What is Church?

by Joshua Kagi 4 June 2007 130 views Comments

Adam Walker Cleveland of Pomomusings has posted the question “What is Church?” It’s early yet, so the responses at the time of this post are few, but head over there and see what people think — and even chime in yourself.

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Rick Dancer said:

Josh…love that blog. Interesting questions. After being on another blog with people who didn’t have a clue what I was saying but made me feel like I was back in …..a place I don’t want to go again.
This place and Pomomusings, are a breath of fresh air.

# 4 June 2007 at 6:45 pm

barbara said:

Good friends, fun conversation, spiritual sharing, great pizza, chilled wine, Midnight Train to Georgia, and, of course, Paul McCartney and Wings. THAT, my friends, is CHURCH.

# 9 June 2007 at 9:48 pm

glenda garza said:

communion with God and brethren in worship,prayer,song, and confessing to one another our failings..rejoicing, dancing, eating and drinking in the spirit of freedom and gladness for the gifts of grace and mercy:>

# 11 June 2007 at 8:18 am

Rick Dancer said:

Had a great time being church with those of you who got to come. Yes, I never knew you could play Midnight Train to Georgia, during church.
And what about those pips?
Seriously, it was great pleasure to share our home and lives with all of you.
But be praying for Anthony and his Golf Addiction.
Wow, I’ve never seen anything like it.
Hey, did Paul McCartney sing Midnight Train to Georgia?
(kidding)

# 11 June 2007 at 3:34 pm

Anthony Doheny said:

Church = being there for people when their addictions seem to be overbearing. Standing with those who need grace. Being understanding even though you don’t get it. Not bringing up the past when one is wrong. Never trying to get one up on another. That’s church!

And unless someone writes a little blog on the weekend those who didn’t make it will think there was some cultic gathering doing who knows what.

Thanks to Kathy & Rick for being so hospitable. Les & Susan too!

# 11 June 2007 at 7:45 pm

Rick Dancer said:

Here’s my thought for today.
I am reading “The Jesus I never Knew” by Philip Yancey.

Get this:
There was no real strategy to the early church. Jesus’ band of followers had no base operations, no website, they just went from town to town reporting what they’d seen and telling of who Jesus was.

Jesus picked unpromising recruits. He invested time in apparent losers. He chose his disciples based not as servants or great speakers but as friends.
His disciples were ordinary.

There’s a new movement in the church to raise up 12 people and lead them. The idea is to make more leaders.

It doesn’t look to me like Jesus did that. It looks to me as though he selected friends.
These were people He needed and loved.
So what is Church?

I was peaking on a website I am not to be on anymore and saw something that made we want to scream.
I wrote back a response but voided it (obedience). That was one of her topics.
But that is not the one that got me so fired up.

She was talking about how when you leave one congregation, you need to find another.
The idea being that we have to be in an institutional church to live the life of Christ.

I wanted to write back and simply ask…What is church?

What bothers me the most is how safe we as humans feel with religion and how insecure we are with relationship with Jesus.

Freedom is everything.
The freedom, not to make up my own belief system, but to follow Christ and what He established.

The church is not four walls and yet we keep driving people back and trying to stick them in a box.
Why?

I see the church as so much bigger than a little club. I can lead worship, say the right things and go out to Red Robin after a service and feel so darned good about myself.
But what happens when we must start living it everyday…now that my friends, to me, is church.

# 17 June 2007 at 7:34 am

barbara said:

I love Philip Yancey, and never never never tire of reading, and re-reading his thoughts and words.

# 18 June 2007 at 8:36 am

Rick Dancer said:

I just read something by Yancey again this morning….It’s about the Kingdom of God.
The interesting idea it brings up is why do Christians spend so much time trying to get God involved in government? Jesus never did that when he was here. The moral majority, the religious right, the protests and pressure to get Christians into high places….for what?
It certainly has nothing to do with the way Jesus did it.
His Kingdom is about Service, spreading the good news, and baptizing believers.
Those are the three things He said to do at the last supper. So what the heck are we trying to hard to fight for Jesus?
He doesn’t need fighting for…He’s a big God who can take care of Himself.
Instead, lets wash people’s feet..you know,,,,serve them where they are at.
What an idea.

One more interesting note from Yancey’s book.
Killing Jesus , to try and stop His Kingdom is kind of like blowing the seeds off the head of a dandelion to stop it’s spread.
It didn’t, nor will it ever work.

# 30 June 2007 at 4:48 pm

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