A Different Look at Church

     A friend said he was going to Chicago with his family. I jokingly said to enjoy my fourth love. God, wife, daughter, Chicago. He sent me a message that asked where the church was located in that list. I replied that the church is not a building but people, and if Chicago were made of people then the church would be fourth as well. We both laughed, but it did concern me.

There is a disconnect in our culture with the church and I wonder if it is because we have changed our definition from people to a building. In the dictionary the first two definitions are the building and the next three are the people. It should be reversed. You may congregate in a designated building, but the church is people.

When people tell me they love their church I’m curious, do they mean they love the people or the programs that have been put forth by the leadership of that people? There is nothing wrong if you love the programs of your church, but it alarms me when people say they don’t like their church because then I have the same wonder. Do they not like the people or the programs?

     I was having coffee with a Washington DC up and comer in DC and I asked the question, if the conservative party is the “Christian party” then why don’t they help the poor and needy? I find it ironic that the “Christian party” would bash the liberal party for helping those in need. Do we realize that if we did our part as the church (people) we wouldn’t need the government to do anything? I also realize that the church (building/organization) is doing a lot, but we (people) must not be doing enough if there is still the need. I wonder if as a people we are programmed to expect an organization (church, government) to solve the problem instead of ourselves. The Lord’s request of Peter was if you love me then feed my lambs. Even Jesus portrayed that it took a personal touch.

I remember visiting a church that has dozens of satellite campuses. They all took place in homes. One of the people with me said that that would never fly in my denomination because we are church building oriented group. My response was simple. Why would we not be okay with it? It is biblical?

     People can’t be discipled by a building; people must disciple them. They can’t be invited by a building; people must invite them. The church can do everything in the world possible, but it takes people to make it stick, connect, and last. An institution cannot accomplish what a personal relationship can. It’s always a personal touch that counts. The church should not be thought of as a building, but foremost as a people. We are a body, a team, and a unit of people in this journey together.