Here is the Church...here is the what???

What is Church?  In today’s culture “church” has taken on a bad name and rep.  In some cases this is not for no reason either – there have been many sad injustices due to the church.  However, that does not mean that the Church as a whole is a bad institution.  Yet – that is part of my question: should it even be an “institution”?  From the book of Acts and the early Christian movement, the Church was the group of people congregated to worship Yahweh – Father, Son, and Spirit – and to minister to those in need.  For some, the idea of “going to church” has such negative connotations that they write off anything to do with Jesus, figuring that coming to faith and any kind of relationship with Jesus would mean having to give up Sunday mornings to attend some archaic ceremony that leaves one bored and confused.  Well, to be honest, it would be nice if that was all Jesus asked us to give up!  But, in the end, the cost of following Jesus as Christ and Lord does not mean one has to start wearing a suit and sitting on a hard pew.  But….what will it mean?

Well, after writing the last two blogs on how we as Christians should be uniting – not dividing – and how we all now live in a Postmodern, Post-Christendom society where we think through things differently, I have come to see the need to approach the entire idea of “church” differently.  We have read several books in class – one being Your Church is Too Small by Armstrong.  This book was designed to challenge Christians from every sector to consider how to unite with those of other denominations, harkening back to the creeds and sacraments as the vehicle in which to unite us.  Another book I read was The Forgotten Ways by Hirsch.  This book dealt with the method of “doing church” in the Postmodern environment.  It promoted the idea of meeting together in pubs and cafés rather than in large buildings segregated from the rest of society.  The whole nature of the Church is to be living and active within the culture – serving and loving those around us just as Jesus loved those around Him when he walked on earth.  Does that mean we scrap every institutional church and building and all the programs and multimedia presentations?  Not necessarily; however, it does mean we need to take a step back and consider what the Holy Spirit intended when He called people to the Father through Jesus and filled them with Himself. 

Honestly, I am not good at this, but it resonates with me.  I feel like I should be taking more active roles in the world around me, particularly engaging in the lives of the poor and oppressed.  I long to engage those who may not want religion, but may resonate with the story of Jesus entering into this world as a Man and as God in order to die on the cross – a horrible, lonely death – for the sake of sin and sorrow...but then to rise again in bodily form, defeating Death and ushering in the New Creation!   New Creation is now ~ the time in history when we all can experience victory over Death because we can be filled with the same Spirit that came upon Jesus at the time of his baptism.  We live in a whole new world because of what He did…and continues to do.  Now, because of that foundation, we as the Spirit-filled people should long to grow in community – learning to love each other as Christ loves us and yearning to serve those around us like Christ served those marginalized.  Like I said, I do not preach this as one who has already arrived…but the reality that could be has me excited.  I am now pondering Church and Christianity in a whole new light.

So, what is Church?  If nothing else, it is the Body of Christ and the Body of Christ is the Church – all God’s children…Catholic, Episcopal, Orthodox, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Mennonite, Lutheran, Non-denominational, and Charismatic.  But, like I mentioned in the first post, we must begin overcoming our differences in order to bring about the unity God intended.  Plus, in order to begin to be relevant to the Postmodern culture in which we live, we need to put ourselves out there, willing to be real and make mistakes and admit that none of us has all of the answers…ALL in the name of love.  That is how others will know we are Christians – by our LOVE. 

I hope that the Church can begin to transform into the living, active organic group of passionate followers of Jesus so that His Love and Grace are shown to all of the people in the world.  I don’t know what this looks like – but I do believe it’s possible – particularly with the cooperation and input of those who would not think of setting foot into a building called “church”.  It is imperative for us who are the Church to be welcoming all people who are not (yet) thinking of themselves as part of the Church.  We who are sinners must be the first to welcome and love sinners – not cast the first stone at those who deserve the grace of God too.  As a Thirsty Theologian, I would be blessed to engage with those who may not want to walk into a building but may want to walk along side another human being who has considered what it means to be a follower of Christ.  Is anyone else thirsty?