What defines the church?
Not (Who) what SHOULD define the church, but what really does determine how we are known and how we know ourselves? How do we decide what we do (ministry-wise)?
I just came out of a meeting of elders and architects discussing the future of a congregation. This is part of an ongoing discussion for the past 5 years about needed building and facilities updates. We looked at plans for a completely new facility and compared to plans for extensive remodeling/adding to the existing building. Cost is similar, so that's really not going to be the deciding factor on what is done.
What will determine our course of action is how we choose to be defined. Will the buildings that we have (or don't have) define us? Will the ministry that we want to do define us? Or will we truly find our identity solely in the heart of God?
As I think back, I can think of so many examples of churches which are defined by their buildings. I know that the world in large part will always define us that way, but I'm thinking more of how we in the Kingdom define ourselves. It is so easy to lock ourselves into thinking we are where we meet. Or even that we are the meeting itself.
But what happens when the Body of Christ thinks of itself as... the body of Jesus... His shoulders (with His head on top) and chest (with His heart beating within)? What happens when we really live and move and have our being in Jesus? What happens when the local community of faith is joined together in order to proclaim the Kingdom and awaken the spiritually dead all around us?
I intend to find out.
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