29th August 2014
We are the church, we don't do it.
Greg Simnor
Here is the thought for the week: "We are the Church, we don't do it".
I am constantly surrounded by God's people who are both in positions of leadership and not, who continue to ask "How do we do church differently today?" They say we live in modern times and we need to be relevant and change the way we do church. I have even heard people say “church is boring”. Yes, we need to be relevant; and yes, church services may be boring; but despite what some may think this has very little to do with programming, and everything to do with who we are.
“How should we do church?” is not a question of the Kingdom of God, but of the wisdom of the world. These kinds of questions can distract us from the true purpose of Kingdom community. Jesus encountered this type of question when Nicodemus asked Him how a man could enter into his mother's womb and be born again[1]? Jesus didn't give this question any of His precious time, but instead spoke of a true kingdom reality and then said "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?"[2]
The questions that we need to start asking ourselves (if we haven't already) are: "How can we be the Church?" And, “What do we need for us to be the Church and embody HIs Kingdom?”
What God has been showing me is that we need a revelation, a growing revelation of the Christ/truth in us; and we need His power operating within us continuously through the Spirit.
While our focus and priorities remain on external things, we will never enter into the truth God has for us. Unfortunately for many, the external things that God has given us to help facilitate our transformation have become our focus and priority. We have become distracted and confused, focusing our energies on the services, the music, the programmes, the building; rather than on the only One who has the truth, and can transform our spirits and renew our minds.
We have lost sight of our true purpose: not to do church, but to be God's people and function as His ambassadors on the earth[3].
Please hear me, we are all called and taught to meet together regularly as His people[4], as a family[5]; and we continue to do this to receive greater revelation of Him and an ongoing transformation of ourselves, rather than just ticking religious boxes.
A prayer we could all offer up this week and in the weeks to come is...
“Lord, renew our minds through the power of your Spirit as we seek you.”
And in this prayer we will find the true purpose of our gatherings and our community.
In His love,
Greg