A People That Listens

The church is not a building, it's a people.  As a people, the church must be a people who listen.

First and foremost, the church is a people who listen to God through His Word and His Spirit.  Additionally, however, the church must be a people who listen to the culture around them.

Why Listening to the Culture is Important

We must listen to the culture (i.e. our city, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, media, and so on) in order that we can be good missionaries to our culture.  This will consist of listening to the culture to...

• …Identify idols in the culture
• …Understand who the culture consists of
• …Ascertain what those of the culture are interested in
• …Find points of connection to share the gospel
• …Know parts of the local culture well enough to integrate them into our presentation of the gospel.

We cannot be afraid of the culture, we've got to listen to the culture and engage the culture if we want to see the gospel of Jesus change and transform the culture.

The Example of Paul

“We cannot be afraid of the culture, we’ve got to listen to the culture and engage the culture if we want to see the gospel of Jesus change and transform the culture.”

Biblically, we see this exemplified by the Apostle Paul in Acts 17 when he enters into Athens.  When Paul got to Athens, he engaged the Athenian culture.  He doesn't hide himself from the culture or flat out reject the culture he runs headlong into it.  He does so as one with the gospel of Jesus Christ in a closed fist—never to be shaken, altered, changed, or watered-down.  But he also takes that gospel into the culture, getting to know the culture so that he can bring the unchangeable gospel to bear on that culture.

Do Not Be Afraid

As Christians—as the church—we cannot be afraid of the culture.  We are not to run from the culture to try and protect the gospel, we're to run to the culture with the gospel.  And as we do that, we are to listen to the culture so that we know the culture well enough to integrate what we know of the culture into our presentation of the gospel.

The Aim of the Church

Understanding that the church is not a building, but a people is essential to understanding the aim (or goal) of the church.

If we think the church is a building that we go to rather than a people who we are, it is very easy to begin to see the aim of the church as simply to get more people to go to church.  The problem is that if that works, all we've done is get a bunch of people into a building.  While that is not bad, it's certainly not complete.

On the other hand, when we begin to see that the church is a people who we are rather than a building that we go to, then we can begin to see that the aim of the church is to get the church to be the church so that those who are not the church can become the church and then go and do likewise.

The Church is the redeemed people of God.  The aim of the Church (in dependance and reliance upon the Holy Spirit) is to see more people become the redeemed people of God so that God receives more and more glory, honor, and worship.

For more on this idea, check out this resource.

Photo Credit: United Nations Photos

The Church Isn't a Building

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"Do you go to church?"  "Where do you go to church?"  "Where is your church?"  

These questions are as common as college football in our city and culture and yet they portray a fundamentally flawed understanding of what exactly the church is.

Not a Building

Biblically, the church isn't a building it's a people.

As you read the Bible, you find several metaphors that are used for the church: 

• A body (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27)
• The "bride" of Christ (Ephesians 5; Revelation 19:6-8) 
• A flock of sheep (to be shepherded - c.f. Acts 20:28-29; 1 Peter 5:2-3)
• A family (into which we have been adopted (Galatians 4:5) and now are to relate to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ (Matthew 12:48-50; 1 John 4:20; 1 Timothy 5:1-2)

What all of the biblical metaphors have in common is that they are not a place you go to, but rather a people whom we are.  You do not go to the body.  You either are a part of the body or you are not.  Likewise, family is not something you go to, it's something who you are.

In the Bible there are no pleas for people to "go to church."  The plea is for non-believers to become the church.  In the first century, if you were a believer you were, inherently, a part of the church.  If you weren't a part of the church, no one called you a believer.  Additionally, being a part of the church meant you were deeply involved in and committed to the life and well-being of the church (i.e. other believers).

“In the first century, if you were a believer you were, inherently, a part of the church. If you weren’t a part of the church, no one called you a believer.”

Why It Matters

When Christians substitute seeing themselves as the church and instead see the church as a building we go to, we lose a fundamental piece of what it means to actually be Christian.  

When I separate "church" out to something that I go to, I no longer see myself as a part of the church, but rather the church is peripheral to me.  There is me... and then there is the church... but the two are not one-in-the same.  

This is not biblical and it leads down a path to Christian consumerism where the church (which exists apart from me) is supposed to serve me and meet my needs and preferences.  Viewing the church in this way converts it from a people (which I am a part of) to a vending machine of religious goods and services for my personal benefit.

Recommitting to Being the Church

The church isn't a building, it's a people.  It's a people that love God and love others.  It's a people that celebrate.  It's a people that bless and serve those around them.  It's a people that listen well to those around them that do not yet know Jesus as Lord.  It's also a people who know how to rest and work to the glory of God.

It's a people that are much more than this, but certainly not a people that are less than this.

In the coming weeks we will be exploring more of this theme here on the blog. 

As a church, we will also be working through this idea during our Sunday gatherings over the next six weeks.  To hammer this idea home that the church isn't a building but a people, we will be gathering as the church not at our building, but in local parks several Sundays this summer.  For more information, visit 2PillarsChurch.com/inthepark