What Church Is All About
I know. Yes, I know because I have been told. I read it. I hear it. It is on TV. In magazines.
Church is that building down the street. That building with a cross on the front or protruding over the top into the sky. That building with name that identifies a pastor and people. Right?
Well, partially. The building is a man-made thing. The building is bricks, mortar, wood, and other items. It is a labor of love intended as a gathering place.
In the U.S. the current definition of “church” is evolving. Even the idea of church building is no longer held as a religious and sacred symbol. Some folks want a “non-church” looking building. Many insist on meeting in homes. No sign. No notice. No welcome to others. Private religious gatherings.
Yesterday we welcomed a friend to Covenant, Narayan Paul’s son Philip Timoti. Timoti shared stories and pictures of believers in India. He also educated me to the perception of church buildings in India. Where Hinduism reigns the idea of “temple” is essential. Hindu followers cannot imagine their home being the “temple” of their gods. Hindus who come to Christ want, need and expect a public place of worship.
In the Old Testament God instructed Israelites to make a dwelling place for him in the midst of His people. God was the architect. Man put it together. God specially anointed two men to be over the construction. The excellence of the building was astounding by modern engineering standards. It could be taken down and moved. How many times it was assembled/dissembled is unknown. What we do know is that it lasted for several hundred years.
I have heard of folks renting public theaters for church on Sunday. Beer bottles and popcorn had to be cleaned out. Prayers held to sanctify the building before songs of praise were lifted up to God by holy and clean hands without wrath. Such stories bless me.
In Bulgaria and other places great buildings constructed by communists for their meetings came in time to be places of worship to God. I have preached in such buildings.
I know that a building is not necessary. During days of Russian oppression of Pentecostals our brothers and sisters were known to travel by train and then walk to secret places in the forest. Stomping knee-deep snow to the ground they would stand worshiping and praising God!
In North Korea believers use means that cannot be shared in this letter to gather in places that cannot be told. The only Christian Church building is a “hypocrite” exercise by the government to convince naïve people that North Korea practices freedom of religion.
In Saudi Arabia believers meet in sound-proof rooms and whisper prayers, songs, and sermons. You would too if your head could be cut-off for publicly meeting as a Christian to worship.
I know that the building is not what makes a church. People make the church. People are the heartbeat. People together sing, pray, and exalt the Name of Jesus.
Church is more. Church is a pool of wisdom. Believers together share their life lessons and knowledge of resources. Yesterday a missionary from India shared of his bouts with malaria and kidney stones. Wise persons in the congregation are giving wisdom for purification of water, herbs for healing kidneys, and natural remedies for malaria. I am amazed at the knowledge of God’s people.
Once a missionary after speaking on Sunday morning asked me to get him to the hospital quickly. He knew the signs of malaria and was certain the fever was building. He told me the type of medicine he needed. Standing nearby was a research doctor in infectious diseases. He apologized for intervening but shared that his speciality was malaria research. He informed the missionary that malaria from his part of India was quite different from malaria in another part. Medicine to heal one type of malaria could cause death in a different type of malaria. The medicine the missionary had requested was wrong!
I marveled on the church steps God would sovereignly have a servant with such expertise in what seemed like an accidental moment. God gives such wisdom to his children.
Folks who try to go it alone with their faith are so deprived. They have no idea what they lose by denying themselves the fellowship of the saints, the knowledge of God’s Word, and the wisdom for life that is as real as the Book of Proverbs.
Welcome to the Family of God, My Friend. And, welcome to Covenant.
Pastor Bare
Proverbs 11:14- Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.