The other night, I was talking with some friends on "what is Church?"
What do you think Church is? What should it be like in today's culture?
(Be reminded that only Christians are to respond in this subforum. Also, this is for discussion only, not to debate.)
What does "Church" mean to you?
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otseng
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Post #2
I just ran across an article - These Christians Radically Rethink What a Church Is (requires free registration).
The 1-year-old church in Orange County has no name, no building and no set time to meet.
For its members, church can be spending an afternoon at a Costa Mesa park, where they share lunch and conversation with the down and out.
...
They're part of a new phenomenon — "emerging churches" — growing out of evangelical Christianity.
The movement was started over the last six years or so by Christian leaders disillusioned with churches that they complained were run like big corporations, stressing celebrity preachers, glitzy services and huge budgets. The movement aims to bring churches closer to people, with small communities of prayer and learning — mostly fewer than 50 people.
...
"Our tithe is to buy a bucket of chicken for people at the park instead of [contributing to] some pot of money where I don't know where it's going," he said.
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nikolayevich
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Post #3
I think that "Church" takes on a new meaning when studying words used in the Tanakh (old) and New Testaments. The word translated as "Church" in the New Testament is "ekklesia", which as you can find out with a quick search, means "called out ones" or "assembly"... This same word is used numerous times in the Greek translation of the Tanakh but is not rendered, "Church" in the english translations. It appears that there is a theological, rather than textual bias for this.
"Church" as a word is actually derived from pagan mythology, leading to much confusion over the role of the Jews in God's plan (from the other thread). We have used "church" to mean "congregation" or "called out ones", when in reality, something like, "congregation" or the other is perfectly suitable.
Why it was translated as "Church" is up for debate, however, I do believe that the Gentiles' rejection of the Jews had more to do with it than the Jews' rejection of anything Christian. Reading early historical accounts of the rejection by Rome of Jewish believers in Jesus are telling.
It's important to continue to learn about things like this, as I believe it helps us to narrow in on what God is really telling us in the Scriptures, rather than what we have interpreted them to mean. If the "church" in fact existed in the time of David and before, it certainly has implications on how we view the Jews/Gentiles equation and the body of Christ itself.
In particular, it is confirmation for Jews, that there is less material in the New Testament that appears "foreign" in language than in the Tanakh. Other examples would be that the mother of Jesus is really named, "Miriam", a name if you remember in the time of Moses. Why was it translated Miriam in the Tanakh and Mary in the New Testament?
John 10:22 speaks of the feast of "the dedication" or "Hanukkah", when Jesus went to the temple, but how many of us remember learning that from sunday school? We cannot blame those who did not know, but somewhere in the history of the body of Christ, we have obscured somewhat the meaning of various things in the Scriptures.
"Church" to me means those called by God, who are of the olive tree of Israel or gentiles who have been grafted to it, by faith alone in either case (Romans 11:17). Not a place, but a people.
"Church" as a word is actually derived from pagan mythology, leading to much confusion over the role of the Jews in God's plan (from the other thread). We have used "church" to mean "congregation" or "called out ones", when in reality, something like, "congregation" or the other is perfectly suitable.
Why it was translated as "Church" is up for debate, however, I do believe that the Gentiles' rejection of the Jews had more to do with it than the Jews' rejection of anything Christian. Reading early historical accounts of the rejection by Rome of Jewish believers in Jesus are telling.
It's important to continue to learn about things like this, as I believe it helps us to narrow in on what God is really telling us in the Scriptures, rather than what we have interpreted them to mean. If the "church" in fact existed in the time of David and before, it certainly has implications on how we view the Jews/Gentiles equation and the body of Christ itself.
In particular, it is confirmation for Jews, that there is less material in the New Testament that appears "foreign" in language than in the Tanakh. Other examples would be that the mother of Jesus is really named, "Miriam", a name if you remember in the time of Moses. Why was it translated Miriam in the Tanakh and Mary in the New Testament?
John 10:22 speaks of the feast of "the dedication" or "Hanukkah", when Jesus went to the temple, but how many of us remember learning that from sunday school? We cannot blame those who did not know, but somewhere in the history of the body of Christ, we have obscured somewhat the meaning of various things in the Scriptures.
"Church" to me means those called by God, who are of the olive tree of Israel or gentiles who have been grafted to it, by faith alone in either case (Romans 11:17). Not a place, but a people.
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kimberly5699
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Post #6
Christians get caught up in "church" but the truth is that where ever we go we are the church because we have Jesus Christ inside of us.
Post #7
Great! It saves the cost of renting a space.The 1-year-old church in Orange County has no name, no building and no set time to meet.
For its members, church can be spending an afternoon at a Costa Mesa park, where they share lunch and conversation with the down and out.
...
They're part of a new phenomenon — "emerging churches" — growing out of evangelical Christianity.
The movement was started over the last six years or so by Christian leaders disillusioned with churches that they complained were run like big corporations, stressing celebrity preachers, glitzy services and huge budgets. The movement aims to bring churches closer to people, with small communities of prayer and learning — mostly fewer than 50 people.
...
"Our tithe is to buy a bucket of chicken for people at the park instead of [contributing to] some pot of money where I don't know where it's going," he said.
And this is going to erase the obstruction unbelievers have in coming to church - a church building.
Pray that God will let them draw in the crowds.
....
Recently I have been confounded with this question by a non-believer who asked me, "Why do you need to go to Church?" How do I answer him in relation to people of other religions who go to their places of worship?
How do I answer him? As I don't have a reasonable answer because I just go. (because God wants me to go) I have no other reason except for my relationship with God. What can I say so that he can understand?
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otseng
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Post #8
A Christians doesn't need to go to a church building weekly. But, church is not simply a building, but a group of believers. I think it is practically impossible for someone to be a Christian without any interaction with other believers. It's difficult to be many things without interacting with people with similar beliefs.Jian^sia wrote: Recently I have been confounded with this question by a non-believer who asked me, "Why do you need to go to Church?" How do I answer him in relation to people of other religions who go to their places of worship?
Why does a soccer player need to join a team?
Why does a soldier need to join the Army?
Why do *NSYNC fans go to concerts?
I was thinking the other day. This forum could fit in a definition of a church. Believers (and non-believers) get together. People are talking about the Bible and God. People are getting to know one another. I guess the only thing we're missing is the choir.
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kimberly5699
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Post #9
This is all so true, so much money is invested in having this glorious building to worship in when we could be using the money to really do the work of the Lord. I use to get all hung up on tithing my money to the church but the truth is the bible doesn't say we have to give to the church but to give everything so I use my money for the homeless people or other Chrisitans in need and the Lord still blesses me. Jesus never said you had to build a huge expensive building to worship....Christians are really missing the point of the New Testament....Jian^sia wrote:Great! It saves the cost of renting a space.The 1-year-old church in Orange County has no name, no building and no set time to meet.
For its members, church can be spending an afternoon at a Costa Mesa park, where they share lunch and conversation with the down and out.
...
They're part of a new phenomenon — "emerging churches" — growing out of evangelical Christianity.
The movement was started over the last six years or so by Christian leaders disillusioned with churches that they complained were run like big corporations, stressing celebrity preachers, glitzy services and huge budgets. The movement aims to bring churches closer to people, with small communities of prayer and learning — mostly fewer than 50 people.
...
"Our tithe is to buy a bucket of chicken for people at the park instead of [contributing to] some pot of money where I don't know where it's going," he said.
And this is going to erase the obstruction unbelievers have in coming to church - a church building.
Pray that God will let them draw in the crowds.
....
Recently I have been confounded with this question by a non-believer who asked me, "Why do you need to go to Church?" How do I answer him in relation to people of other religions who go to their places of worship?
How do I answer him? As I don't have a reasonable answer because I just go. (because God wants me to go) I have no other reason except for my relationship with God. What can I say so that he can understand?
Post #10
to me church is not a building but a body! the body of Christ is the church to me just like fellowship(ing) and praising him sometimes you dont even need that stuff you can just sit in silence and soak up every word God tells you!
Defying Gravity
