One Sunday morning, I got curious about what scripture had to say about doing church.  That day was the beginning of a journey of not only questioning the practices I was used to but also of seeking to discover what it means to be a part of the Body of Christ, also known as the Church.  Here is what I came up with that morning, presented as just the raw data.  There are, of course, many more verses that speak to the issue, but these are where I began.  *For references, you will need to do some leg-work.

Scriptural guide for church: What it says. What it doesn't say.

Within a day or two of asking the question "What is church supposed to be?", a former coworker gave me a book to read.  What was the subject matter of this book?  "What is the church supposed to be?"  That is an interesting coincidence.  Let me start by saying that this book Pagan Christianity, is a flawed book written by a flawed man with flawed arguments that makes some very accurate and excellent points.  In Pagan Christianity, the author asks how the church got to where it is at today.  He explores the history and influence of the Roman empire and then compares that the what scripture teaches.  Honestly, while the history part was interesting, I was really only interested in the scriptural tie-ins.  He addresses things like church buildings, tithing, the passive nature of our meetings, etc.  I have thought about many of these topics before, but it was an interesting experience for me to read someone who had come to many of the same conclusions.

An interesting way to gauge the health of a church is with the simple
question "How well do we know each other?" After all, how can we
encourage one another and spur each other on if we don't know what is
really going on in our lives. When you think of four random folks
from your church, can you honestly say that you know where they are in
their walk with Jesus? Are they encouraged, or secretly discouraged?
And do they know what is going with you? I've often thought that my
best friends are the ones who don't even need to ask the question "How
are you?" because they already know...

So, how do we get to know each other in a deep way? Two words I think
of are "purpose" and "time". It helps to purpose to know one another
and be honest with one another. It isn't always necessary to set out
formal goal, but it sure helps. And there are no shortcuts in the
process, it takes spending time together--praying together, eating
together, laughing together, chilling together. It is somewhat naive
to think that we should open up to each other when we haven't spent
the time building the foundation of relationship that makes us feel
safe doing so.

the end

I know that this post might seem a but nitpicky, after all "a rose by
any other name..." But I think that our words sometimes betray our
true beliefs. "Time to go to church." "What is the name of your
church." "We have such a good church." "Our church is having a
fundraiser." "We are having a Church workday." What is the church
then? Simply defined, it is the whole lot of Christ followers on this
planet--Christ's bride. So how did it become so segmented? How did it
become "our"s? When did it become a building?

I still mess up and use "church" the wrong way...and frankly, it isn't
a big deal. The big deal is when my thinking is wrong, when I think
of the church as a building, a denomination, or some small subset of
people. Let's change our thinking and hope that the words follow.

I have been thinking of all sorts of ways to put into words the
concept of being weighed down by church traditions. Here is one of
them.

The modern church is like a hot air balloon. Except that this hot air
balloon is trying to fly...while tied to the ground. The ropes are all
of the many extra-biblical things that we do or have to maintain. And
they prevent us from flying. This leads me to four questions.

1. Does that make the balloon not a balloon?
No, it is still a balloon even though it only "flies" a few feet
above the ground.
2. Can God make the balloon pull up the piece of earth that it is tied
to and fly around carrying that massive load?
Yes.
3. Will He do that?
Maybe yes, maybe no.
4. Is there a reason we should try to fly while tied down?
Um ........ No. We shouldn't. It is silly! Cut the cords and
float off into the clouds.

...alone. You can't do it alone.

You haven't done a good job so far. You aren't regularly encouraged.
That is because you are trying to do it alone.

You don't need to try harder. That won't work. You weren't made to walk alone.

Our Programs Be Done

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