The institutional church has been based upon an attractional model of church, calling people to come to our concerts, our events, our buildings, our places of worship. The problem is, however, that people are not coming to our locales.
According to author Neil Cole, the church must adopt an organic model, going to where people are and growing the church in these new locales.
Cole does not just offer up a theory of organic church, he provides concrete examples through vivid stories and personal experiences. One such example involves a man named Sean. Cole and his friends met Sean, who was a speed addict, in a coffeehouse. He was converted, and to celebrate his baptism, he got high. Cole went to Sean’s drug dealer and shared the gospel with her. She did not become a Christian that day, but her daughter did. Several of the kids in the neighborhood also accepted Christ. Rather than making these converts go to an established church, a church was formed right there in that neighborhood. This is organic church—a church that is formed and grows where people are.
The organic church is not defined by its buildings or its worship. Church buildings are not evil, but they often begin to define a church’s thinking, promoting an attractional, corporate mentality. The only time that worship and service are combined in Scripture, Cole says, it is a reference to living for Christ twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week. His call to emphasize daily Christian living is well taken.
The key to vibrant organic growth is proper DNA, which Cole defines as (d)ivine truth, (n)urturing relationships, and (a)postolic mission. Jesus is the source of the original DNA for the church and the model for the church. He is truth embodied, exists in a nurturing relationship with the godhead and his disciples, and was sent to fulfill the father’s mission. Most churches uphold divine truth and nurturing relationships, but they fail to uphold apostolic mission. Cole says that all three of these DNA parts should be present in “every meeting, every ministry, every disciple.”
This analogy is somewhat reductionistic (worship, for instance, is reduced to divine truth) and little biblical case is made for this central point (though it certainly could be made); however if churches would adopt this “DNA,” they certainly would come much closer to the biblical model of the church.
Authority in the organic church is decentralized, for each disciple carries within himself or herself the DNA of Christ. This decentralization allows for more spontaneous and rapid growth. Leadership, then, in the organic church is based upon spiritual gifts and relationship authority, not position. Cole’s case on the need for relational authority today could be strengthened by citing some of the plethora of excellent works on leadership that are available which make this case.
Organic Church is Cole’s attempt at “putting flesh” upon the missional church concept, and he succeeds in this endeavor. While the concept of going to where people are is not new, Cole has given us a new metaphor for the missional church: organic.
