I find myself falling into the trap of putting too much focus on the church as a gathering and forgetting that the church, in its fullness, is more about going and being than about gathering.
Yes, the church gathers to fellowship, break bread, and pray. But there is much more written in Scripture about the church going and being than gathering…
"the apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people…" (Acts 5:12)
"Stephen… performed amazing miracles and signs among the people…" (6:8)
"But the believers who had fled Jerusalem went everywhere preaching the Good News about Jesus." (8:4)
"Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah." (8:5)
"As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, ‘Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ So he did, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia…" (8:26-27)
"Meanwhile, the believers who had fled from Jerusalem during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the Good News…" (11:19)
"Sent out by the Holy Spirit, Saul and Barnabas went…"
I think the point is made: we are not just a group of people that gathers. Who we are is much more than that. We are a group of people, with power from above, who take the message of God’s Kingdom and love everywhere that we go because that life and power is with us and in us. He is where we go!
This is important because we still are in an identity crisis as a church. We define who we are incorrectly. We are still defining ourselves as "church" by how we do church "meetings": "house church," emrging church," etc. In doing this we are placing, still, a lot of focus on the gathering, where we gather, and what we do when we gather. This continues to cause us to mis-identify who we really are: Spirit-empowered believers who collectively and individually carry the presence of Christ into our world.
I need to continually remind myself that the church is a people-movement, a Holy Spirit infused and led avalanche of God’s people going and being sent, with His Spirit, into a world that needs His life.
My friend Tammy recently grasped this while participating in one of our house church gatherings. She suddenly felt stifled, smothered, and uncomfortable. She began reflecting on all of the people "out there" who need the life that Jesus Christ has for them. She has been "attending" a house church for a little while, but the light suddenly dawned: it’s not about a different type of church, it’s about going out there and being the church. She caught the vision of finding a lonely woman on a park bench and taking church to that woman; being led to a homeless person and taking church to that person; asking God to lead her to wherever it is that He wants her to go and be the church there.
Yes, yes, and yes. This is what I so hope people will grasp. We are not seeking to just set up a different way to "do" church, i.e., a different way to gather. I long to see the whole church just going and being, taking the presence of Christ everywhere and letting the gatherings be truly secondary. They will take care of themselves quite naturally and powerfully when the church is being itself–the glory of Christ–in the world.
The primary reason that I seek simple expressions for church gatherings is so that we do not expend all of our time, energy, and resources on these gatherings and miss the point of who we really are and how we are to go and be in the world!
Comments
6 responses to “Too Much Focus on “The Gathering””
Right on!
It’s time we get back to BEING the church, (the fullness of HIM filling everything in every way, Eph 1:22-23)
Great post. How do you fight the pull towards focusing on meetings?
Thanks for a really good writing! I have been thinking of exactly the same things when relating to my friends and my oikos. I can’t understand the special about these “house church meetings” because I see every meeting with people as meetings during the week. What is so special about one meeting in the week? If we really want to BE the church then church is everywhere… and yes we need edifying fellowships but I think we have to get more of Jesus into our daily meetings with people.. Many people don’t let Jesus in in the everyday life. I will go to the gym this afternoon and there I will be the church.
We seem to forget that when we gather we are only a portion of the Body of Christ. When we gather we are not, nor were we ever intended to be The Body in Totality. The Body of Christ fills the whole earth, every local fellowship and gathering is only a manifestation of a small segment of the whole. When we can recognize the Body of Christ as all believers, then we will be free to co-labor with the whole Body. Christ is not divided (1 Corinthians 1:12&13) Jesus is returning for ONE Bride, ONE Church without spot or blemish.
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me
through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I
in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You
sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may
be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made
perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have
loved them as You have loved Me.” -Jesus (John 17:20-23)
When we fully embrace this truth, then “how” we gather or “where” we gather will become less important than that the act of being the Bride of Christ wherever we go.
For some other rants and ramblings: http://www.geocities.com/gathered_in_his_name
Peace and Love through Jesus the Christ! (John 14:6)
Kevin
Excellent point. (as always)
I am both encouraged and alarmed at this post. I do agree that we need to be active: going, being and doing among the people. That is where I see the biggest deficit, the lack of involvement of
Christians in so many areas of need. However, do not forsake the gathering or belittle it, which I don’t think you mean to do, but can easily sound that way. Acts 2:46 “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house…” Gathering is the heart of our fellowship, “…to be built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Eph 2:22.
In recovery circles there is a saying, you can’t give what you don’t possess. Without the gathering, there won’t be anything to give. I too am veeerrrry frustrated with the lack of Biblical action and outreach, but I put this squarely in the lap of traditional churches, who spend huge sums of money on buildings, salaries and expenses and put little effort into basic Christianity. We have been trained into terrible habits. We have a wonderful oportunity to break through that and be doers of the word in our House Churches, simply, with real, heart-felt action. Let’s do it. But let’s gather together more than ever before so we can all grow in the Lord and encourage each other in our gifts and everyday needs. What else is more important? (Therein lies the issue.)