Remember Napster? It allowed people to illegally share music. Recording artists lost their minds, saying it deprived them of album sales. Teenagers rejoiced, now having access to free music.
Eventually Apple, Spotify, and Amazon launched streaming services where users could access cloud-based music. But users didn’t own the music; they simply leased songs for as long as they paid the monthly fee, had the app, downloaded the updates, and had the phone.
Some people lament that they no longer own the music like they did when they had a closet of discs.
Not me.
A few years ago we had a yard sale and put out our DVDs for $2 each on a 3’x3’ card table: The Lion King, Home Alone, The Dark Knight, and other classics. Nobody wanted them. Zilch. We could have sold just as many discs covered in smallpox.
In a short amount of time, people found other ways to access content. Overnight, we went from an ownership economy to a sharing economy. Uber replaced taxis for young professionals; then it replaced car ownership for college students; now high schoolers are delaying getting a drivers license.
Some say “Possession is nine-tenths of the law.” I’m not even sure what that means. And who counts this way? Never trust someone who makes their argument using fractions.
Ownership does not bring out the best in us, especially in a church.
People get involved in something that brings them tremendous joy. Then they go deeper and invest more. Eventually they take possession and it becomes hard for anyone else to engage, recommend changes, or have a voice. What started as a passion becomes a possession.
The creep from participation to ownership happens in the same way that Hemingway describes going broke: “gradually, then suddenly.”
People start ruling and not relating. Rather than celebrating their partnership in something huge they form an identity around their control over something small.
The word MY can cripple a church.
My Bible class.
My small group.
My contribution.
My ministry.
It sounds harmless at first. But then it becomes my territory, my authority, and my way.
From the beginning, the church was intended to be mutual and collaborative. People pool money (Acts 4:32-37), share homes (Acts 2:44-47), and distribute food (Acts 6:1-7). Leaders exercise influence but not power, “Do not lord it over those in your charge” (1 Pet 5:3). Being around a long time or giving a lot of money should not increase the weight of one’s position. Jesus emptied himself of power so that he could sacrifice for the mission. “Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor,” (2 Cor 8:9). He expresses his devotion to the church through care, not through coercion. “He nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church” (Eph 5:29).
Churches lose their way when MY overwhelms WHY. Our own interests, agendas, and ambitions crowd out the WHY of why we exist. Ministries become hard to join. Fewer viewpoints get heard on committees. Change becomes nearly impossible. The personality and preferences of the leaders suffocate the mission. When the mission is lost, the people suffer.
If the people of God are to fulfill God’s dream of being a sacrificial community for the sake of the world, it will require us to put WHY ahead of MY. It will require us to defer to one another for the sake of the mission. It will require us to bear the fruit of the Spirit in every moment when we feel like our authority is being questioned, our traditions are being challenged, or our turf is being crowded. We will pivot from selfishness to surrender. And the mission will win.
This is the work that is required to change.
If we don’t, we might soon become a table of old DVDs.
