Today's Church

"Christians are perceived better by the world when their faith is a verb as well as a noun..."

This article I write out of love. I am not anti-church - on the contrary, I love the church. It is a gift from God. It is the Bride of Christ. I have attended many churches, served in different churches, including lay ministry, and was paid staff for a while in a large church. I am not an expert on churches, but I do know a wee bit on the why and how they operate.

The church that I worked at was a different denomination than my home church. Oh, I was familiar with it - it was the denomination I was married in. I long ago gave up on religion. Most followers of Christ have. Paul put an end to religion and legalism. In addition, I have very little time for minor doctrinal differences between churches. Many times they can cause a rift in fellowship or a disruption in Koinonia, which is so important to so many churches.

The Pastor Emeritus at the church that I worked at, was a very good and wise man. He and I became fast friends. He knew I was from a different denomination, and it mattered not to him. Not so with much of the other staff. The Pastor Emeritus and I would get into deep and probing discussions on why both denominations were shrinking in membership. It was a bothersome trend for many reasons. The statistics that we were looking at did show a positive growth in cell churches and non-denominational churches. However many liturgical churches were in decline.

One of the things we both agreed on was this - for a church to grow and thrive, it must 1) stay Biblically sound and 2) be more than just a building that people come to an hour a week. The church is the body - not the building. The building is a place where people of faith come not only to worship, but also to become equipped on how live their faith. Live their faith in the hundreds of hours they are not in the church building. In other words, how to live and practice their faith, so people who are un-churched, or searching, would notice the difference.

I was asked a one time which church was better - a traditional, liturgical church, or a contemporary, non-liturgical church. My answer was both. I have worshiped in both and enjoy each. What I do tell people is this - if the church you are attending is not biblically based, leave. If you find the church you are attending to be "boring", you might want to visit other churches. If you feel you have to go to church rather than wanting to church, you might want to do some soul searching.

When we dropped off our Operation Christmas Child donations at a local church of a different denomination, I asked a few questions about the church. The lady we talked to gave me a very simple answer on how to describe her church. She said only one thing - "We are very mission-centric." That was enough for me. Churches that I have been involved in which are bible based, have a bold vision, as well as serving and sponsoring active missions, are the ones I find the most alive. 

The church remains the Bride of Christ. It is our gift, our tool used to practice the Great Commission. This morning, no matter what church you find yourself in, be grateful in your worship. In many areas of the world, going to a church is not an option. In fact, it can be deadly. Christians know that the "fields are many and the workers are few". There is joyous work left to be done for the sake of the Kingdom. Time to get busy.