What is church?

What is your definition of "church"? Have you ever stopped to contemplate that?

According to my experience growing up in the church, I would have described church as the place I went Sunday mornings at 9:30 am. Though there was some variation in the service, it was generally a welcome, about 3 songs, offering, Scripture reading, a sermon, another song, sharing of announcements and prayer requests, prayer, and a closing song. This was followed by the Sunday School hour (which in reality was often only 45 minutes). By 11:45 (at the latest) we were usually finished with church. We knew what to expect on any given Sunday. 

But, does that mean that this is the only way that church happens? Does church have to look like we've always experienced it?

 Do we need…

…an outlined order of service or

…a big cross on the wall or

…nicely dressed people or

…a polished worship team or

…a thought-provoking speaker or

…(fill in the blank)…

I don't think so. Before you shout, "heretic!" let me explain my thoughts. 

We often equate “church” with a “building.” Is that even a correct assumption? Not according to the Bible. The Bible uses the term “early church” to describe the people, not the building.

And, what’s the point of church anyway? Isn’t it to commune with God and others?

For a while, I have been wrestling with how I see “church.” I don’t think that it is limited to a certain building. Or a certain time of week. Or even a specific type of service. I don’t think we need to have PowerPoint or podiums or sound systems. I don’t even think we need to dress in a particular way to attend.

What if church was something a bit more informal, a bit more authentic, a bit more real? What if when we talk about being the church, we actually were the church? We’d be involved in each other’s lives, not on a once-a-week-when-we-show-up-at-the-same-building type of way, but in an intentional, I-really-am-invested-in-you kind of way. Wouldn’t you feel like you could be real and authentic with people then? Wouldn’t that increase the depth and importance of those relationships for you?

Could meeting friends at a coffee shop and praying together be considered “church”? Could it happen in one’s home? Or what about in a (gulp) pub? I think so.

This summer, our WMI (World Mission Institute, the 4 week training that I did in June) group was asked to read Alan Hirsch’s book, The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church. This book resonated with a lot of things God has been revealing to me over the past two years.

See, I’ve come to the place where I really value authenticity in relationships. I want people to see the “real” me. I want to be open with people, sharing about the good and the bad, proving that I don’t have all the answers or that I don’t always have it together (can you believe it?! J). But the thing is, I want it to be both ways…I want the vulnerability and the authenticity to be on both sides.

To me, that’s what the church is about…and somehow, what it seems to have lost somewhere along the way.

Hirsch’s book calls it “Communitas.” It’s being an intentional part of a group. Of living life with people in a way that shows you care and that you value them. Of walking with others through the good and the bad. Of working together to accomplish a goal or vision.

In my opinion, that’s what church should look like. What are your thoughts?