Let's Chat About Church

Not too long ago, we had visitors in our home from a neighborhood congregation. They have actually been visiting on a regular basis to meet with my husband and my son. I am usually on my way so the most I have time to do is say hello and goodbye in the same breath.

This particular afternoon, however, I was home and able to actually sit in on the discussion. We had a lively debate about a number of issues. One of the most heated discussions centered on church.

The word "church" to me always signifies the people and not the edifice. Upon checking the dictionary, however, the building is always listed as the first definition followed by the clergy and then the people who actually make up the church. There are a number of passages in the Bible that mention church and congregation but none of these references pertain to a particular building. They refer to a gathering of people. The Bible does say "where two or three are gathered in my name, that's where my church shall be." So using that methodology, church can be anywhere - a home, a club, a hall or a sanctuary. It's not the building that makes the church, it's the people gathered there.

For several years, I worked at the headquarter office of a Christian denomination. People would always be shocked when the powers that be did something that was blatantly unfair. They would exclaim 'How could they do that? This is the church!" My response was always the same - this is not the church. This is the headquarter office. Many people found it hard to reconcile the headquarter office with the church. They assumed the two were synonymous. But they are not. There was and continues to be very little God in that building.

So what is the church, you may be wondering, if it's not the headquarter office or the district office or the building where you worship each week? The simple answer is you. You are the church. It doesn't matter if it's a church or temple or mosque or synagogue or ashram. You are the church. In the end, you are not only the church but you are also the ultimate reflection of God no matter the path you choose.

It's very easy to disregard the church if you think of it as a building for worship once a week. It's easy to point a finger and judge when you think of the church as it or them or they. But it's not so easy to ignore if the words used are we or us or ours. We ask why isn't the church saying something about health care. It doesn't speak out because we don't. Why isn't the church seeking a solution to homelessness? It isn’t because we're not seeking a solution. Since we are the church, the church can't do what we don't do. If we take two steps forward, the church does too. If we take three steps back, the church does as well. To add insult to injury, when a church leader does speak out again an injustice, that cleric is chastised for not focusing on people’s souls. It is illogical to think a hungry person can focus on feeding his soul when his daily struggle is to feed his body. The body, mind and spirit are inextricably linked and one cannot be fed if the others are starving. Why would we expect the church to recognize the hunger of one and not the other?

In the end, it doesn't really matter what the building is in which you worship. You can pray or praise anywhere you feel the desire. If you do so among a group of two or more, you're having church. Don't dissuade yourself from having church if the need is there. You may never know who might need church at that moment. Remember it is not they or them who make up the church. It is us. We have always been and will always be the church. To borrow from Webster, we are "the total complex of relation between people and society." The church goes as we go for we are the church politic in all its glory.