What is the church? Lately it seems there is a strong advocacy to focus on a singular definition that emphasizes the church as merely me - I am the church. Consequently I have heard it said that whereever I go, goes the church, and, to follow the thought, I need not "go" to church because I am the church. With that has come a great deal of criticism for the structures of buildings and a subsequent judgement that all who gather in buildings are cooperating with a dysfunctional and less-than-biblical ideology. Hmmm. This is hardly what I see as a New Testament concept.
Scripturally we understand that the church is clearly a collection - of lively stones, or of body parts, or of a grouping of warriors that working together accomplish something. A brick alone does not ever reflect the whole, as does a hand, or foot or eye and neither is it functioning as a church without connections to its other parts. And once it has made the connections, neither is the focus of that collective group for its own purpose but exists to accomplish work of sorts - be that to house something, do something or defeat something.
When I think of the church I think about an active, dynamic, healthy, aggressive, advancing group of people who are, among themselves, coming into maturity because of the "rub" of stone upon stone - the kind of maturity that comes when we have to confront one another because there has been offenses, forgive one another because we got close enough to be bothered by each other's "stuff" and to care for one another because we became aware of each other's needs. This takes the building of relationships, involvement and commitment. To say this has happened among those that gather in a building is of course presumptuous but equally as presumptuous is to suggest that staying away from buildings will result in these kinds of relationships. There are five kinds of people needed to bring any "church" into maturity - they are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These people are clearly called by God, sent by God to be a part of groups of people and grow them up. I shutter to think of the immaturity of individuals who believe they can make it on their own, be "the church" without accountability, or by picking and choosing their own diet and/or leaders. One of the downsides of democracy is we come to believe that we are the masters to choose our own leaders and be our own guides. This is not scripturally true.
First of all the church is not "ours" - it is God's. Christ is the head of the church.
Secondly, in any given locality it is God's business to call people to that locality, to that harvest and to put together the ministries needed to not only reach (which some will do better than others) but to teach (which some will do better than others), pray and be led prophetically (which some will do better than others), care and nurture (which some.... ok, you get my drift.) I think if God has put us together with a certain group we had better pray long and hard before we start moving away from that group because in my experience, usually when I want to leave it is because I'm getting a little arrogant and thinking I am a little above those who are leading me. Part of the five-fold ministry gifts is the confirmation they offer when it is God's timing to make changes. Each of those ministry gifts offers us a certain kind of fence - pastors fence us in to work out loving relationships, teachers fence us in to living biblical, apostles fence us in to going in the right directions and accomplishing the right goals, prophets fence us in to waiting on God's timing, and evangelists fence us in by keeping our eyes looking outward and not becoming enmeshed with each other. As the church is a living organism we do wander around the road somewhat like a drunken sailor dropping into ditches at times, but GOD is faithful, to call us back to the straight and narrow.
I am weary partly because of the pervasively negative attitude that exists towards the "church" - the one that Jesus said He would build. By what some people say, He isn't much of a builder. Ok, so I have been there - no pointing fingers. But God has convicted me of late that the puposes of God for my life will never be done without being connected to others - and without patient, persistent prayer. Maybe the problem isn't with the church at all, but in myown lack of commitment and obedience and pursuit of God.
OK, so challenge me. What are your thoughts...