Thinking Diagonally about the Church

A Kingdom Ecosystem Transcending Domains and Identities

I've confessed though I'm a generalist, my field is primarily the Church. Therefore, it makes sense that I would spend at least one session of the articles-delivered-to-your-inbox known as the DruGroup on The Church. So here goes:

Recently a leader I highly respect in an organization that has resourced me hundreds of times asked me the following question:

"How do we begin to see the church as an ecosystem that cuts across the domains of society in a community/city?"

I found this question to be fascinating, and it resulted in a bit of a back and forth dialog. What follows are my thoughts on one way to tackle this question for the church. I'll note where I'm quoting my dialog partner directly below, but otherwise, this is my thinking on the subject.

Domain Thinking

Most people, inside and outside of the church, think of the church as one of many domains or systems in a society. If you layout society as a whole, or your community, in particular, into a bunch of vertical columns in a chart, it might include areas such as healthcare, education, government, public safety, manufacturing, retail, agriculture, media, the arts, etc.

So, if the church is one of these domains, it should operate as one of them. There is some benefit to that--because you're coming to the table as an equal. The person who comes to the table of such domains acting in cooperation is the leader of a church community (a Pastor), so that leader might feel somewhat affirmed to be at the table with people like the Chief of Police, School Superintendent, Business leaders, or hospital CEOs. This model for thinking of the church may feel like it elevates that leader. 

The problem is the church is not a column in the chart of a community. The church is not a domain, it is a relationship within community. This is not, in fact, a bold claim. It is doctrinally true for every orthodox Christian in history. The Church in a community crosses all the aforementioned columns of a community's domains. The people of the Church are in each of those domains already. The Hospital CEO and the School Superintendent might both be a part of the church already, but they are in that meeting wearing their domain's "leadership hat."

Instead, the church has what my dialog partner on this point called the "elements of an ecosystem" which are self-aware and interconnected, collaborating. Like all ecosystems, the church is a network that spreads across the domains of society in complex but relational ways.

Identity Thinking

If attempting to move beyond domain thinking, another way to think of the church is in terms of an identity that cuts across the other domains. Gender, ethnicity, nationality, socio-economic status, education level, political affiliation: these are all identities that cut across all the "columns."

So, is the church another "identity row" like these? 

Nope.

The church, when fully functioning as the church, should incorporate all the rows as well. Many have pointed out that a unique thing happens at the intersectionality of these identities. For instance, one may be a person of color, but also as a woman, and then on top of that have a less advantaged socio-economic background. So that person's identity "intersects" those multiple identities. Likewise, the church, ideally, intersects all the columns and the rows on the chart of a community. The church as a whole could be said to have collective intersectionality. (Of course, all too often the church does not have enough of such intersectionality, but that is another subject, and perhaps this thinking helps us to understand why that is so unfortunate. So stay with me for the moment.)

While there are dangers to the church thinking of itself as "just another domain" vertically, there are equal dangers to the church thinking of itself as "just another identity" horizontally. A vertical-thinking church is just another retail domain institution in the community engaged in marketing for your time, money, and support. And thus a horizontal-thinking church is just another identity expression in the community competing as a faction for the needs of the community. 

Both the vertical and horizontal ways of thinking of the church fall short. I'm sure you've seen examples of both attempts in church life or perhaps only now you are seeing the problem and regretting it. The church is not a domain; it is much more than another business or non-profit in your community. The church is not an identity; it is so much more than another tribe, minority, or people group to represent or secure rights or territory for. Stop thinking horizontally and vertically. Start thinking diagonally.

Diagonal Thinking

Instead of seeing the church's relationship to a community in terms of domain or identity, the church works on the diagonal. It's as if the columns and rows are like those on a chessboard. The King, the Rook, the Knight, the Pawns, etc all move vertically and horizontally, but the pieces that can freely move about the board as far as they want on the diagonal are two: 

First, there is a piece on a chessboard called obispo in Spanish episcopus in Latin, and that is the Bishop. This is a word which the early church meant for "elder" who was the sort of "watcher" who took care of others--the one who was on the lookout in their definition. This is the one who looks to equip the church distributed in all the rows of identities, and columns of domains in a community.

Secondly, the Queen on the chessboard can move any which way she chooses, vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. The Queen, in this metaphor, is the Church herself, the bride of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus. 

This multi-directional re-thinking of the position of the Church rephrases the place the Church has in a community. The Church is embedded in the domains and expressed in the identities of life. The implication is that the other things happening in a community are not in competition for the time of the Church, nor are they in any way a peer-to-peer relationship with the Church. Instead, the Church is distributed throughout the community. 

In commenting on the challenges for the Church during the COVID19 pandemic, Ed Stetzer said,

"When I was a teenager, I played chess competitively. One of the ways I learned to improve my game was to remove the queen. People who are not good at playing chess rely too much on their queen. For too long, the worship service and the church building were like the queen in a chess match, becoming more central than they should have been. Our best ministry happens in the community."

I might extend his helpful exhortation to rethink what we believe the queen should be. We didn't need to just practice doing church without the queen (public worship services) for a while, only to go back to using the queen in all her powers just like before. Instead, the queen is the church herself out in the community in the first place. The queen of public worship services may have been an imposter queen all along.

This domain and identity rethinking may help us redefine and re-embrace what that Bishop-type person is in the kingdom of God. There is a need for the diagonal influence of a bishop, who can intersect all of the domains and identities with influence for the kingdom of God. 

In these emerging post-pandemic days, Pastors and church leaders are wondering what it means to be "in the ministry" these days. Could diagonal leadership be the solution they are looking for? What unique ways would a "bishop-type-person" take responsibility to train, call out, and care for the church as it works and lives and learns in each domain, while also authentically expressing their identities in tandem with their Christian life and worldview?

The diagonal-thinking bishop leader engages among other Christians in each of the domains. They move gracefully alongside each identity. In doing so the bishop works to help the queen transcend the way the church has been done for all too long.

To do this, a bishop must stop doing things that reflect horizontal or vertical thinking. To help the church function like the ecosystem my conversation inferred, the bishops of today who give leadership in all kinds of churches of any size must break free of the shackles of the clear cut domains and narrow identities, so the church might be truly free to become the Bride Jesus Christ intends and intercedes for her to be.

My friend noted that we need such bishops that... "know the city and love the city. People that are perceived as spiritual parents, if not grandparents. People that have a broader vision for what the church is and can be in practice." He continued, saying that such a bishop type person will need to be "...equally comfortable, and equally welcomed, in environments that are predominantly not Christian as well as those that are predominantly 'Christian.'"

Perhaps such a way of life offers an alternative model for those set apart for equipping ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12). So far, much of the thinking I see out there about the church and ministry is reasoning through negation, not constructing a new (or reconstructing an old) way. Perhaps the bishop on the board is a metaphor that could help Pastors and church leaders know how to function as they operate diagonally to support the queen, which is the Church in all her forms.

Be sure to leave a comment if you’d like to continue this dialog with your input. -Dd