What does “Church” mean to you? Is it essential in your life? Is it something you feel obligated to visit occasionally? Is it a place to recharge your spiritual batteries? The Church is a lot of things to many different people. What do you call the Church? A church can be referred to as a kirk, tabernacle, temple, abbey, bethel, cathedral, chapel, minster, mission, oratory, sanctuary, shrine, meetinghouse, mosque, pagoda, shul, synagogue, and many more that we haven’t considered. “Ecclesiology is the study of the Church. Ecclesiology comes from two Greek words, ‘assembly’ and ‘word,’ which combine to mean ‘the study of the church.’ The Church is the assembly of believers who belong to God. Ecclesiology is crucial to understanding God’s purpose for believers today.” (Staff, 2022)
Jesus in Matthew 16:18 tells us, “And I say also unto thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. “It was Jesus’ custom—his regular practice—to attend Church. The Message Bible says, “As he always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place.” If Jesus prioritized meeting with other believers, shouldn’t we, as His followers, do so also?” (Fairchild, 2019) Christians go to Church to be a part of a group, a community that shares a common belief. They want to be involved with fellowship, express their ideas, and have an opportunity to feel close to a power much better than themselves. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 10:25, “The church is the place where we come together to encourage one another as members of Christ’s body.” Rick Warren, in his book “Purpose Driven Church,” suggests that people attend Church for worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and mission as described in Matthew 22:37-40 (Great Commandment) and Matthew 28:19-20 (Great Commission). Matthew 18:20 tells us, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” This verse allows us to enjoy a small number of church settings without the need for a building. Remember that Jesus traveled to many places, spoke to numerous people, and never required a formal church building. The Church can have many meanings, but the one thing that is not needed is a physical building. One of today’s problems with religion is that some people and some denominations worship their physical facilities more than they worship Jesus and God.
“The true Church is one where Christ is acknowledged as its Head, the Bible is preached and taught, and the way of salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ’s death and bodily resurrection, the Holy Spirit is obeyed in the leadership and the people, and the Great Commission is being carried out. Churches that don’t have these characteristics are dead already because they do not have the Holy Spirit at work in the members through faith in Jesus Christ. There are many such churches today, both small and large, which are, sorry to say, just social clubs. The true Christ is not honored there, and although there may be a lot of forms, there is no substance. The supernatural has been sapped from their fellowship. In some instances, churches once preached the gospel of Christ, but then as time went on, they no longer did so. Of course, this is also sad. They have become dead churches as well.” (Writer, 2021)
Many churchgoers have similar problems and have a false idea of how the Church is supposed to work. We are supposed to be in Church to worship, learn, and grow spiritually. But every Church has the “look at me” group and those with some agenda other than worship. The Church must ignore these folks and concentrate on those seeking exemplary purposes. These problems are not by any means new. Paul went into great detail, describing some of the issues he faced.
“If the unique content of each epistle can be taken as an indicator, it becomes possible to determine, to some extent at least, what the problems were in the various branches of the Church. Thus, the Thessalonians seemed to be troubled about the situation of their deceased relatives and friends, the resurrection of the dead, and the second coming of the Lord. (See 1 Thes. 4, 1 Thes. 5; 2 Thes. 2.) The Corinthians were torn by dissension and a fractious spirit and also by immorality, and some doubted the reality of the resurrection. (See 1 Cor. 1, 1 Cor. 5, 1 Cor. 15.)It seems that the Galatian branches had an abundance of members who did not properly understand the temporary and preparatory nature of the law of Moses, and thus Paul wrote to them about it. (See Gal. 3–5.) The Colossians seem to have had difficulty understanding the place of revealed knowledge in the gospel plan, the relationship of Jesus to the Father, and other aspects indicative of problems engendered by elements of Greek philosophy. (See Col. 1–2.)” (Matthews, 1977)
As long as people are involved, there will be essential and petty problems. However, to keep the peace, the Church has to address issues as they come. As good church members and hopefully good Christians, it is our responsibility to help solve these problems and not be guilty of creating them. Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 13:17 goes on to say, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this joyfully and not groaning, for that would be no advantage to you.” This is good advice for all church members because there will be times of temptation.
Fairchild, M. (2019, 5 9). Learn Religions. Retrieved from What Does the Bible Say About Attending Church: https://www.learnreligions.com/the-bible-on-church-attendance-701991
Matthews, R. (1977, 4). Church of Jesus Christ LDS. Retrieved from St. Paul Writes about the Church: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/1977/04/st-paul-writes-about-the-church?lang=eng
Staff. (2022, 1 4). What is Ecclesiology? Retrieved from Got Questions: https://www.gotquestions.org/Ecclesiology.html
Writer, S. (2021, 4 26). Got Questions. Retrieved from Why Do Some Churches Thrive While Others Die?: https://www.gotquestions.org/churches-thrive-die.html
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