Church?? - By Phil Ware - Observations and Questions
Many thanks to Darin and Kinney.
DARIN - Your comments keep reminding to to come back and post more.
KINNEY - Your encouragement and prayers are a support to me.
I appreciate you two guys, even if you two are the only ones that read this blog.
I like looking at the concept of “church”. I think our western culture idea of “church” often hinders us from getting the full benefit God intended. Take tonight for example. It is Saturday. There is a group of friends that have started their own “church”. They happen to meet on Saturday evenings (they call themselves SatFel). My family and I hung out with them tonight because some of their kids are graduating high school. Between swimming and eating we all got together in the living room and had some AWESOME praise time in singing. It was unfiltered, hand-clapping, toe-tapping, lung-bellowing, vocal cord straining praise to God. We were truly of one voice. We did “church”. One of the purposes of getting together is to rebuild in each other what the world has chipped down through the week. We did just that. But we did more. There were people, kids, friends that were there who weren’t back into relationship with their creator. By them being there with us, they got to experience unity and the joy that comes from celebrating our creator. It was natural. It wasn’t opening prayer, songs, communion, sermon, closing prayer (oops, forgot invitation song), but it was natural and good.
I’m not saying to throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to how we currently do “church”. But wouldn’t it be great if we could recapture some of what God intended when he called us to assemble as people called out of the world? This isn’t a CoC issue. I’ve been listening to a local Christian radio station and you wouldn’t believe how many commercials there are of congregations trying to woo saved people away from other congregations. Why not have those commercials on the local Rap station, or local Rock station? Why are we here anyway? To increase our Christian market share? No, it is to be the tools God uses to bring created man back into relationship with their creator.
Here is the last part of the document by Phil Ware. Here he makes some observations and answers some questions.
So I’d like to share a few biblical observations into the discussion for all of us to ponder and discuss.
First, Jesus and the writers of the New Testament did not envision a Christianity that does not involve Christian community. Jesus sent out his followers two by two. He called together a small group of twelve to be his first community. His primary teachings centered on relationships and life lived together in community. While much of his teaching and lifestyle brought him into conflict with religious leaders in religious situations, his regular practice was to participate in those gatherings to redeem them and restore them to their intended purpose. He didn’t abolish or abandon them. He even talked about building a gathering of people around the confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:13-16).
Second, the term used overwhelmingly throughout the New Testament for this community is the word our modern Bibles translate “church.” Unfortunately our well-intentioned use of the word and popular definitions of it — like the “called out” or using the word to refer to a “church building” — distort the original meaning and use of the word. The word itself, ekklesia, is not even a religious word. (Acts 19:32, for example, where the word is used for an assembly of those who definitely were not followers of Jesus.) It simply means “assembly” or “gathering” of people. What makes it “Christian” is that the gathering is done in “[T]he name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:1-2). When believers gather in Jesus name, there is a very sense in which the Lord is present among them with power (Matthew 18:20; 1 Corinthians 5:4).
Third, followers of Jesus are identified with this term “gathering” (or “church”) repeatedly through the New Testament. Rather than identifying a theoretical group of people, this is an identity formed by being brought into community together and meeting together (Acts 2:41-47; Acts 20:7). Reading the letters of the New Testament (Romans-Revelation), the first few verses of them reveal this focus, using a formula like, “To the gathering of God’s people in …” (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2).This gathering together in Jesus’ name was so important that they were urged not to forsake their times of meeting together, but to use these opportunities to stir each other up to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:19-25).
Fourth, this was to be a community that lived the lifestyle of Jesus and called each other to that lifestyle all over the world in different cultures (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus called his followers to live by Kingdom of God ethic found in his own teaching (Matthew 5:1 — 7:29) and in his call for his followers to live in a community of accountability and forgiveness (Matthew 18:1-35). This is reflected in the rest of the New Testament’s emphasis on how Jesus’ followers are to live with “one another” and treat “each other” in community. In fact, all of the New Testament books following the book of Acts are not understandable outside followers of Jesus gathering together to try to help each other live the life of Jesus. Most are letters written to specific gatherings (or “churches”) of believers in Jesus.
“But I’d rather spend my time doing good for others and helping them in their life than be stuck in some outmoded church service!”
The truth is, this isn’t an either or choice. In fact, gathering several folks who share your commitment to help others only increases the reach of your good deeds and offers these people a place of community and friendship where they can belong. So many in our lonely society today need just a place of friendship and acceptance.
“But I love my church where I am just fine! What’s the big deal, anyway?”
If you are blessed by the contemporary expression of church, great! Help your gathering of believers live out the call of Jesus and make sure others are welcomed and loved into your group. But please, understand that a whole generation is coming of age and many are not finding a connection with what they see as the institutional church — several studies suggest less than 4% of those 18-25 in the US are connected to a “church” experience of any kind. Give them the permission to search the Scriptures and try to faithfully express the community of Jesus in ways that connect with their culture. I’m not talking about a cosmetic re-do of modern church to make it more consumer friendly, but a genuine passion to restore the life, vibrancy, accountability, and community we see in the book of Acts.
“Aren’t you afraid that even suggesting this will hurt our churches and give our young people and others permission to abandon church all together?”
People don’t have to have permission to do this; folks are abandoning the current expression of church in droves, already. (For a glimpse at the hard realities of where things actually are, read the book Unchristian.) We must remember that our goal is not putting people in church buildings, but helping others find real community in the Kingdom of God and submit to the Lordship of Jesus. Many will continue to be blessed by the church culture we have experienced for the last several hundred years. Others, however, are looking for a more intimate gathering of people who are held accountable to each other and to the Lord in community. They see the power of the house church movement in places like China and Cuba, and long to experience what they see as authentic community as they serve others in the name of Jesus. Others are blessed to enjoy both expressions of church in their home congregations. The key, I believe, is for all of us to keep praying, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
“So what are you saying?”
I’m saying that I believe followers of Jesus are going to regularly gather with other followers to help them live the life of Christ and remember the life, words, sacrifice, and resurrection of their Lord, together. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you do the big church deal that is a part of our Western culture of church. It does mean, however, that you gather with other believers in some form to call each other to be community where Jesus’ character and compassion are lived.
Peace
JH



