My dad's blog inspired me to write this one. I actually wrote it as a comment on his blog but decided to publish it myself. The link to my dad's blog is on the side called Tim Thompson...Reflections. In his blog entitled "What is a church?" he talks about two other blogs about the subject and explains a little bit about his experience. This brief blog is a little bit about my experiece with what the church is. I hope you enjoy.
Church to me is the people that belong to it (I know I say this all the time and my family is probably getting sick of me saying it). It is not the building where we meet, it is not the living rooms or the golf course. Church is living the life that God has called us to live. I like the phrase "Be the church, don't go to church!". I myself have just recently left a big church of 400-500 people in the congregation to be a part of a cell based church plant in a smaller community. From my experience, I am growing in my spiritual journey better now than I did at the big church. I feel more connected with fellow believers, I find it easier to share my faith and invite people just to 'hang out' instead of inviting them to a worship service that will most likely be very boring to someone who hasn't experienced Christ yet. Learning how to "Be the church" is helping me live my life for Christ everyday as opposed to the 'rut' that some people get in by just living the life on Sunday's.
This being said, I also believe that everyone and every demographic is different so what works for me and my community doesn't necessarily work for another. I think that every community, small or large, should have options for people to meet God the way in which they feel most comfortable. If someone you meet doesn't feel comfortable going to a worship service, invite them out for golf or coffee and just love them.
I believe as Christians (even if we attend regular services in a 'church' building) need to really focus on living the life, not just on Sunday's, but everyday. Be the church on the golf course, be it at the mall or in the grocery store. Be the church all the time!!
Thanks for reading my ramblings.
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2 comments:
When you say that church is the people that belong to it I think that this is the point being made by my two friends and the most important thing I said in my post. Nor do I think anyone is really teaching that the church is the building. The church may meet in a building, whether that is a big, ornate structure or around the dining room table, but the church is the people.
But, I don't think we can be a church by ourselves, divorced from other believers. We may at times do mission in the world on our own (having a round of golf with someone uncomfortable in a church setting) but we cannot be the church on our own, by ourselves. So again, as you said, the church is the people (together as a community) who are united in the goal of following Jesus and ushering in His kingdom.
I truly believe and agree that the church is the people. I believe that we need to be the church. I believe that cell groups are a great way to go as far as learning and living in community, but I also see the value of a church service in the sense that it is a time set aside for a larger congregation of the church to get together and just worship. I'm not saying that we don't worship in our small groups, but I do think there is power in numbers as well, and when 20-20 000 get together and worship in one place it is a beautiful thing.
In a lot of ways I view church services as a place of communal worship and not necessarily a place where we go to get to know one another. Many people view it as a social function, I view it as a worship time. Small groups is where more "getting to know you" stuff will naturally take place.
This is kind of scrambled, but it makes sense in my head. Peace
www.jerthom.blogspot.com
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