Hi Friends!

This is the first article in my new series, Three Questions Facing the Church. I’m going to keep these short and hopefully raise more questions than answers. If you would like to read a long piece of my views on the Church, please read an earlier article of mine called, Upon This Rock.

How we view church will greatly shape our view of Christianity as a whole.

If we view church as a simple religious rites, club, or service, we will likely have a very shallow view of the Christian life. Jesus becomes another ‘idol’ on our shelf, next to the Xbox and that picture of our significant other.

If we view church as a high, elite order of people, we will likely become pompous or over-intellectual. At the least, the quick pitfalls include a religious attitude and over-reliance on institution or tradition.

If we view church as a humanitarian organization, we might lean too hard on Christian works and neglect the foundations of the cross. If works get us ‘in’, or even worse, if our works don’t keep us ‘out’, the cross becomes a mute point in the whole scenario of ‘how do I become a Christian’.

If we view church as… I could go on and on.

The Church (Jesus used the word Ekklesia) is a royal priesthood, a set-apart (holy) community, a legislating body, a house of prayer, a temple of the Holy Spirit, the vessel of God’s ministry on earth, and a devout family.

The Holy Spirit is saying to the Churches, “As for Me and My house, we shall serve the LORD.”

My question to you is, “what are you saying to the Churches?”

Blessings,

-jsmarek

*If you want to keep the conversation going, you may leave a comment here or on Twitter @JSMarek