terminology

I guess I'm in the mood to expose the fallacies of our contemporary Christianity this week. I have another issue to manifest. However, I'm not some jerk seminary student who thinks he knows it all and wants to demonstrate how his theological perspective is more accurate than everyone else's. Instead, I have found some things in my own life that were harmful to God's glory, harmful to the health of the church, and harmful to my joy, and therefore, I would like to share them.

The terminology I would like to speak of today is "the church." A couple days ago someone asked me where my church was. I responded, "They are located all over Raleigh and Durham and some other places." They replied, "what??" What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I say "the church?" Most of us think of that funny shaped building down the street with the weird glass and the really weird structure that stands way up in the air on top of the building. Colorful carpet, long wooden pews, a manly stout pulpit, a choir loft, and a huge cross on the wall behind the choir loft are all images that fill our memory. It is the place we visit each Sunday, and sometimes if we are really spiritual, we visit Sunday night. However, is this what Jesus meant when he said he would build his church? I think not. Contrary to the popular assumption, the church is not a building, the church is the people that claim to be followers of Jesus. For instance, if a religious riot broke out tomorrow and all the Christian church buildings in America were burnt to the ground, would "the church" still exist? Absolutely yes! You may be thinking, this is a little overboard coming from some "nutjob" Christian who has nothing better to do than sit around and complain about his corrupt upbringing. Well, not actually. I recognize this isn't the greatest issue in American Christianity today, but it is very helpful and revolutionary to the health of the church.

If the church is a building, than Christianity is something we go to once a week, wear weird clothes, say and sing weird things, waiting for Monday so we can be normal again. If the church is a building, than Christianity is a destination and not a way of life. However, if the church is people, than the building is just a place where we can all meet together for corporate singing and hearing the preaching of the Word, and the rest of the week we can be the church, living out the Christian life in our family, work, school, and community environment. Please, don't "go to church," "be the church." This may seem minor to you, but it will greatly influence the way you and the people around you perceive the people of God...followers of Jesus. If you "go to church," then, by definition, you are not the church. Lets rethink our terminology.