Most people have experienced some confusion or frustration with the church. The word itself can pull up bad memories or hurtful circumstances for some. Maybe you feel it was ineffective or irrelevant to your life. The church has been, and continues to be attacked from the outside and compromised on the inside at times.
It’s easy to criticize the church. It’s full of human beings that make mistakes and bad decisions, and sometimes hurt one another. Church leaders can be controlling and overbearing sometimes. Church leaders can also be weak and afraid. sometimes.
Yet God wants us to love the church. It was His design for reaching the world. The purpose of the church is to be an extension of the purpose of Jesus Christ. That purpose is to spread the good news about Jesus. To make disciples, baptize them, and teach them the ways of God.
To understand what the church is, we should look at what it is not:
- The church is not a physical building. The building is simply place for the church to gather.
- The church is not an institution or organization. It’s not a denomination or an affiliation.
- The church is not a set of services or activities.
- The church is not just a congregation.
The Bible describes the church in four ways:
- The words church refers to the universal church, which is all believers on earth at any given time.
- The word church refers to a particular location. The New Testament places the most emphasis on the church in its local setting. The churches in Galatia, the church in Cenchrea, the church in Sugarcreek.
- The word church refers to the actual gathering of believers in any place of worship.
- The word church refers to the body of Christ. Christ is the head. It is through the church that Christ does His work. As His followers, we are Christ’s hands and feet and voice.
How should the church function?
- Believers in a church should use their gifts to serve.
- Believers in the church should submit to one another.
- Believers in the church are priests, each one loving, serving, and caring for each other.
- Believers in the church should be striving for unity and growing in their relationship with Christ.
- Believers in the church should be supporting the church through giving, serving and praying.
- Believers in the church should be inviting others to come and meet Jesus.
The church is also compared to a flock of sheep, with Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The church should have elders/shepherds that care, oversee, serve, and lead the people. These shepherds set the vision and direction for the church. They provide protection, provision and care for the flock.
The church is also referred to as a family. God’s Word says we are sons and daughters of God, united together by our faith in Jesus Christ. As family members, we are free to enjoy a mutual, intimate relationship with God our Father and other children in His family. In a family, people are always more important than policies. Relationships are always more important than roles.
A healthy church will thrive and have an impact on the lives of the people that gather together. Those lives will have Kingdom impact in lives outside the church in our world. The church can also be unhealthy and cause a lot of damage to peoples lives which causes damage to the world we all live in.
In Part Two I will talk about Why the church exists.