What is church? If you were to walk down the street and ask random people how they would define “church,” my guess is that you would inevitably hear varying descriptions, most having to do with buildings or places. When we say the word, “church,” there are certain images that pop into our minds. Unfortunately, as we live in 2008 those images don’t accurately reflect what Jesus had in mind when he stood before his inner circle of followers and spoke of building his church (Matthew 16:18).
Think about it. Hear the word, “church,” and you think of steeples, stained glass windows, stately buildings with ornate architecture, and Sunday morning processions of people dressed in formal outfits. Interestingly, I can’t seem to find this image anywhere in scripture. Sure, some will point to the Old Testament depictions of the Temple in Jerusalem as evidence to support what we have turned church into. But, we are not Old Testament followers of God. Jesus spent a great deal of energy in his ministry providing a new revelation of what it meant to be the people of God. Read the book of Matthew and take note of how often he uses the phrase, “you have heard it said…, but I say…” Jesus was ushering in a freshness of relationship with God for those who would follow him.
But what did it mean to follow Jesus? What does it mean to follow Jesus? In essence this is the church. Its shape is taken from the gathering of those who have chosen to turn their life into a reflection of the life of Jesus. The Greek word from the New Testament that we translate as “church” is transliterated as ekklesia. This word is a combination of two Greek words meaning “of,” or “out of,” and “to call.” So the literal meaning of ekklesia is “the called out ones.” It is a reference to a group of people seeking to set themselves apart from the rest of their culture for a specific calling. Ekklesia was a common first century term for religious groups of the day, frequently used for villages and towns that had agreed to officially state that “Caesar is Lord.” Jesus was making a claim that he, not Caesar or any other leader, was Lord. He was commandeering a secular term and redefining it’s meaning forever. His followers were The Church.
They started out meeting in each other’s houses, loving each other, sharing their possessions, and telling everyone they came into contact with that Jesus was the risen Lord. God greatly blessed their efforts and the called-out-ones continued to call many others to join them. So, where did we get the steeples, stained glass, fancy buildings, and the unspoken dress code? Sadly, all of these are merely pagan-based traditions handed down through generations of misguided groups that didn’t fully understand what the biblical image of church looked like. Over time the tradition replaced scripture as the authority for defining church and, as a result, Christianity is now struggling to maintain relevancy through an out-dated delivery system.
So the lesson for Christianity is to be more intentional about everything that we do as “the church.” We metaphorically need to reverse the stained glass windows so that the beauty of the gospel message shines for those on the outside looking in. Our hearts must be turned away from entrenched tradition that seeks to choke out the growth of Christ’s ekklesia. We must become relevant, no matter the level of personal sacrifice. The truth of the gospel is not up for negotiation, but how we deliver that truth has to be in a state of constant evaluation if we are to be effective in a world of exponential change. The goal is to be so transformative in the functionality of the church that when people hear the word “church” they immediately think of people that brought them the life-changing news of the cross and the empty tomb. This is what we are called out to do.