What is Church?

<figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > “The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew”, 1308-1311, Duccio di Buoninsegna, image courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC For the past 6 months, I’ve seen a lot written around a basic question, “What is Church?”When I was growing up, church was a building I went to out of obligation. Strong Roman Catholic roots and post-college Southern Baptist preaching taught me about the sin of neglecting my church attendance. I’d been convinced there was a special place in heaven relegated to non-attenders where we sat in the front pews and listened to bad preaching and off-key music on an endless loop throughout infinity.That concept of ‘church as obligation’ changed when I found my current church in the Episcopal denomination. I attend the same number of Sundays as before, but I have found a community where I feel safe in my vulnerabilities and am encouraged to live into the person that God made in me. I am eager to be with my friends on Sunday and throughout the week in small groups who offer me a respite from the rest of the world and its tendency to judgment and condemnation. Through the preaching and teaching, I am nourished to understand more about Jesus and how He is calling me to lead my life.So, what is ‘church’? If the definition stops there (a place to go where you have friends that nurture and nourish you), then technology can provide an alternative when we can’t be together. A question remains as to whether a community can thrive when we don’t have person-to-person contact. Only time will tell us what role technology will play.But what if ‘church’ were more than just a gathering place to see our friends and learn more about our faith?What if the ‘church building’ is a resting place (location or virtually) where we have Christian friends who support us, but the real ‘church’ is when we are out serving others.In the early church, Jesus didn’t call his followers to come to church on Sundays. He called his followers to serve others with the spiritual gifts they had been given.Serving others doesn’t require a building or a location; it requires a community where we receive support, but also helps to identify ways where we can serve, either two-by-two, or in a larger community. We still need our “support group” to encourage us when we are met with division or derision in the world, or when the secular world challenges our values and beliefs.But ‘church’ is when we are out serving others in Jesus’ name.Blessings, my friend,Agatha What is Church? Agatha Nolen Download