Mythbusters: Going to Church

Each week we send an email newsletter to our church.  (You can subscribe on the home page of our website).  I usually write a personal note to the church to include with the e-letter.  Just thought I'd include this week's message on the blog:

Do you ever catch yourself using certain words or phrases that don't exactly mean what you're trying to say?  I do!  In fact, here's one of the popular phrases that I'm doing my best to unlearn.

I'm going to church.

Just take a minute to think about that phrase.  It assumes something about the nature of the church.  Doesn't it?

It assumes that church is a place I occasionally visit.  It assumes that church is a place where events take place.  It assumes that church is one isolated, compartment of my life: sometimes I'm at church, and sometimes I'm not.

But don't you see the problem?  The church isn't like that at all.  It's not a place that I can drive to or leave.  That's the building that our church owns.  That's the address where we gather each week.  But that's not the church.

We are the church.  You and me, and every other disciple of Jesus Christ; we are His Church.  We are His Church on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and on Sunday.  We represent Jesus to the world twenty-four hours a day.  We live to serve the mission of God seven days a week.  And then those of us who have made a commitment to this local church, Church of the King, gather together.  But here's the beauty of it.

We don't gather at the church.

We gather as the church.

I will probably still continue to use the wrong phrase from time to time.  For me it's even more challenging because I work "at the church." Ha!  But I'm going to work harder at dropping this phrase from my vocabulary.  And here's why.

If Church of the King is only about what happens on Sunday, we will be known mostly for our advertising.  But if our church is mainly about what happens Monday through Saturday in Metro Detroit, we'll be known for our action.

Our mission is to Connect our City to Christ.  That only begins when we gather.

It climaxes when we're sent.

Comments

[kim]

very well said, pastor:)