Perceptions #200123

WHAT IS THE CHURCH ABOUT?

by Norman Bales

If you were to describe your concept of the church in a single sentence, what would you say about it? People are seldom indifferent about their concept of the church. Some are hostile; some are supportive. Some one-sentence views of the church might include the following:

• The church is a family of loving servants in whom Jesus is alive.

• The church is a group of hypocritical legalists who think they are right and everybody else is wrong.

• The church is made up of materialists who have just enough religion to keep them from enjoying their material comforts.

• The church is a group of individuals who come together on Sundays and then go their separate ways throughout the week.

• The church is a group of searchers who haven't completely discovered what they are about.

• The church is a group of permissive libertines who never say "no" to anything and expect a loving God to overlook their moral failures.

That's enough to get you started. You can probably come up with one-sentence descriptions that are better than mine. Of all the various descriptions I have given, only the first one conforms to the New Testament image. When Jesus said, "I will build my church in Matthew 16:18, he wasn't thinking about a "Christian's club." He didn't envision a society of super saints who parade their morality standards and their doctrinal correctness with an attitude of arrogance. On the other hand, he didn't design a fellowship of people who gradually lose their identity as Christians by merging imperceptibly with the rest of society. He envisioned a caring fellowship, intent on serving.

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