I have recently been thinking about the nature of what I call organizational gravity. I have often found that some natural laws have spiritual parallels. Gravity – that is, the natural force of attraction between objects of mass – is no exception. We typically think of gravity in relation to the Earth and to the solar system, because these objects are massive enough for gravity to be readily visible. We understand that the Earth attracts us, how the Moon attracts the oceans (causing tides), and how the Sun’s gravity keeps the Earth from spinning off into space. Gravity is a wonderful thing.
 
However, gravity is a force that has to be reckoned with, and sometimes fought against. Launching satellites is a great example: we must first overcome the Earth’s gravity to reach a height where an orbit is possible.  If we don’t exert enough opposing force, we fall back to Earth. A little too much force and it will go hurling off to space.
 
Now, suppose we want to launch a rocket toward the sun (here’s where our analogy kicks in, so pay attention). We first need enough force to break free of the Earth. The Sun’s mass is such that its gravitational pull exceeds everything else in the solar system, so reaching the sun should be easy. However, if our flight path takes us too close to any other large body, such as the moon or another planet, their gravitational pull will throw us significantly off course. We could perhaps end up being drawn into orbit, never reaching our destination, or even worse, crashing onto its surface.
 
Now, as Christians (or merely as humans), I believe we intrinsically have our “controls” set for the Son (ok, so it’s an obvious, over-used play on words). Being the God seekers that we are, we are heading in various paths toward God. Some are taking direct routes, while others are taking a longer, more gradual spiraling path. However, various other things have exerted gravitational pulls on our lives. Ideally, however, the gravitational pull of God should exceed all other forces in our lives.
 
Now, here’s my point (finally!): Church organizations – and don’t confuse the organizations with the universal Church – can impact us in various ways on our journey. Ideally, church organizations should also be on a path toward God. For example, if the organization is ahead of you on the path, its gravitational force will join with the attraction of God and help you along toward your goal. This is obviously a good thing.
 
Sometimes, however, other things happen. Occasionally, an individual’s progress exceeds that of the organization, or perhaps an individual will choose to take a more direct route than the organization. At this point, we have a problem, if the organization has developed its own gravitational force to the point that it pulls the individual back, or holds the individual in orbit.

Organizational Density 

This appears to be an inherent danger in the traditional church organization; it tends to view itself in a pre-Copernican manner with itself as the center of its own little solar system. And, as with all objects of mass, its gravitational pull increases with its density. That is, as the organization tends to keep its members as closely packed as possible, its gravitational forces increase to the point that it makes it harder for individuals to break free.
 
Many of you know exactly what I mean. You can feel the pull of some organizations as you walk through the front door, as they immediately try to involve you in one way or another, bringing you into their orbit. These particular organizations are tightly packed, with a palpable fear of “looseness.” Whether there are 50 people or 500, there is a desire in these church organizations to bring as many people as possible into a tight orbit around the nucleus. Now, I believe that this is usually with good motives, as they tend to view the gravitational pull of the church organization as always equivalent to that of God, when in fact it is not necessarily so.
 
In a “dense” church organization, your identity is rooted in the organization, rather than merely in God.  While certainly every Christian is en route to God, the dense organizations complicate our journey by putting us in orbit around them. As a result, our prime focus becomes the organization, even to the extent where on occasion the organization can even eclipse our view of God!
 
Another aspect of this kind of gravitational force is that it causes division; by pulling you in their orbit, they are separating you from those who have been pulled into other organizations’ orbits. We now have that “us and them” mentality that is contrary to the inclusive, unity-bound nature of the universal Church. Certainly you see yourself as a Christian, but always as a certain kind of Christian – Baptist, Lutheran, charismatic, evangelical, follower of Apollos, etc.

My ideal Church universe 

Now, let me paint a picture of the ideal church universe, as I currently see it. My proposal is that we were intended to have God alone as the center of our universe. Instead of thousands of church organizations, each with its own system of members in tight orbit around them, I am envisioning a solar system comprised of spaceships (as opposed to satellites, which stay in orbit), all being drawn towards God.
 
In this system, there is a universal gravitational force that binds us all together, and also tends to pull us all closer together as we progress in our journey toward the center. As we look around, we see ships that are in our immediate vicinity; obviously our mutual attraction with these “neighbors” is stronger than with others. There will be a natural “grouping” that occurs; however, I see a healthy grouping being that which does not become exclusive, and which allows a free flow of members in and out of these groups.
 
The problem I see with the gravitational pull of organizations is that when a grouping becomes too dense, its gravity becomes excessive, and therefore counter-productive. If the density of a grouping grows to the point where exclusivity develops, or where the free-flow of people is hindered, I believe the whole Church suffers.
 
The problem is not the existence of groups or organizations. These are natural, and beneficial. The problem, as I currently see it, is that of density. As with physical particles, the closer we get to each other, the stronger the gravity between us becomes. Again, this is natural. However, we need to be aware of the negative aspect of this, and purpose to remain open, inclusive, and willing to change. We must continue to see ourselves, as individuals and as groups, as being a small part of a big universal church, and purpose to value that over and above our relationships with our little groupings.

Convergence 

It also seems that our use of language is part of the problem. Just the word “church” carries with it an immense amount of gravity. There are certain expectations that come into play when a word like that is used. Even words like “home group” create a certain pull. Rather, I think we need to look at any gathering of the church, whether it be a Sunday morning thing or two people having coffee, as merely a convergence of the church. Perhaps we could translate Matthew 18:20 as “wherever 2 or 3 converge…”
 
Whether we are looking at a larger church body or a home fellowship of 8, we need to periodically examine our density factor. Have we become too dense? Has our internal gravitational pull caused us to separate from other groups? Have we, or are we becoming, exclusive, or separatist? Are we hanging on too tight to people? Are we continuing to encourage people in their journey, even if it means letting go of them?

It all comes down to faith 

Perhaps the real question we need to ask is this: do we trust God’s gravitational pull enough to let people take their own path, even if it looks different than ours? I realize that it takes great faith in God’s ability to attract and direct our journeys to maintain the kind of church groupings that I am suggesting. It takes faith that God’s gravitational pull is strong enough to reach those who journey differently than us. And perhaps more than that, it takes faith that God’s gravitational pull is able to keep and direct our own journeys, even if it means occasionally traveling alone. It appears to be this kind of faith that is essential for us to be able to operate in healthy organizations.