The Church is Like…

Our task is to practice and preach truth

God’s family is called a kingdom in relationship to its government (Colossians 1:13), a body in relationship to it’s organization (Colossians 1:18), and a church in relationship to the world (Colossians 1:18). His spiritual family is to be the “pillar and support of truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). As subjects of the King, we are here to do His bidding. As members of His body we have a job to do, a role to fill. As part of the church, we find ourselves in the world, but the world is not to be in us. Our task is to practice and preach truth throughout the world by means of works and words. But, I’m not sure everyone understands this mission.

Yet, people act like it is a country club

The church ought to be more like a hospital than a country club. Yet, people act like it is a country club, not a hospital for the soul. We should see the church for what we can give rather than what we can get. Worship should prepare us for a week of work for Christ, not entertain us for an hour. The emphasis should be service and not serve us!

A service station would be more appropriate

An appropriate modern analogy for the church may be the old fashioned service stations many of us remember as children. Our parents went there on a regular basis to refuel their cars. Not only did they fill the tank, but they checked the oil, cleaned the windshield, and checked the air in the tires. If there were mechanical problems, they took care of them. It truly was a service station. We left prepared for the road ahead.

This seems a good (not perfect), analogy for our worship assemblies. In a sense, our time together fills our tank, checks for problems, cleans our windshield (so that we see clearly), and gets us ready for the road ahead (life). Hospitals address our physical needs while the church focuses on our spiritual condition.

Not to be entertained…

We do not come to be entertained, but to exalt the Savior, to be educated in the gospel, to be equipped for service in the Lord’s army, to be excited about our task of taking His message to the world, and to have are defects (sins) exposed so they can be corrected. We can’t address a problem if we are unaware that it exists.

Food, fun, and fellowship are fine, but they are not and never have been the emphasis of the faithful. They all have their place, but let’s make sure they are never substituted for the real purpose of our assemblies or the reason for membership in His family.

There are lost and hurting people all around us

We need to bring those who are lost and hurting to the Great Physician where their wounds can be healed and their hearts mended. The church offers people real solutions for their problems. It provides hope to the hopeless. It offers help to the hurting. It gives direction to the lost. It takes care of the sick, or at least it’s supposed to!