What is the Church?

Evangelicalism is being challenged by the emerging church. Actually the challenge is to what the Evangelical church has become rather than its premise when it started. Evangelicalism was born through rediscovering the truth that the gospel had to be applied personally before it could address and transform the culture. Unfortunately the emphasis on "personal" salvation has created a hybrid of the gospel that sounds and is practiced as more of a self-help, self-realization, self-transforming message, rather than being seen as a call to become part of God's plan for changing the world through reconciliation.

Over at Out of Ur, David Fitch takes and makes this fascinating and insightful quote:

"The term missional asks this question: what is the purpose of the church? To enfold and warehouse Christians for heaven, protecting them from damage and spoilage until they reach their destination? Or to recruit and train people to be transforming agents of the kingdom of God in our culture? The missional church understands itself to be blessed not to the exclusion of the world, but for the benefit of the world. It is a church that seeks to bring benefits to its nonadherents through its adherents." (Brian McLaren)

It seems that too many of our churches are becoming warehouses for the redeemed rather than training camps for world changers. The goal seems to be to insulate believers from cradle to grave with Christian programming and facilities dedicated to making them comfortable and entertained. This approach funnels too much of the kingdom's resources to non-essential activities while those who need to hear the gospel are left with their noses pressed up against the panes of our Christian country clubs.

I don't want to be misunderstood. I love beautiful facilities built to the glory of God. I believe that there needs to be extensive numbers of groups, classes, workshops and other opportunities offered for equipping believers to live like Christians. But somewhere along the way the trained army must be deployed. We are saved to serve. Not saved to sit or saved to be satisfied. Ultimately all of our energy in discipleship, mentoring, equipping or whatever new buzzword is being used, must result in engaging in the work of reconciling the world to Jesus. That is the essence of being a church