Church is a dirty word sometimes.
In fact there are many places in our culture where you could scream the f-word without a second glance and say "church" and get a dirty look. More interesting is that the reaction to "Jesus" and the reaction to the church would not necessarily be the same, proving the misconception that is engrained into our society.
Here are three facts that might help guide our understanding of what church truly is.
1. Church is Us: The church is not a building, the church is not an event, and the church is not an activity. The church is people who are in life changing relationships with Christ and with each other. Local churches are simply singular expressions of this over arching truth. A local church is a group of people in life changing relationships with Christ and each other who align with a certain calling and commit to accomplishing that in their community. There are many variations of local churches, because there are many types of people that need to be reached. Hate denominations? don't. They are proof that God is more concerned with reaching people from any walk of life than He is with all of us getting it right.
2. Church is Messy: Why? Because you and I are in it. Of coarse the church is full of hypocrites, fake people, and judgmental jerks. It's also full of addicts, pervs, bad parents, good people, and killers. That is not proof of it's irrelevancy, it is proof of God's overwhelming grace and free new beginnings.
3. Church is Essential: Because relationships are essential. God made Adam with everything he could ever want including personal, physical access to God, but he still said "it is not good for him to be alone." We need each other to learn, to remain accountable, to bear our burdens, I could go on. The easiest way to ensure that your faith won't last is to try to do it alone. But let this be noted- Sunday morning worship is an event, not church. It is an event that provides worship for a community, the gospel for those unreached, teaching for the body, and a catalyst of shared experience for deep relationships to be formed. Sunday morning (or whatever time your church meets as a large group) is essential as well, but Sunday morning doesn't cut it. Showing up on Sunday morning simply means that we attend a social event, not that we are part of the church. Life changing relationships are the point.
**Hanging out with Christians also does not constitute being part of a church. It only means you spend time with people who are part of the global church. The local church is our lifeline. Hanging out with likeminded people is good, being a part of a gathering with a mission, well founded teaching, and empowering structure is necessary. This is why from the beginning there were men in charge of the giving; there was a council of leaders; Paul appointed pastors, apostles, teachers, and other roles; and guiding structure was put into place. The local church is a manifestation of the global church that empowers people with like callings to make maximum impact on their communities and the world.
In fact there are many places in our culture where you could scream the f-word without a second glance and say "church" and get a dirty look. More interesting is that the reaction to "Jesus" and the reaction to the church would not necessarily be the same, proving the misconception that is engrained into our society.
Here are three facts that might help guide our understanding of what church truly is.
1. Church is Us: The church is not a building, the church is not an event, and the church is not an activity. The church is people who are in life changing relationships with Christ and with each other. Local churches are simply singular expressions of this over arching truth. A local church is a group of people in life changing relationships with Christ and each other who align with a certain calling and commit to accomplishing that in their community. There are many variations of local churches, because there are many types of people that need to be reached. Hate denominations? don't. They are proof that God is more concerned with reaching people from any walk of life than He is with all of us getting it right.
2. Church is Messy: Why? Because you and I are in it. Of coarse the church is full of hypocrites, fake people, and judgmental jerks. It's also full of addicts, pervs, bad parents, good people, and killers. That is not proof of it's irrelevancy, it is proof of God's overwhelming grace and free new beginnings.
3. Church is Essential: Because relationships are essential. God made Adam with everything he could ever want including personal, physical access to God, but he still said "it is not good for him to be alone." We need each other to learn, to remain accountable, to bear our burdens, I could go on. The easiest way to ensure that your faith won't last is to try to do it alone. But let this be noted- Sunday morning worship is an event, not church. It is an event that provides worship for a community, the gospel for those unreached, teaching for the body, and a catalyst of shared experience for deep relationships to be formed. Sunday morning (or whatever time your church meets as a large group) is essential as well, but Sunday morning doesn't cut it. Showing up on Sunday morning simply means that we attend a social event, not that we are part of the church. Life changing relationships are the point.
**Hanging out with Christians also does not constitute being part of a church. It only means you spend time with people who are part of the global church. The local church is our lifeline. Hanging out with likeminded people is good, being a part of a gathering with a mission, well founded teaching, and empowering structure is necessary. This is why from the beginning there were men in charge of the giving; there was a council of leaders; Paul appointed pastors, apostles, teachers, and other roles; and guiding structure was put into place. The local church is a manifestation of the global church that empowers people with like callings to make maximum impact on their communities and the world.
"Hate denominations? don't. They are proof that God is more concerned with reaching people from any walk of life than He is with all of us getting it right."
ReplyDeleteI really like this. Keep being awesome!