The Bible Nerd

We are the church.  That is what I hear all the time.  Occasionally, that means, “Stop complaining about THE church, because we are THE church.”  Usually though, it means that Christians are the church; it isn’t a building, programs, or an institution.  While there is truth in there, it is being taken to mean that if a few Christians get together and talk about “spiritual” stuff, then that is church.  You don’t need a building, structure, or any of that “other stuff” to be the church.

For example, in books that I have read lately, they said that the following counted as church: 1) two guys meeting to play golf every week, where between putting and chip shots, they discuss the Bible and other spiritual issues; 2) a few people getting together at Starbucks and doing a Bible study together; 3) a picnic at the park where they hand out food to the poor people and talk to them about God.  Now, none of these things are bad things, but NONE of them qualifies as being called church as far as the New Testament is concerned.  Much of this sounds a lot like New Age thought to be honest.  New Age thought focuses on making a spiritual connection, where the “journey” is more important than a book, building, or program.  You don’t need to go to church, a synagogue, or a mosque to connect with God; in fact, those places with all their rules and legalism will probably keep you from truly connecting to God.

How did some of our books about Christianity end up sounding like New Age stuff??? I think that some people are so fed up with problems they see in the churches they have attended, that they like the thought that they can have “church” without all that junk they dealt with before.  No pastors to make them feel guilty for not giving more, no elders telling them not to question church doctrine, and no boring meetings that you have to drag yourself to every Sunday.  Instead, you can order a mocha, sit in comfy, mod looking chairs, and talk about whatever you want with your friends.  Ditch the wooden pew and hymnals and let’s have deep thoughts about the latest, greatest Christian author.

I hate to throw cold water on all this post modern church talk, but “church” in the New Testament contains the following aspects: organized meetings with a group of Christians, appointed group leadership that holds the church accountable, teachers and preachers who disciple others in the truths of Scripture, and a ongoing relationship with the body of Christ as a whole.  I will take us through Scriptures for each of these, but let’s start out with the first one.  It is true that the “church” is used sometimes in the New Testament to mean all Christians together, and not one specific group.

For example, Matthew 16:18, Acts  8:3, and Ephesians 1:22 all use the “church” to mean not just one individual group, but all Christians worldwide or at least in one area.  In 1 Corinthians 15:9, Paul says, “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”  We know that Paul persecuted Christians in many areas, so in this use, he means something closer to “all Christians”, and not just one individual group.  However, most New Testament references are referring to one individual group that is located in one area.  True, the “church of Corinth” might be made up of several house churches, but it is still an organized grouping of Christians in one area.  Christianity is not New Age thought in that it was never meant to be an individualistic experience. 1 Corinthians 16:9 brings it all together, “The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.”

Of course, church would be easier if it was just something you could do by yourself or with a select group of friends.  If you disagree and fight with yourself, you need serious help.  Yes, the location is not the issue, in that you could have a church meeting on a golf course, in a warehouse, or a coffee bar, but the heart of meeting together was fellowship, accountability, discipleship, and evangelism.  That organized body of believers could be contacted by others in different areas, recognized as a group, and held accountable in the larger body of Christ.  In 3 John 1:19, when there is an issue with a believer, John writes, “I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.”  While we may not know what area exactly this church was in, John was able as an apostle of the early church to write to that organized group about an issue with one of its members.

In 1 Corinthians 4:17, Paul says, “That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.”  My point is this, how could Paul visit and teach in “every church” if there were no organized, recognizable group to meet with?  As much as we would like to free ourselves from all the hassle of meeting with other people, we just can’t do what we want and call it “church”.  Of course you can pray and meet with God outside of church.  Even more to the point, you don’t have to be a member of an organized church to go to heaven (that one might rile some feathers).  Playing golf and hanging out with your buddies just isn’t what Jesus had in mind when He talked about His bride the church.  In the next post, we will look at how the New Testament says that churches have leadership.  Maybe that is what we really are trying to escape by redefining church…