What is the church? It’s a question we need to be asking more urgently than ever. And I fear that good people are too narrowly defining church. We need a more generous definition.
I know there are millions of books on the topic, and countless papers, and nearly 2000 years of thought on the topic. I’m well aware that my amateurish opinion is no more than ramblings and I’ll likely regret this post because it’s not as carefully crafted as it should be.
Still, we need to redefine what church is, so I’m adding my two cents.
If we are followers of Jesus then we are a reflection of Jesus. Wherever we find ourselves — work, home, the local bar, at the gym, wherever — then we are an ambassador. We reflect Jesus wherever we go. To put in churchy language, we are part of the body of Christ.
With that in mind, the church is nearly everywhere because part of that body of Christ is nearly everywhere. That gives us an incredibly generous definition of church, don’t you think? It’s suddenly massive, far beyond the narrow definitions we often hear.
The problem is a lot of established church leaders (pastors, elders, preachers, deacons, prophets, professors, whatever you want to call them) tend to define the church too narrowly. And yes you can lump me into that crowd if you want (author, speaker, teacher, elder, smart ass).
These church leaders have a narrow definition of what church is. It is their local church, their weekend service, their small groups, their community outreach, their sacraments, their worship … for gawdsakes, their parking lots. They have become the gatekeepers of the church and thus the final judge on what or who is the church.
Most of these church leaders do not deny that the church across the street or down the road or even across the ocean is also part of the broader church. But there is still an exclusivity to their definition.
For instance, many do not look at the local homeless shelter run by believers as “church” because, well, it doesn’t meet their criteria. Neither do the institutions staffed with unordained social workers who help drug addicts kick their addiction, or the organizations that are helping single moms, or counseling veterans, or welcoming refugees, or visiting prisons.
Take those same organizations under the approved church umbrella, say operating as a ministry of the church, and then they say it’s the church. In other words, give these leaders authority over it and it is the church. Sigh.
Look, folks, those organizations doing great work are the church. Period. End of sentence. Even if their bylaws don’t say they are faith based, even if their public persona doesn’t use our approved faith language, even if they take donations from non-faith people or organizations … if we are part of the body, then he is present where we are, and that’s the church.
If we begin to view the church more generously, multiple things would start clicking. For one thing, people in the auditorium who came for the music and pastor-led TED Talk on a weekend would begin to venture out. And people who never thought they’d step inside a church building would suddenly see the impact of the church.
Want me to get really edgy? The business that is focused on being present in the community can be the church. The artist co-op that brings beauty and light and joy can be the church. The sixth grade classroom at a public school can be the church. Certainly the hospitals, prisons, police and fire stations can be the church.
We need a more generous definition of church. One that includes all the amazing things followers of Jesus are doing.
Define the church more generously … and watch the world be amazed.
Photo by Francesco Ungaro from Pexels