As I mentioned in my last post, Hirsch (The Forgotten Ways) argues that the first Christians were not organized in the same way as modern churches in terms of hierarchy and organizational structure. Instead they were more organic. Rather than someone from on high dictating how direction, the impetus for movement is from below. And it expands at exponential rates because it is relationally oriented.
Hirsch also recognizes that the early church was more chaotic than modern churches. Paul is leading here, Peter is leading there. This church is doing this thing, that church is doing that one. Leading such churches is a little like herding cats. But the value of it is in the work of the Holy Spirit in the midst of chaos.
There is much to commend in Hirsch’s theories, but I do believe there is some naiveté and false assumptions within them. Hirsch essentially assumes that the way that the first Christians did things is the way that God intended that they be done for all time. We in churches of Christ have heard this tune before. Ironically, both Hirsch and those who argue for “Patternism” in churches of Christ are interested in how the church should be organized. They both appeal to the first century church as the model. Yet they come to significantly different conclusions..
Why should we assume that the way the first Christians did things is the way they were to be done in all cases? Although many Christians claim to be emulating the first century church, to truly do so one must emulate first century culture. That would include matters such as how women wear their hair or how Christians greet one another. However, this does not solve the problem because we would have to ask which part of first century culture it is that we want to emulate, Greco-Roman or Jewish?
It may be that the first Christians were a chaotic bunch, but why would we assume that God always intended them to be so. In fact, the potential problems from such chaos are evident in the New Testament and come to full fruition in the second century. For instance, there is no organization for taking care of widows (Acts 6). This was handled by the church getting organized which is the first step towards being an institution.
When there is chaos there is greater room for heresy. What would the Pauline churches have done if Paul had not gone around putting out the heretical fires that continued to pop up? And what did the church do when Paul was no longer available to do so? What those early Christians began to do was to organize.
Three elements developed in the second century in part to get a handle on the growing crisis of heresy (namely Gnosticism) that had developed because of the chaos. These are (1) The development of the canon of scripture (2) The rise of bishops (3) The development of creeds. The second of these was a part of a growing organizational structure that developed into the institutionalism of Roman Catholicism. Although this institutionalism did become problematic, what was the alternative?
This is not to discount all of Hirsch’s claims. In fact, I believe that a corrective is needed and what he advocates can help with this corrective. While some organization is certainly needed, too much organization leads to an institutionalism where the tail wags the dog. For instance, churches do things because they have always done them or because they need to keep doing them to retain members. Ministry ceases to drive the train and budgets take over.
In her book The Great Emergence, Phyllis Tickle argues that the church goes through a giant rummage sale every 500 years. That is, the church goes through a major shift in which some things old are sold off while some things new are brought in (some of those new things are actually very old things, such as what Hirsch offers). The last great shift was in the Great Reformation. Tickle believes we are currently in another shift.
Certainly there are many signs that point towards a shift taking place. Such shifts often occur because the church, like economic markets, needs a corrective. While I believe that Hirsch’s model cannot sustain itself over a long period, it may just be the ticket for a corrective that is needed now.
