As we see in Genesis 1 things were created and reproduce “after their kind”. A healthy Christian will reproduce other Christians. A healthy mature church will reproduce other churches fulfilling it’s commission.

I recall a significant event many years ago at which the Acapella Vocal Band performed in the new gymnasium at Montgomery. The gym itself was quite a controversy – can a gym be built on the house of God? How fitting it was to hear Keith Lancaster sing “you can go to a building, you can sit on a pew… You can’t go to church ‘cause the church is you.” The church was no longer a building.

Today, church isn’t a building, but it is what we “do” on Sunday. In fairness, many try to avoid the phrase “go to church” and instead say “go to worship service,” which is less banal and still comprehensible. (:-) For a short time, I was under the impression that church was on Sunday morning and worship service was Sunday night for those who didn’t have a class.) Still, we commonly go to a building for church and we affiliate ourselves as a congregation based on where we assemble, and we maintain that “in church” we behave and dress and act in a certain way; church is a formal occasion.

As long as church is formal, church membership is also formal. Formal membership may be innocuous, but it may also confuse us. Paul in Romans and especially in 1 Cor. wrote about the membership in the body, but not membership as a formal recognition of belonging or acceptance, but as a natural, organic part of the whole. We are members of the church not by application but by rebirth. This is an important distinction, because I believe it leads us to the intention of what the church is (or should be).

I don’t believe the church is something to do on Sunday, nor is it a service assembly. (The word “congregation” is ambiguous, defined as both “group” and “assembly,” so to avoid an equivocal meaning, I interpret “congregation” to mean “a group that assembles.”) The church (both local and catholic) is a community and we abide inside whether or not we attend a specific place of worship. I am not condoning isolation from congregational worship, only stating that our inclusion in the body exists independently from the physical location. I am suspicious of those who remove themselves from regular assembly for 1 John teaches that no man can love God and simultaneously hate brethren. In addition, the formation of a Christian community might occur inadvertently due simply to our social nature.

This is where I’m coming from, so I’d like to attempt and answer your questions based on my own feelings.

What responsibility does the congregation have to its members? Just as a body disseminates nutrients throughout for internal and external growth, the congregation must provide nourishment to the members for their spiritual and practical growth. As a response to the “bench warmers” in the church, we’ve overemphasized the truth that what you receive from church reflects what you give in church. I’m not countering that point, but qualifying by adding that the congregation needs to be aware of its members’ needs and, perhaps most importantly, be able to make changes when necessary. The congregation is responsible for participation accountability. Detachment is inappropriate (except for necessary seasons), and the body must expect the members to produce good fruit. This means that the community must allow members to serve in whatever avenues they are capable of, rather than proscribe roles that our community deems fitting.

What responsibility do the members have to the congregation? I like using community over congregation because it implies more than meeting together; community implies living together. Members have a responsibility to share their lives with the body. We need to hear confessions. We need to hear praises! The private dimension should be a place of meditation and personal reflection, not our “real life” away from Sunday worship. Members also should be careful in this “real life” that their actions do not reflect poorly on God’s name or the rest of the community (and the congregation should know the difference between what reflects poorly and what doesn’t).

What responsibility do both the members and the congregation have to the Body of Christ in their community? This is difficult to answer if our understanding of the local community is defined as the area around the place of assembly (church building) instead of the area around our home. When the central place of worship is 20+ miles from our homes, the practicality of helping the community around the building is limited. Setting this aside, the local community should be the scene of our works. Others need to know what our congregation does in an appreciative manner. Our congregation should make the surrounding community better.

I have a few suggestions in how these ideas can be implemented. First, alleviate the burden of the elders. Their primary responsibility is to monitor the food the congregation is eating. They need to be watchful concerning our doctrines, not presiding over budget committee meetings or babysitting administrative tasks. Elders burn out because the congregation expects more from them than what God requires. We’ve set a terrible precedent by demanding our elders to be overseers of everything, to the point to which they are devoted to nothing. If they are not prayerfully considering the traditions and scriptures that our body is receiving, then our members will suffer and die.

In matters of serving, we need to recognize the presence of Spiritual gifts. These are not aptitudes or talents common to unbelievers, but infusions of the Spirit according to the will of God. We need to recognize that not all women are gifted to be children’s teachers and not all preachers are gifted to be teachers. This will be difficult if we are unwilling to accept change.

I believe we should strive to destroy the formality of church services. This isn’t a cry for chaos but for sanity. I mentioned confession and praise, and I think instead of a “Shepherd’s Moment” we should allow others to submit their own prayer requests personally to the congregation. I say this for three reasons: 1) we cheat ourselves from truly healing by trying to “save face” in confession. Yes, it is embarrassing, but that’s why it is so important to do personally. 2) Allowing someone else to read a prayer request is as impersonal as an email. 3) Even if 10 members every Sunday stood and submitted a praise or request, it wouldn’t take any longer than what we are currently doing.

Finally, we need to readdress the efficiency of church buildings. Are we being wasteful with precious resources? It is easy to look at a thousand plus membership church and say “wow, look at what they’ve accomplished.” Yet, we know the 20/80 rule exists in large churches just as in small churches. One sociologist commented that the ideal “community” of a single person is about 150 people. That seems small, but that size of a community is personal and intimate. As mega churches become mundane, smaller communities continue to break through local community barriers and touch lives. Perhaps we should encourage Christians to find a place of worship closer to their own home, even if they are not 100% in agreement with doctrine or tradition.

Luke