What Makes Us a Church?
Warning: before reading this article we recommend you brew a hot cup of coffee, find a comfortable chair, put your feet up, so that we might think and pray about this together.
Do you have your coffee? A quite place to think? OK, now we are ready. You’ve read the question in my title, now let’s honestly ask it, and seek answers. What makes us a church? Is it our non-profit tax status? Is it our sign? Our building? The fact that we have pastors? Is it that we gather on Sunday morning? Is it that we sing music? Hear a sermon preached? What if we didn’t have any of that, would we be a church? Or yet a harder question, could we have all of that, and not be a church? That question is so important let’s read it again slower. Could we have all of that, and not be a church?
How many people does it take to be a church? Can you be a church by yourself? If you have four friends and you have communion together and are baptized are you a church? Can you have a church without a church name?
OK, maybe I have had a little too much coffee this morning asking all these questions, but the one I am really after is “What makes us a church?”
Pastor Steve quoted the Catholic monk Thomas Merton a few weeks back; his quote has stuck with me. “Who am I? I am one loved by Christ.” (Italics added for emphasis.) Merton gained his identity not from what he said about himself, but by what Christ said about him. The most important thing that could ever be said about us is what Jesus has to say about us, not what we have to say about ourselves. We could call ourselves a church all day long, but it means nothing unless God looks at us and says, “Those people who meet in Tigard are a part of my church, and against them the gates of hell will not prevail.” (Paraphrased from Matt:16:18) Wow!!! Does that give you as much courage as it does me?
As the people of God we must understand our identity in Christ . . . what God says about us—as individuals and as a church. This is the first step, but there is also a next step. Our mission—what we do! Who we are and what we do must unite. So here it is, If we do nothing we are not part of the church of God. Church is not only defined by who we are, but also by what we do. The test of faith is always action.
So “Are we a church?” can better be answered by asking, how many of my neighbors are closer to Jesus because of me? Are we helping the needy? How have I used my gifts to help others? If being a church is about spreading the Kingdom of the Son on earth as it is on Heaven, how are we doing at that?
My response to all these questions is “Our church is getting there . . . and off to a good start.” Our understanding of who we are in Christ is growing deeper, and what we are doing is following that knowledge. Lots of people are regularly being reached through individuals in this church, and we are changing to more closely embody Jesus’ heart for the world.
I wish I had the space in the newsletter to tell you all the ways the focus of this church and its ministries are changing to align our actions with our identity, but I will just pick one.
The deaconesses in charge of the assistance ministries (those who distribute the funds taken at the end of the service on the first Sunday of each month) have been working with the staff to come up with a way to truly help the poor in our area versus just enabling them to continue as they have. Plans are not all finalized, but the process is moving to addressing not just individuals’ felt needs (food, help with an electric bill, rent, etc.) but also addressing their spiritual need for Jesus (interaction with the church family, accountability, the power of Christ to change a life).
So the solution is to have the front door of the assistance program also be the front door of the church. Those in need would need to come on a Sunday, fill out a zip strip, and this begins the process of assessing their needs and discovering how best to help them (not just financially, but with discipleship, accountability, life help, etc). This means that we would potentially give to fewer people, but the ones we give to would be impacted at a deeper level. Our desire is to enfold the least of these, who Jesus loves, into our family here at the Grace Place.
What will it mean? Well it means we need people with a heart to give and disciple those in need. We need people who have the heart of Jesus to love sacrificially as Jesus loved, and serve as Jesus served. It may not always be comfortable, but it is what makes us a church.
If you are interested in being a part of this ministry, please talk to me. Or if the Lord has stirred in you any thoughts as a result of reading this article I would love to talk to you. Thank you for reading, and praying, and I hope you enjoyed the coffee.
Always in process,
Jon
Do you have your coffee? A quite place to think? OK, now we are ready. You’ve read the question in my title, now let’s honestly ask it, and seek answers. What makes us a church? Is it our non-profit tax status? Is it our sign? Our building? The fact that we have pastors? Is it that we gather on Sunday morning? Is it that we sing music? Hear a sermon preached? What if we didn’t have any of that, would we be a church? Or yet a harder question, could we have all of that, and not be a church? That question is so important let’s read it again slower. Could we have all of that, and not be a church?
How many people does it take to be a church? Can you be a church by yourself? If you have four friends and you have communion together and are baptized are you a church? Can you have a church without a church name?
OK, maybe I have had a little too much coffee this morning asking all these questions, but the one I am really after is “What makes us a church?”
Pastor Steve quoted the Catholic monk Thomas Merton a few weeks back; his quote has stuck with me. “Who am I? I am one loved by Christ.” (Italics added for emphasis.) Merton gained his identity not from what he said about himself, but by what Christ said about him. The most important thing that could ever be said about us is what Jesus has to say about us, not what we have to say about ourselves. We could call ourselves a church all day long, but it means nothing unless God looks at us and says, “Those people who meet in Tigard are a part of my church, and against them the gates of hell will not prevail.” (Paraphrased from Matt:16:18) Wow!!! Does that give you as much courage as it does me?
As the people of God we must understand our identity in Christ . . . what God says about us—as individuals and as a church. This is the first step, but there is also a next step. Our mission—what we do! Who we are and what we do must unite. So here it is, If we do nothing we are not part of the church of God. Church is not only defined by who we are, but also by what we do. The test of faith is always action.
So “Are we a church?” can better be answered by asking, how many of my neighbors are closer to Jesus because of me? Are we helping the needy? How have I used my gifts to help others? If being a church is about spreading the Kingdom of the Son on earth as it is on Heaven, how are we doing at that?
My response to all these questions is “Our church is getting there . . . and off to a good start.” Our understanding of who we are in Christ is growing deeper, and what we are doing is following that knowledge. Lots of people are regularly being reached through individuals in this church, and we are changing to more closely embody Jesus’ heart for the world.
I wish I had the space in the newsletter to tell you all the ways the focus of this church and its ministries are changing to align our actions with our identity, but I will just pick one.
The deaconesses in charge of the assistance ministries (those who distribute the funds taken at the end of the service on the first Sunday of each month) have been working with the staff to come up with a way to truly help the poor in our area versus just enabling them to continue as they have. Plans are not all finalized, but the process is moving to addressing not just individuals’ felt needs (food, help with an electric bill, rent, etc.) but also addressing their spiritual need for Jesus (interaction with the church family, accountability, the power of Christ to change a life).
So the solution is to have the front door of the assistance program also be the front door of the church. Those in need would need to come on a Sunday, fill out a zip strip, and this begins the process of assessing their needs and discovering how best to help them (not just financially, but with discipleship, accountability, life help, etc). This means that we would potentially give to fewer people, but the ones we give to would be impacted at a deeper level. Our desire is to enfold the least of these, who Jesus loves, into our family here at the Grace Place.
What will it mean? Well it means we need people with a heart to give and disciple those in need. We need people who have the heart of Jesus to love sacrificially as Jesus loved, and serve as Jesus served. It may not always be comfortable, but it is what makes us a church.
If you are interested in being a part of this ministry, please talk to me. Or if the Lord has stirred in you any thoughts as a result of reading this article I would love to talk to you. Thank you for reading, and praying, and I hope you enjoyed the coffee.
Always in process,
Jon
posted by Jon Knapp at
9:41 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home