Church, what does it consist of? Is it a building, band, or a pastor? In my mind, when I think of the church I picture a building or service; however, in reading the Bible, you realize this is NOT what Jesus was referring to. As Francis Chan states, “If Jesus was on the earth right now, and you asked him, “Hey, where is the church?” He is not going to give you an address or point to a building.” In pondering the question, I realized the church is deeper and more profound than we think. It is not a building or structure, but the collective followers or believers who fear God, follow Him, and are filled with his Spirit.
This collective group is called into fellowship by Jesus who calls us out of individualism and into community to form true relationships with one another. This is achieved by sharing basic human needs such as housing, money, food, transportation and material goods. It is also accomplished by sharing our time, heart, joys, fears, companionship, friendship, love and more. So many times I have treated fellowship as an after thought. It has never occurred to me how important it is to be a part of God’s family and body.
Did you ever have or remember the fellowship hall at your church? This was usually the gathering place for a potluck after the Sunday morning service or a place for sharing family fun, sporting activities and more. In Acts 4:32 it says, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.” This is what Jesus defined as fellowship. Isn’t this different from a potluck or a church softball game?
Francis Chan tells a story about a gang member who after repeated visits to his church and hearing the Word surrendered to Jesus. He was baptized, but after some time stopped attending. He later ran into a church member who asked where he had been. To this, he responded, “When I was baptized, I thought it was going to be like what happened when I got jumped into the gang. Suddenly when I was a part of the gang everyone had my back. We became family 24/7. So when I got baptized, I thought it was going to happen the same way with the Christians. But what I didn’t know was that it was just for Sunday mornings, and Wednesday nights. I thought we were going to be family. But I think I was wrong.”
The problem with this scenario and for the church is that he was right. It hurts to hear that a gang member who was lost and came to the knowledge of Christ was ultimately lost because he realized the church was far from true fellowship. This brother felt he was not brought into what was supposed to be his new family. It’s a scary realization that in this case the gang portrayed a better family unit than God’s church!
Yet, unity isn’t normal these days. We live in a time when people are so quick to ditch each other and walk out on relationships. God is calling us to be above our culture, to be in fellowship and in community. Though we are imperfect, at the end of the day it is about forgiving one another and showing the power of grace that keeps the body strong. This demonstration should show the power of fellowship to those who are not a part of God’s church body and community.
There is something about our unity that makes the message believable, yet many would rather do it on their own because they feel it is easier than having to put up with different personalities or arguments. It is easier to think, “let me just have my own relationship with God”, but that is not what Jesus created us for. Our mission to the world is to show Jesus by living as one, so the body may move together in unison. We weren’t created to do God’s mission on our own. I need you and you need me, so anyone saying, “I have a relationship with God; I don’t need the church, or these little gatherings.” is not only missing out on fellowship, but I dare to say may be lost. After all Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell won’t stand against it.” He calls us to congregate, so we don’t have to go at it alone. So the question is, do you want to be apart of this community, family, and unity or do you want to continue to live in insolation?
I challenge you to help strengthen your church, your community, and to pursue unity. We are the church and we need each other to function properly as the body of Christ moving as one in mission and in purpose. Potlucks and sporting events are great ways to become closer to forming a tight community, but it has nothing to do with the way Jesus intended fellowship to strengthen and mature His church in love, service and relationship to one another. Only this way will the church take its spiritual place and leadership, so that hell itself cannot stand against it.
Russell Gaither
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