To wrap up this brief series on the Church, let’s take a step back from specific ecclesial topics like Bible class teaching or the weekly contribution and ask: what are we trying to do with Church?
On Sunday
The most obvious aspects of the Church are those activities that take place every week on Sunday morning. While there is some scriptural basis for meeting on the first day of the week, why we meet then and what we do at that time is largely rooted in Christian tradition, specifically the Lord’s Supper. For most of our religion’s history, that has been the core of the church assembly. We meet to eat the bread and drink the wine.
This naturally raises the question, what exactly are we trying to accomplish with this ancient ritual? Two answers can be given. First, we meet in remembrance of the death (and therefore resurrection) of Christ. In this way, communion is similar to Memorial Day; we are commemorating the most important event in human history and honoring that sacrifice. This can be somber or it can be joyous, but it is in either case directed toward heaven. Additionally, the Lord’s Supper is a corporate reminder. It is a statement to each other and to the world of who we are and what we are doing. We are Christians living our lives in the new Kingdom.
Some purists might push back on this, but on Sunday mornings we are also gathering around a time of teaching: the sermon. This was not originally the case, but after some time, people thought this weekly gathering could be spent a little more productively by having someone prepare a message to share. The desired effect of the sermon has fluctuated over the centuries, but I think we should remain open to a few possibilities. The sermon is directed at the entire congregation, and it can be used to teach them, encourage them, or exhort them to better living. It can also be used as an expression of corporate lament or corporate declaration (think: responding to national tragedies).
And, of course, we worship on Sunday mornings. Again, this started out differently; it was more than a likely a natural outflowing of joy and gathering as a group. Singing was, after all, one of the main forms of entertainment and celebration in the ancient world. Very quickly, however, it grew into a ritual alongside sermons and Scripture reading and communion and whatever else. Regarding singing, the only consistent argument I ever hear has to do with song choice: new versus old. This is a trivial matter in the scope of Sunday assemblies, though I have weighed-in on it. Old songs offer greater connection to the history of our faith and are often easier for corporate singing, while new songs boast more complex arrangements and greater relevance in the world.
During the Week
Though we emphasize Sunday morning worship, surely all Christians know that there is something about the faith that should extend beyond that hour and a half. We are supposed to take our religion into the rest of the week.
What that looks like is unique to each individual, but mostly it looks like being kind. If we’re compassionate and gracious to the other people we come into contact with, then we’ve got most of our bases covered. There’s, of course, more to being a Christian than kindness—for a student, it may be diligence in their studying; for someone on the job, it may be fairness and ethical behavior; for a spouse, it may be greater empathy; for a parent, greater peace of mind—but in most cases, simply being more kind than the day before should get us most of the way there.
Over a Generation
Too often we stop there. In fact, I think there is an entire vein of Christianity—in each of our congregations, in our ministries and leaderships and parishioners—that stops at the “weekly” level. They are content to construct a pleasant worship service and encourage people to kindness at home and in their work lives. But the Church and the Kingdom have a greater goal than that.
Part of the mission of the Church is to shape a person over the course of their life and to shape the lives that come after them. This involves, on one hand, total transformation of the individual. While yes, continuous kindness will in most cases set us apart and begin extending the love of Jesus, we are called to be radically selfless and merciful. This is more than being nice; this requires denying ourselves and doing the things we don’t want to do because it will help the least of these.
Shaping a generation also involves advocating for societal change. Never has the world been all that it ought to be, and likely never will it be until Jesus comes on the clouds in glory. Yet, a basic feature of the in-breaking Kingdom is that we are making the world better. This may take the form of things that everyone can agree on, like teaching children to read or developing safer cars. It may also, however, take the form of social upheaval, dividing congregations and families. Last century this took the two notable forms of women’s suffrage and civil rights. I’ll let you ponder how that looks today.
Throughout Eternity
Lastly, the Church is in the business of eternity. It saves people and redeems creation in preparation for the New Heaven and New Earth. This is a broad and sweeping mission for the Church, though sometimes we are guilty of narrowing it to the salvation of souls through missionary spending. Let us not lose sight of the greater goal of redemption, for Christ “to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven.”
The Church is big and complex, and it has a lot of work to do. It’s hard for us to keep all those different goals of Christianity at the forefront of our mind at all times. We tend to focus on worship for a few hours, or focus on ethical living or church budgets or whatever. We need to train ourselves to step back and ask, why are we doing this? And how can we best serve every purpose of God’s Church?