Priority #5:  Church

by Anne Elliott, May 30, 2003

Have you been on a hunt for the perfect church?  I know that many times during my life, I've been eyeing congregations much like a judge sees contestants in a talent contest.  Church A gets a 10 for great music... Church B gets a 6.5 for fellowship (the pastor's wife seems a little stuck up)... Church C gets an overall good score, but the pastor can't seem to follow any sort of outline, and it's driving me nuts!  

Recently, the Lord has been showing me from His Word that a perfect church does not exist!  At first I was disappointed, but then I realized that a perfect church cannot exist because I'm in it -- and I'm not perfect!  In fact, I need to stop thinking about how a church can meet my needs, and start concentrating on how I can meet the needs of others in my local assembly.

"Assembly" -- I have a very dear friend who is part of a fellowship of believers that calls itself an "assembly" instead of a "church."  Actually, the two words mean much the same thing, but in our culture, we tend to see a "church" as a building where we go for spiritual food, worship, and ministry.  In contrast, the Bible describes the church as a body... a living organism, as author Rick Warren says.  The moment we trusted in Christ, God grafted us into this organism, and He expects us to contribute, just as the different parts of our body must contribute if we are to be healthy.

Acts 2 tells about the first assembly of believers, joined together by the Holy Spirit almost two months after Christ's resurrection.  Let's look at the various elements that made up their gathering and evaluate how well we're contributing to our own local assemblies.

Baptism -- Have you ever noticed that in the New Testament, believers were baptized the very day they professed faith in Christ?  According to Romans 6, baptism by immersion is a beautiful picture of how we've determined to die to sin, allow God to bury our old sinful nature, and trust Him to raise us up again to a new life of victory over our sinful natures.  Part of this new life is putting off the tendency to focus on ourselves and putting on a refreshing others-focus.  Have you been baptized? 

Communion -- The New Testament believers were careful to regularly hold memorial services where they would confess known sin in their lives, then remember Christ's payment for their sin by his death on the cross.  Meditating on how Jesus was broken just like the bread they passed to each other, they were inspired to live for Him!  Thinking about how Jesus' red blood was spilled like the wine in the cup they shared, they were motivated to share His sacrifice with a dying world (see 1 Corinthians 11).  I'm struck with the thought that both baptism and communion could happen in the privacy of my own home, with my dear family members.  However, how will I learn to love those prickly people in my local church assembly if I don't meet regularly with them for the express purpose of committing to serve God together?  It's easy to do right when no one is watching, but when surrounded by people?  That's where our Christian rubber meets the road!

Doctrine -- I hope during your visit here at Anne's Homey Place, you've caught my passion to see you get to know God's Word intimately!  I don't want you to merely be inspired by your Bible.  I want you to be changed by it!  Of course, you can be faithful reading and studying the Bible at home, but how much wiser it is to exponentially multiply your learning potential by learning together.  Others around you will see things you won't!  You'll bring your questions to each other, and you'll always remember what you've learned because your memory has tied the learning experience to the night you sat next to Betty and shared a Kleenex box as the tears flowed.  Warning:  Don't attend a church just because the music stirs you or the sermon tickles your ears.  Is the Bible used extensively as the sole authority for all matters?  Are you taught to study so that you can "check up" on what you hear?  Is the Bible viewed as the very written breath of God, meant to be taken literally in every instance -- or is it just a collection of wit and wisdom?

Fellowship -- Fellowship does not mean green bean casseroles and pie socials.  Fellowship means having something in common with someone.  It is life changing to realize that we will spend an eternity with our dear brothers and sisters in Christ.  We have in common the presence of God's Holy Spirit in our lives.  We share the same goals, values, philosophy, and mission -- even if it doesn't feel like it!  Philippians 2:1-4 beautifully describes our fellowship by saying, "Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.  Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."  A watching world will not desire to know Christ because of the words we say, but because of the unexplainable love we show to each other in the church -- despite our differences and disagreements!

Prayer -- James 5 talks a lot about how prayer, shared among believers, can change the world!  First, we confess our sins to each other and to our heavenly Father.  This regular cleansing of our hearts allows God to move into us and change us.  We open up a powerful current between our prayers and a holy God.  He hears.  He answers.  As we see His power in our lives, we are encouraged again to bring our requests to Him, with clean hearts and hands.  It's a beautiful cycle that needs to be repeated week after week in local bodies of believers around the world.  As the old saying goes, prayer certainly changes things!

Care -- The early believers were much more generous than I feel most days.  They had all things in common, going so far as to sell their own possessions in order to give to others who had needs.  I know I've felt proud of myself for taking a casserole to a sick church member, but never have I sold my furniture to help someone pay a medical bill!  I'm much more likely to criticize brothers or sisters in Christ for not being good financial managers, instead of stepping in to relieve their hurts and help them get back on their feet again.  Fellow believers who long to serve on the foreign missionary field instead spend twenty or thirty years trying to pay off Bible college debt.  Shut-in widows struggle alone because they can't afford "meals on wheels" or expensive in-home nursing care.  I say this to our shame!  We need to look around and do all that we can to meet the needs of our spiritual family -- and this is very practical!  

Your church is your family!  If you don't actively involve every aspect of your life with your spiritual siblings, in effect you're cutting yourself off from the life-giving power of the Body.  If you're attending but not ministering, you're acting like a leach -- not a valued limb!  Put your spiritual family very high on your priority list, right after your very own flesh and blood family!  Don't let a rush for a better career, or personal rest and relaxation, or petty quarrels get in the way of this vital relationship.

RECOMMENDED READING:  The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren

I'd love to chat with you... please feel free to e-mail me!

Read about Priority #6