Is Newscreen a church? No. But neither is the church you go to.
But I can hear you thinking, “What is this guy talking about?” Let’s get a few things straight.
First, when we hear the word “church” we think of a building that people go to to worship. This has been passed down to us for centuries. But we have to realize that this is a cultural definition, not a correct one, and it doesn’t help the *actual* church’s cause.
The church is defined for us in the New Testament. It is all the PEOPLE who are trusting that God raised Jesus from the dead and have spoken their allegiance to him. When Jesus says he is building his church, he isn’t talking about a building, he is talking about followers he has called.
So if the New Testament defines church as the people, then what do we go to on Sundays?
We are actually going to an organization that serves the church. And what does it primarily serve the people with? Worship services. Of course, local churches do much more than worship services, but if they didn’t do worship services they would cease to exist. The weekly worship is the hub of the wheel and no spokes would be attached without it.
We call it a church because that is what we have always called it. It is a cultural word, not a biblical word. That doesn’t make it wrong, but it can make it uphelpful. Why? Because cultures have always located the presence of God with buildings and created worship within that building so that people could be close to God.
But this is what Jesus abolished. What is so different about Jesus’ church is that the presence of God left the building and entered into people. We no longer associate the presence of God with a building, because He is not there. And worship is no longer associated with a place either. Jesus said the the woman at the well, in John 4, “a time is coming when you will not worship on this mountain [in Samaria] or in Jerusalem [at the temple]…But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Again, most pastors would not disagree with me on this, but why is most ministry still conducted at buildings with worship services?
Well, there is a really good reason for this. a central meeting place is the best medium for christian leaders to get the message out. A pastor can’t go to every congregants house and give the sermon, so the people come to one place at the same time to get the message. So the building is the most practical medium to get the message out by those who are called to lead.
And that has stood for almost 2000 years. But what if the leader’s message could go out to everyone in the congregation without them having to come to a central building? What if it could even go in their pocket? And what if they could do all different kinds of things to get the message out instead of a sermon? (I think you know where I am going with this).
And what if you could still connect the people to each other where they live through their devices? What if you could still mentor them and help them make friends even if there wasn’t a central, physical meeting place? Would you still be fulfilling Jesus’ commission to His church leaders?
Of course.
But it will require new ways of thinking. And maybe the change might be big enough that when we hear the word church, we think of people and not buildings. And when we think of current local churches, we hopefully can see them as a mission that serves the Church.
0 Comments