The Essence

“Church” means different things to different people.  For some, sadly, it has become a source of judgement and condemnation rather than a place of love and grace.

Even among those who love the church and the Christian life, there are a wide variety of answers to the question “What is the church?”  Or as I think is actually a better way to ask the question, “What does the church DO?”  What things, if lost, would mean it simply is no longer the church in any legitimate way?

I think we would all agree that things like building and maintaining structures, hiring staff, pot luck suppers, etc., while good and useful, are not the essence of the church.  We can have a church without a building.

Sunday’s lesson from the Acts of the Apostles (the very first Christians) tells us what they focused on from the day of the first baptisms: “Those who had been baptized devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  (Acts 2:42, click here for the full reading)

This isn’t an exhaustive list – the church went on to engage in evangelism and service in particular – but this does form the essential starting point.  Take away any one of these elements (apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of the bread, prayers) and you no longer have a true church.

The question, then, is how to we live this out today?  Does your Christian life embrace “the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, the breaking of the bread and the prayers?”  If not, what is missing and how might you embrace it?

This column appeared in the April 30 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.

If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.