"The" Church

One positive trend I’ve noticed over the past few years is an awareness of what we mean when we say “church.” If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve probably seen it, too. For instance, “Be the church” is now a common catchphrase. This is a hugely positive sign.

Why? Because for too long, we have often referred to the church in non-biblical terms. We “go to church.” There are events “at the church.” On Sunday mornings, we are often “late for church.” Active Christians are sometimes called “church-goers.”

Despite how we use it in our language, the church is not a place. It’s not a building. It’s not even something we do. We don’t give money to it, we don’t attend it, we don’t skip it, we don’t renovate it.

In one sense, the church is universal, consisting of all of God’s chosen people. In a more practical sense, though, the church is the local community of believers. We get the word “church” (in a roundabout way) from the Greek word ekklesia, which means a group of people who have been called out for some purpose. What is their purpose? We can find a good summary in Acts 2:42, where the early church is described: “…they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. [ESV]”

A group of Christ-followers engaged in discipleship, worship, and fellowship. That’s quite different from a building with a steeple. Sadly, it’s also different from what we see in many churches today. There are churches known for an outstanding children’s program, or active youth group, or rockin’ praise band. Some have a silver-tongued preacher, or fun senior citizen get-togethers, or a really big Christmas shoebox program. All of these are excellent and really can do some good in the world. But they aren’t what the church is called to be.

What if a church took seriously its obligation to be a true community of believers? A community that took care of its members. A community that loved and worshipped Christ, and whose members loved each other. A community whose members were effectively discipled, and everyone was expected to do what most churches hire professional clergy to do. A community where outsiders are not only warmly welcomed, but actively sought after to share the good news of Christ. A community whose business/council meetings focused on reaching and helping people, instead of wrangling over money for buildings and programs. A community where disciples made new disciples.

In short, what if the church looked like the church of Acts, instead of the churches lining our streets today?