Church

What is church? Where is church? Who is church? I have been asking these questions for some time now. Some would say that church is Sunday mornings when you go and worhip together. Some people call a building the church. Some other people call "people" church. We are the Church of Jesus Christ....not latter day saints :)

I remember a few weeks ago I was at my church and I was grumpy. Since I walked in, prepared for Sunday school, then into worship. I was discouraged because I was focussing in on myself (or so it seemed) All I could think of deep down was "There has to be more" I remember a few years ago God was talking to me about how the church was overweight. We get together every Sunday, we eat then we go away and do nothing until we get together again the following Sunday. This is not right. As the church we need to be the church. At work, in our neighborhoods, in the resteraunts, in the bars, etc.

I have a huge burden to see the Church of Christ move into its God given role. We get way too busy doing church that we forget to 'be' the church. I am speaking in general. There are a select few that go out and do this.

For the Church to be effective we need to go out and be with people. I read in a book that farmers dont build barns and silo's then open the doors and call the grain inside. They go out into the feilds where the grain is. This is what we need to be doing in the Chistian world. We build barns and expect the animals to come to our barns, when they are all scattered among the feilds. If we want to be with the animals of this world we need to go out to the pasture and be with them.

What does that look like? It looks like going to the local coffee shops where the Generation X folks are hanging out. It looks like going to Campuses and hanging out with students. It looks like hanging out in area's that are less desirable and building relationships with those that God puts in your path.

I read once that good seed is planted in fertile soil. Fertile soil is found in people that are messed up. They have so much crap in thier life that they could fertilize 5 acres.

With that said, those inside a church community need to minister one to another. The problem is that we get so caught up in the naval gazing phase that we never move out and get into the trenches so to speak. Being the church doesn't mean we all have to live in the inner city and hang out with the poor, (not that I would mind) but a big part of being the church is opening up our homes, our BBQ's, firepits and lives to people.

Generation X has a huge desire and need for relationships. We need to feel a part of something. If that isn't hanging out and building community as believers, we will do it at the bars, coffee shops and universities.

With that said I am not critical of the church. For instance I love my church. But the reason that I love my church is not because of the building or location, it's not the worship (although good) or the teaching. I love my church because of the people that are in it. the building could burn down tomorrow, and I would sill have a church, as I have the people.

We really need to be rethinking what church is because the time is coming where everything that we say and do will be shaken and the only thing that will be left is purity and truth. So lets not get caught up in what church looks like or how we do it, but lets start being the church and those other questions will be answered.