Posted 09/25/2008 - 1:56pm by pastorisaac
As we launch our new website, I first want to thank Kwang for his hard work in getting all of this going. Thanks, Kwang!
I've been given the privilege of posting the first blog ever for this website. I've been thinking about what to write about, and I've come up with something that I think is both interesting and relevant. Hopefully others will agree.
I've been thinking a lot for the past few months about church. Church is something that we all have a basic image/idea about: a place to worship, a place of childhood memories, a place to avoid, a political place, God's house, etc. etc. Whatever the perception, we all have one. Some of our perceptions are good and some are bad, but which are Biblical?
These days, many people treat church the way they treat products: with a consumer mentality. We shop around for the best product with the lowest price, and then buy it. We look for a church that has a nice building, good programs, a solid pastor, cool people, a nice location, etc. etc. but often get frustrated when we cannot find one with all the qualities that we want.
What are YOU looking for in a church? Before you answer that question, think about WHY you want those things. I'd like to challenge everyone reading this blog to re-think what Church should be. But please base it on the Bible, not on society, culture, comfort, or anything else.
I leave you with one final thought. If we are looking for a church that has A, B, and C, I think we've already missed the point. Our goal should not be to find a particular kind of church, but to BE the church. What does that mean? Let's start a conversation...
That was very thought provoking Pastor Isaac. Definitely got me thinking. Thanks for sharing.
The early church was not about the building, programs, or any of that sort but just a group of people who followed Christ fanatically, to the point of death. All they wanted was to be in communion with God and his people. Just a group of people make up a church and as such, this large body of believers make up the Church. No buildings, or places, just people. Right on mksn
I wish I had photographic memory so that I could retype everything that we talked about during bible study. But, tonight's bible study was good because we tried to honestly delve into this question. And as I said in bible study, I think the church is individuals trying to live for God intermingling with one another to create something stronger. The analogy I used was church being like a rope made out of lots of smaller ropes interwoven to make one rope stronger the any individual rope. I hope that made sense. I say we continue to strive to figure this church thing and hopefully in the process we can bring God more of the glory He deserves.
The page looks great!
I will be checking it often for updates. i hope everyone is doing well in Christ.
I also want to thank Kwang for doing such a nice job to the website as a whole, including allowing us to have access to this great way of communication. You did an awesome job brother.
I just want to add myself to the vision of our pastor about what Church should be and focus on. I think we can do great things if we follow our hearts and ask for the direction and wisdom that the Holy Spirit can bring to our lives. I have faith in that together, we can accomplish great and wonderful things on Jesus Christ, our Lord.
God bless everybody and, let’s do it!!!
i agree with the sentiment that church is not a building or a place...but it's a community of believers who are diligently working to be in harmony with God and with one another.
as pastor michael said a few weeks ago, there are wise bridesmaids with extra oil and foolish ones without enough oil...as we wait for the bridegroom, i hope we can be a church that is prepared and overflowing with oil....being faithful where God has placed us, no matter the circumstances and no matter where we are in our walks with God.
Many of us have heard the analogy that "the church is an organism and not an organization". When I first heard that line in a sermon, I thought that it was a catchy phrase. Although the pastor was trying to distinguish the church from other organizations, that analogy doesn't seem to work. The argument is that an ORGANISM is a living thing, and any living creature (animal, human, bacteria, etc) is dependent upon all of its body parts to function as a unit. However the same can be said of any other organization (such as a corporation). For instance, a corporation also has different parts (namely called departments) that function as a whole to provide a product or service. So, in my opinion this argument does not work.
So what exactly separates the church from other organizations. To answer that question we have to look at what is the ultimate purpose of the church. I've been going to church ever since I was in my mother's belly, and when you do something for so long you don't know exactly WHY you do something... it just becomes a tradition. I had to come to a point in my life when I had to be able to answer the question "Why do I need to go to church?"
There are so many people out there who claim to be Christians but say that they don't need to go to a church to believe in God. On the contrary, Rick Warren says in his book "The Purpose Driven Life" (to paraphrase) that the church is necessary because it was ordained by God to be formed and His plan was to always carry out His mission on earth through the church of Jesus Christ. I believe that God only works in community and NOT as individuals. Sure we have certain obligations to fulfill certain duties individually (like going to work, taking care of our families etc) but when it comes to fulfilling His will it comes through the church. Did you know that most charity organizations in the U.S (e.g. Salvation Army)were started by Christians? They wouldn't be here if all the Christians just "worshipped" God in their homes. They had to come together...
Secondly, God usually speaks to us when we are in the company of other believers, and not when we are in a room all by ourselves. One way of hearing God's Word is by being at church and listening to our pastor preach during Sunday service. We need someone who is trained and qualified to be able to preach/teach the Scriptures accurately and carry out the sacraments (such as the Lord's Supper). This is a special calling that is reserved for a few people who are actually called to enter the ministry vocation. However God will also speak to us through each other which lead me to my final point...
"As iron sharpens iron so one man does another." The third reason is that we need accountability. Many people (including Christians) think they can live their lives without being accountable to anyone but that is a very dangerous place to be. Satan's strategy has always been to divide and counquer Christians. This is actually a military strategy that has been used in the past before we used long rang weapons. Because we as humans are imperfect and so vulnerable to sinning we need to find an accountability group who can keep us in check and I believe that God uses the church to do that. Whether it's a men's or women's group or a Bible Study we need to be involved so that it forces us to engage with other believers on a regular basis, and if we slip and fall there will be a brother or sister who is able to pull us out of the hole (talking spiritually of course).
There are a slew of other reasons why we should be a part of the church but those are the main ones I remember. So with all this said, let's go back to my original question: what is the purpose of going to church? The purpose is to glorify God and to serve Him through serving each other. Our "consumer" is God and our "product" is His Love manifested in each other. We are not selling a product or a service like a company but we are glorifying Him and that should be the difference between a church and an organization.