What is Church?

The Images of Church

What “Church” means has a multitude of definitions and expressions. All of these are variable to some degree based upon who you ask. The word alone conjures a plethora of images: cathedral, rock star preacher, organ, choir, robes, coffee,incense, hymnals, Bibles, pews, screens with projected images, hands folded in prayer, hands lifted in praise, the list

goes on and on.

For me, church is a place of belonging that encourages my faith, stretches and challenges my theology, and surrounds me with support from fellow Christian believers.

Church, to me, is people gathering together to grow in relationship with God and with one another.

When I think about my child hood church experiences it is tender warmth. The people who surrounded my daily life with faith and wisdom while I strained impatiently to grow up taught me what it meant to be a church.

When I Think About Church…

I think of the hankie that Ms Sarah handed me the time I was crying for no good reason. I think of Rev. Herb and his wife Betty welcoming me into their home and feeding me.
I think of the cantankerous widow,“VA” who would step out ahead of the priest for her cigarette break after services but always had time to listen to my frustrations about life.
I think of a thousand different individuals who had an impact on the way I encountered God.
I think about joining my voice in song with all those gathered in worship and singing even though half of us could not keep a note in pitch.
And I think of my dad who always reminded me that “God doesn’t ask for a beautiful noise, but a joyful one!”

Christ & the Church

Church is about Christ. So when it is done well it finds a way to be a connected and intentional group of persons who, despite their various opinions, political views, and druthers believe that loving Jesus and loving one another is more important than anything else.

If you open a Bible to the book of Acts 11:26 you find the original scripture that points to the church being a collected body of Christians. At no point are these Christians perfect people. We still are not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, today. Church has never once be a perfect place. There have been moments of perfection, to be sure.

As a small child I can remember thinking that church was four walls with a steeple. Then one day, that image came crashing down. The walls, I realized, were only man-made and the people in it were just as human as those outside of it.

I Ran Away from Church

I ran away from church altogether at one point but that did not help me deal with the pain of life either. If anything, it only exacerbated it. I encountered a sense of loss in no longer having a consistent and dependable spiritual home. The church, I learned, was a vessel for spiritual renewal that could not be replaced.

In the end, I came back to church because I did not wish to live without it, despite it’s imperfections. Now, I understand church to be a group of people who believe in Jesus and who care more about sharing the compassion of that same man/God with others than they do about anything else. I strive to be a part of this church, I aim to be a servant leader in this church, I invite you to join me in this pursuit.

Application:

L1,2,&3: Spend some time with these questions and reflect on your answers in a quiet space or with a few trusted friends.

What is Church to you?
Do you have a Church home? If not,
How do you know when you are in your spiritual home?
Do you invite others without a spiritual home to join you?
How do reach out to welcome others to church?
When have you felt lost from the church?

May the Road Rise Up to Meet You,

Rev. Wren