By Mike Leuken
Lead Pastor at Oak Hills Church in Folsom, California
It can be fun to bash and trash the local church, especially when most are well stocked with unfinished and fickle leaders and followers who talk better than they walk. Bashing and trashing have certainly become a popular pastime for the skeptic on the outside, the jaded on the inside, and those once immersed in the church who decided its persistent failures warrant a divorce.
There is plenty of convincing evidence to support a suspicious view of the church. No argument there – so refine, reform, and deconstruct away. At the same time, there is something about the church that endures. There is something about it that summons the Christian to engage. For reasons God only knows, the church has been, is, and will be part of his bigger plan until his plan is finished. “A small working model of new creation” is N. T. Wright’s wonderful job description for the church. The flaws and failures are real, but the local church remains God’s instrument for manifesting the goodness of his Kingdom to a broken world.
After thirty-five years in the mud and mess of local congregations, the church’s centrality in God’s redemptive story still inspires me. Many years ago, my mentor said to me, “Mike, the church is where the action is.” I didn’t know what he meant then, but I do now. As my time leading the church draws closer to an end, a passion rises to make space for the next generation of leaders to discover for themselves the beauty of Jesus’s imperfect Bride.
A few years ago, we hosted a summer seminary intern. We developed a detailed plan for his internship. He met with key people in our congregation, breathed in our culture, observed, and offered valuable input. It was a remarkable summer. He was with us for two months, and his presence, voice, energy, and hope were renewing. I’m confident his time with us was good for him. I know it was good for me and for us. The time and money invested was more than worth it.
Recently, we entered into a partnership with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and hired a graduate student to start a ministry at the local community college. The outcome or results of her ministry are not the point and hardly matter. What matters is fanning the flame of her passion for service in God’s Kingdom. What matters is making room for people like her to experiment without the pressure to justify themselves with a result.
We are currently developing a paid ministry residency for younger leaders to experience the culture of a reasonably healthy church, influence us, and be inspired to give their lives in service to the church. We are planning to raise funds for this residency, asking people to contribute generously to make this happen. We hope many will experience this residency and then leave Oak Hills Church to make a difference in the Kingdom all around the world.
I don’t want to spend the remaining years I have soothing my fragile ego with hollow indicators of ministry success. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church, despite its failures and flaws. I can’t think of anything more energizing than making space for young leaders to learn to lead and to love the church the way Jesus did.