‘Ohana and the Local Church
Spoiler Alert!
My wife and I took some time this week to go to a theater and watch Disney’s live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch. We don’t often watch movies nor do we have high regard for remakes, but Disney does a phenomenal job at incessantly advertising and the trailers that we had seen for the movie made it seem particularly true to the original. So, we took our afternoon to watch the movie and in the midst of the emotionally manipulative, familiar storyline something stood out to me—the idea of ‘Ohana, which is a major (if not the major) theme of the movie. What stood out to me in Lilo & Stitch’s use of ‘Ohana was that the concept is exactly what the local church is supposed to be.
What is ‘Ohana?
‘Ohana is a Hawaiian word that simply means “family, relative, [or] kin group.”[1] Lilo & Stitch make it a point to expand the definition to include anyone that is considered family with varying statements that increase its meaning. For instance, the two quotes that I’m most thinking of concerning ‘Ohana are, “‘Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten,” and “this is my family. I found it, all on my own. It’s little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good.” Both of which clearly highlight family as something more than biological—you choose your ‘Ohana, which again, ties in with the local church significantly. When someone intentionally chooses to be part of a local church, that local church is supposed to be their ‘Ohana—their family.
The Problem in Americanized Christianity’s View of Church
One of the biggest issues of American Christianity is a deficient view of ecclesiology. The local church is almost exclusively viewed in a consumeristic way rather than how it actually is intended to be. For instance, when most people consider what local church they want to join, their primary questions don’t concern theology, church polity, or leadership style. For most, their primary concerns include what ministries can serve them, whether or not they like the music, or whether the preacher is entertaining or not. Very rarely are people concerned with whether they can participate in the local church as their family—their ‘Ohana. And so, even if they choose to stay at a local church, they’re not concerned with the body being their ‘Ohana, they’re more concerned with what they get out of the church—and thus, when they stop getting what they want out of the church, they have no issue with just disappearing (i.e., in reality, they never treated their local church as their ‘Ohana).
Of course, part of the issue is that local church leadership in many churches across the United States have treated the church as a consumeristic experience rather than an ‘Ohana too. Thus, it’s easy for the average layperson to treat the church as a consumeristic experience because those who ought to be leading them to think differently about the local church are reinforcing their consumeristic ideas rather than confronting their idolatry of self, entertainment, and big, flashy “church.” And yet, these consumeristic-style churches (or seeker-sensitive or whatever else you might want to call them) are the antithesis to what a biblical church is supposed to look like.
How do we know? Because Scripture gives us a pretty decent picture of what the local church is to look like:
What Should the Local Church Look Like?
While there are many different elements that we could focus on, I’m primarily focused on these:
Gathering of Regenerate Believers—contrary to popular belief, the local church isn’t actually supposed to be seeker-friendly, it’s supposed to be regenerate believer friendly. The local church is where those who already believe are to gather together. Of course, no local church would turn away those who don’t believe, but the primary focus is those that already do believe (Acts 2:41-42; 1 Cor 1:2; John 3:3).
Devoted to the Word, Fellowship, the Ordinances, and Prayer—while gathered, the local church is to center itself around the teaching, preaching, and reading of God’s Word, sharing life together, observing the Lord’s Supper and baptism together, and engaging in prayerful worship together (notice the word together) (Acts 2:42; Heb 10:24-25).
Led by Qualified Elders and Served by Qualified Deacons—real local churches are led and served by biblically qualified men who seek to lead and serve according to Scripture. The biblically qualified elders are the primary overseers who shepherd, teach, and protect the congregation. The biblically qualified deacons are the lead servants of the church who take care of the facility, aid in congregational care, and promotes unity within the local church (1 Tim 3; Titus 1; Heb 13:17; 1 Pet 5:1-3).
Committed to Discipleship, Mutual Edification, Accountability, and Church Discipline—any local body of Christ needs to be committed to the growth of their members; thus, believers ought to be growing, encouraging one another, and using their spiritual gifts to build up the body. There really ought not be someone within a local church who doesn’t get involved in any way whatsoever—everyone ought to be serving for the purpose of building up the local church that they’ve committed to. In conjunction with this, accountability and church discipline are markers of true, biblical churches—loving correction and restoration of members maintains the purity and witness of the local church (Matt 18:15-17; 1 Cor 5; Col 3:16; Eph 4:11;16; Gal 6:1; Heb 10:24-25).
Engaged in Mission—because the local church is never intended to be a place where Christians congregate and just spectate, it’s clear that every person within the local church ought to be participating in the mission of the local church—to go and make more disciples. This naturally includes both evangelism and discipleship—i.e., every believer within the local church ought to be evangelizing and discipling others (Matt 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Rom 10:14-15).
Practicing Love, Unity, and Humility—love is the distinguishing mark of a true, biblical church. Tied in with love are the concepts of unity and humility. The reality is that the local church is made up of human people, who while they are redeemed and regenerated still struggle with sin. Thus, any local church needs to be a body of believers who practices love, unity, and humility together (John 13:34-35; Eph 4:1-6).
Supportive of the Ministry—members of a local church ought to support their local church. The unfortunate truth of local church ministry is that it requires substantial capital and manpower for a local church to function optimally. While many local churches fundraise through novel ways, the vast majority of a local church’s funding and manpower is actually supposed to come from the local body that has committed to be a church together. This includes financial giving to meet church expenses and to provide benevolence to those who need it. This also includes giving time and other resources to meet church needs and serve those who need help. (Gal 6:6; 1 Tim 5:17-18; Acts 4:32-35; 2 Cor 8-9).
Worshipers of God in Spirit and Truth—the gathered church exists primarily to worship God rightly—reading and preaching the Word, singing, praying, and observing the ordinances in reverence and joy—at least every Lord’s Day, but as often as the local church can be gathered (John 4:24; Col 3:16; Acts 20:7).
In other words, the local church is to be your ‘Ohana that worships together, serves together, mutually edifies one another, and is on mission together. The issue is that in a consumeristic Americanized Christianity, ‘Ohana is the furthest from most people’s minds when attending a local church. So, while the local church might do the right things, teach the right doctrine, serve in loving and kind ways, if it isn’t your ‘Ohana, you will always place your local church in a lower priority level. If the local church that you’re part of is truly your ‘Ohana, you will want to worship with them, serve with them, mutually build one another up, and be on mission with them.
If your local church isn’t your ‘Ohana, you will always choose something else instead of your local church—and, if that’s the case, don’t bother pretending. Just be honest.
My local church is my ‘Ohana. “‘Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” It may be little and a little broken, but it is still good because Jesus has made it His bride and He loves her.
[1] Hawaiian Dictionary (1986), s.v. “ohana.”
