Your Big Question

 There’s a fundamental difference between church attendance and faith in Jesus Christ.  One is an activity: the other is a faith, a relationship, a world-view.  I think anyone would agree that “what we do” comes from “who we are” and not the other way around.  A fish is not a fish BECAUSE it’s in the water, it’s in the water because it IS a fish. 

So what then is the church?  And why is there a perception that a person MUST go to church in order to be called a Christian? 

There is no support for that mandate in the Bible.  The Bible clearly states that Christianity is realized by faith in Jesus Christ as Redeemer and Lord.  No activity or behaviour – including regular attendance at church – marks a person as a Christian.  We have to turn to the Handbook of Christianity (the Bible) to find the role of the church. 

First, the Church is the People of God.  The building and the organizational structure of the local church are not the essence of the church….the people are.  Many times in the New Testament, the leaders of the movement that sprung up after the resurrection of Jesus referred to the people who followed the teaching of Christ in a particular city or region as the “Church of Ephesus” or the “Church at Rome”.  They simply meant the believers in that city. In fact, a few references tell us that we (individually and corporately) ARE the temple in which God, by his Spirit, lives. Whilst they continued to meet together for encouragement and teaching in a physical location, they themselves were the church. 

Secondly, the Church is the Family of God.  A family is based on relationship, not attendance at breakfast or the performance of chores.  There’s a bond, even when all physical ties are broken. 

Third, the Church is referred to symbolically as both the Bride of Christ and the Body of Christ.  In the first instance, Jesus is called the groom awaiting the day he and his beautiful bride can be together forever.  In the same way, there’s a joining to our Lord in the picture of believers as the body, with Jesus as the Head. 

With these “pictures” in mind, it is easy to see why Christians throughout history have continued to meet together for fellowship, for encouragement, and for learning the ways of God and the word of God.  It is the idea of a like-minded group unanimously contributing their time, talents and resources to the benefit of each other and the enrichment of their local community.  You may not see this in action, but that is the Biblical model for Church.  There are no forced attendance rules or behavioural stipulations.  We do what we do out of relationship to our God and to our “family”. 

One of the main academic commentators on communitarianism (and author of The Political Philosophy of New Labour, published Dec. 2005) is a Christian by the name of Dr Matt Beech.  He affirms the Bible’s teaching that humans are individuals, created for community by God, who made us for relationships. So we have responsibilities for one another because everything is God’s – including one another.

The final mandate Jesus himself left to his disciples was to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel, making disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all that I have taught you.”  If you want to know what Christianity focuses on in terms of behaviour, you need to study the teachings of Jesus.  Further, the followers of Jesus wrote letters of encouragement to believers throughout the region with guidelines for governing bodies of believers in particular localities.  Across the board, what is said is integral to Jesus’ own teachings, and is primarily relational, with a few practical tips: “Don’t overlook the poor and widows.” 

This Sunday, you will find multitudes in a church.  Some are Christians; others are not.  Being in church is not what makes a person a Christian.