Church

For the last…oh year and a half at least…I have been tussling with the idea of church. What is the church? What is it supposed to be? What is its purpose? On and on.

Here is an overview. I will try to keep it brief. I grew up in a church, Stony did not. So naturally we have different ideas about it. When we got married, I felt, very clearly, that I needed to take a step back from my involvement so as to be more equally yoked with him. It was a very good thing. We didn’t go to church regularly which opened up opportunities for us to learn to be independent with Christ; not relying on someone else’s idea of what they thought we should learn for that week. Then we started going to church. Not every week, but a couple times a month. We went to a church we both liked. We both left every week feeling like we had a new perspective on something. We never felt like we were to get really involved in small groups or volunteer areas or anything. This was akward for me at first having worked the last 3 years in a church where I had been overly-involved for the past 7 years. Then I got my job back at the church. Being back has been wonderful, but it has brought to the surface, the conflict in my head and my heart about the church.

So what is the purpose of the church? I think it is a place where Christ-followers are supposed to go to worship and fellowship as a community. What is a community? To me it is a group of people that are intimate with each other and invested in others' lives and willing to get involved with others and their families. Do you find that in a typical church? I don't think so...not usually. I think of a typical church as people going to a building, singing songs together, listening to one man’s idea about the Bible, and then everyone leaving before they actually have to talk to anyone. It is a duty. Church, is actually a building where a group of people with similar beliefs can be found inside. (Note: the dictionary defines “church” as a building also.) But in the Bible, the church is a group of people. (Matthew 18:17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; Acts 9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord. Acts 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 14:27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together Acts 15:4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church) If you read these verses, and substitute “building” for “church” it doesn’t make sense. That is why I say church is meant to be more. It is meant to be an intimate community.

I am not saying that going to church is a bad thing. Or that believing in the current church is a bad thing. For me, and my spiritual peace, I need to redefine my church. I need it to be something more. I need it to have a purpose. And I need to know that the evolution of the church since Jesus, may not (like all humainity) have gone the way it was intended.
I believe church is meant to be an intimate community of people that encourage each other, share their lives, teach each other (not in the traditional sense), invest in each other, and share truth with each other.

So basically, what I want to say is thank you for being my church. As of late, I have felt more encouragement, truth, teaching, investment, authenticity, and drive from you all then anywhere else. I am so thrilled to have you, people who share lives (even if it is only possible on a blog) with me. I don’t live in the same town as any of you. So blogging and/or phone calls constitute my community. And I thank you. I thank you for sharing your lives with me and in so doing, being my church and making me a better person. Rani, Kat, Jenn, Chalena, Stephanie, and Mom, thank you for being my “church.”

(I would love to hear your ideas of church. Even if they are opposite what I think because that will keep me from going off the deep end. Any dialogue we can have about this stuff would be fantastic, I think!)