If you go to just about any Christian bookstore, (is there really such a thing...can bookstores be redeemed?) you can find numbers of books written about the church. If you scroll back to my previous blogs, you will also note my ponderings of what the Church is. What is interesting about all of this Church talk is that just about everyone wants to reform the Church, and just about everyone has their own theory (or maybe it's just a hypothesis) on how to do such a thing...including me.
Well, here is a news flash. We cannot, nor will we ever reform the Church.
Why?
Because here is what the Church is not. The Church is not ours. We are not the head of the Church. Jesus is the head of the Church (Eph. 1:22; 4:15; 5:22...). When we attempt to change or reform the Church, we take ownership of it. Maybe we (we, including me) should stop trying to reform the Church and allow God, through the Spirit to reform us. We can sit and debate what the Church is to do, who it is to be reaching, and how often it is to meet. However, debating is not worshipping...honoring...glorifying...edifying. We (again including me) should cease this debate about what the Church is and start living in submission to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We should start living lives of obedience to our Master and Savior. In other words, it is time to shut up. It is time to live...serve...devote...commune...love. Let's start being the Church instead of talking about it...trying to get it right.
So, what is the Church? It is a bunch (community, family, gathering) of sinners, trying to hear the still, small whisper of the One whom it serves.
That's all.
Thursday, September 23, 2004