Friends, the word “deinstitutionalization” has forced all of our team into much debate, consideration, research and consultation of dictionaries, a thesaurus and of course Google! And as we all came up with different thoughts and interpretations we decided to help you more readily understand what we mean when we use the word in this and other posts/articles.

The most commonly held definition and meaning of the word, and usage, is “the release of institutionalized individuals from institutional care (as in a psychiatric hospital) to care in the community” (Merriam Webster online dictionary)

The alternative definition and meaning that we (the Dancing on Water team) are using in this article and elsewhere in the website is “the reform or modification of an institution to remove or disguise its institutional character“

---

The place to begin at deinstitutionalising the Church is to raise high the importance of people to a level just below God… higher than programs, property and polity. At varying degrees, people who are rescued by God from their sins are incorporated into His Family, the Church, in a confused, beaten and battered state – carrying guilt, shame, and much regret from their former lives. One major impact of this is low self-esteem, and poor self-image. The True Church seeks to correct this through… accepting people as they are, loving them for who they are, affirming them as children of God, encouraging and inspiring them in their spiritual walk and growth in Christ-likeness. The Bible describes this intentional, top priority work as ‘discipleship’ (Matthew 28:18-20).

God and people ARE the subject of the True Church, not the means by which the church is run. While the question of high importance asked by leaders of Institutional churches is, ‘What are the members doing for the church?’… the question asked by leaders of the True Church is, ‘What are we doing for the members of our church?’ The Traditional church measures its success by the size of the congregation, buildings, programs and finances. The True Church measures its success by the quality of spiritual ‘fruit’ that is being produced in the lives of its members, through the Holy Spirit’s work of regenerating them more and more into the likeness of Christ (Galatians 5:22-23).

Another major difference: While the Traditional church is focused on the promotion and expansion of its man-made institutions, the True Church is focused on the expansion (without limit) of the Kingdom of God! Members of the True Church prefer to be known as followers of Christ – not Baptists, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, and other religious name-brands.

Friends, people are created in the image of God and matter more to Him than anything else. Every church that represents the name of God in the world should be driven by the same caring concern for people… all people! True believers should regularly self-examine the integrity of their Christian presence that is fleshed-out in the context of their family, work place, and community. We are to ‘be’ salt and light in the world, not just simply talk and teach it (Matthew 5:13-16).

The Institutional church is largely responsible for giving the world a false and damaging impression of God… driving people away from Him, and keeping them away. There is no perfect church on earth! However, the True Church is in a state of being perfected (made holy) by God’s word and the Holy Spirit. Where possible, with the Holy Spirit’s help, do your best to deinstitionalise your church.

Best wishes, 

Bill Joukhadar