But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9
In real Christianity in which there is no demarcation between “professionals” and “amateurs” the church is more important than ever. Notice that every noun that Peter uses to describe the church is plural: race, priesthood, and nation. The cry is not “I am the church.” but “We are the church.”
The refrain is not “No more priests” but “We are all priests.” In the church as Jesus established it, there is more individual responsibility than we see in the church buildings today and and more corporate action.
When the church gathers then how should it look? The gathered church is often described as a hospital and that is apt. When we gather most of us need some healing, refreshment and renewal. I like to think of the gathered church as a teaching hospital. Those institutions have healing and the teaching of the healing arts as their purposes. When we gather as the church some of us are sometimes patients. Sometimes we function as caregivers to other priests in need. Always we should be teaching care giving, because the ones who really need it aren’t present on Sunday.
Followers don’t go to church to meet Jesus. They already know Him. Why do we believe its the best place for the lost to meet him? We have to move from having as our goal getting the lost to church where we hope they will find Jesus. As the churches reputation curdles, it becomes more and more important that we can each be Jesus to the lost outside the walls of the church. It’s getting harder and harder to get them into church. There have been several articles recently about the young fleeing the church. I read an eye opening article yesterday that asserted that this is because Church is boring. If done right, it isn’t boring to a follower of Christ, but it certainly could be to someone who is just a fan or who doesn’t know what He is.
Sunday mornings are primarily gatherings of believers who already look at the gathering as a source of healing, restoration, and training in ministry. The attraction to our joy and the introduction to Jesus, the source of it, has to take place on the street. Even a non-believer who isn’t bored at church, but is fascinated by the love he sees there, may stay a fascinated fan without ever becoming a follower.
A church who sees its weekly gathering as primarily a Billy Graham Crusade (which is certainly not in itself a bad thing) will miss its mission as a Teaching Hospital. If on Sunday we are focused on bringing in the lost sheep (when there may not even be any lost present) we won’t have time to heal, comfort, renew and instruct the priests who have gathered.
I love how Peter, whose faith Jesus called the rock upon which the church would be built, describes the purpose of the church “that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” When the church gathers, it should be to pump up, brighten up, refuel and focus each light, so that during the week that follows they can proclaim.
Who is the Church?
Be blessed.
Nick
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