An often quoted axiom says, “The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” Most Christians readily say “Amen!” to the statement, but I always wonder what the statement means exactly. In one sense the “church” is neither a hospital nor a museum because the church is not a place but a “called out” people. But that aside, let’s explore this a little deeper.
I get the museum part, I think. The place where the church meets is not a place where the “saints” are displayed or made much of because of their intrinsic value. The saints are not artifacts to be, metaphorically speaking, placed on a shelf to be protected and to collect dust. The static church is a dying and disobedient church. Christ is neither impressed nor honored by a church made up of members who view themselves a priceless artifacts that ought to be no longer used. Yes, the church is comprised of saints, and they are precious to their Heavenly Father. However, museums (of things or people) contain artifacts deemed too valuable for daily use. This kind of church will never be “the aroma of Christ to God” (2 Cor. 2:15) that we are commanded to be because it will never get its hands dirty.
Now for the hospital part. I am still not sure I like this metaphor. Christians are commanded in Matthew 28:19 to “Go therefore [or ‘as you go’] and make disciples of all nations.” We cannot wait for the spiritually sick to come to us; we must “go therefore” to them. Perhaps instead of speaking of the church as a stationary hospital, we could call the obedient church a MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) unit. It is a fully functioning hospital serving out in the combat zones. Yes, this is certainly to be characteristic of the church on mission. We gather to grow, be encouraged, be discipled, etc., but then we go out into the combat zone to bring spiritual healing to the casualties of the spiritual battle going on all around us.
The church can’t sit around and look pretty as if it belongs in a museum, and let’s not wait around like a hospital for the weak and the wounded to walk in the doors of our building. Rather, let’s be the body of Christ that goes out into the world with a mission to make disciples. Then bring them to the place where the local church meets so they can worship the One, True, Living God.
By Keneta Wolfenbarger January 30, 2014 - 7:02 PM
The MASH analogy is a good one! Isa 54:2 “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” As we enlarge the places where we put down our tents, as we widen the openings of the tents, as we do not hold back, lengthen our cords and strengthen our stakes, more and more of the spiritually sick will let go of their fears and enter the places God has pitched our tents. May we forever be physicians for our Great Physician!