Jesus’ own words ” the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

Think about it.

* If you had the power to live in a way that fulfilled the desire of Jesus’ most meaningful prayer for you (the church), wouldn’t you want to do it?
* If you (the church) had the choice to live as the answer to Jesus’ prayer for your life, wouldn’t you want to do it?
* If you (the church) had a choice to live in a way that Jesus prayed you would, not so people would think you were cool but so the world would believe who he was, wouldn’t you want to do it?

That is the idea behind “the Church Without Shoes.”** What’s the idea??? Living, serving, cooperating rather than competing, submitting to one another rather than one upping one another, worshipping, acknowledging our oneness in the risen Christ so that the light focuses not on our individual churches, but on One individual . . . Jesus the Son of God.

My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father—that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me. John 17:21 (NLT)

Intead of separating ourselves by our styles, likes and preferences . . . by the kind of “Christian shoes” we wear, Jesus prays we discover a more effective testimony to the watching world. Jesus believes when we live as one body, one church, the world will believe Jesus is for real! In effect . . . for our metaphor . . . Jesus prays we will kick off our separatist shoes and see we are really His feet in the world.

Pastor Sean of Shelter Covenant says, “The shoes we wear: our denominations, our practices and beliefs are simply footwear to help us walk with Jesus. Once our footwear becomes a way of hiding our feet or saying hey look at my shoes, or we have the best shoes rather than look at my feet then we have lost site of the church without shoes.”

When we stop focusing on our shoe styles and run barefoot together, walls begin to fall and a joy and freedom rises up from our oneness in Christ. Pastor Sean adds, “The church without shoes is a realiztion that all our feet are really the same. They are beautiful and funky, sweet and smelly, soft and caloused. You can add more distinctions of feet, but all our feet are simply feet.”

Think about it: Was there ever a time . . . (maybe you were younger than now) that you and a friend kicked off your shoes and ran barefoot throught the grass. Or have you been to the beach and stepping out of those shoes that keep you safe and dry, run with a child along the wet sand? I can’t even think about it without getting a little happy! It’s an image of joy!

Imagine a church, multiple congregations of believers in Jesus who lived not striving nor competing for their own personal survival or victory but lived with Jesus’ prayer in John 17 in mind “so the world will believe.” Paul give this exhortation to the church growing in Philippi, “do not merely look out for your (plural pronoun) own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Phil 2:4 (NNAS)

What exactly does that look like? That’s what a significant number of pastors and churches in our local community are daring to explore. We don’t know exactly what it looks like. We best know what it doesn’t look like. We have been that way for years.

* Is there a risk? Yes.
* Will it cost me something? Most likely.
* Will everything go as we think? Not likely.
* Is it worth working toward? Jesus prayed we would.
* Does it matter? Well if our purpose has anything to do with living in a way the world comes to believe who Jesus is . . . then of course.
* Anything else? Just a final thought, Jesus did his best work barefoot. Imagine a church that followed His example.

Just an idea. . . Pastor Art

P.S. the credit for the Church w/o Shoes concept goes to Pastor Sean of Shelter Covenant Church