My Ecclesiological Rant

Ecclesiology has been a point of interest for me for quite a long time; possibly because I have witnessed a great deal of struggles and issues in the church in general. I won’t deny that some of these issues touch more close to home than others, but I am still interested in the general study of the church (and when I say “the church” I mean the whole church, everywhere, as the complete body of Christ). In my Systematic Theology 2 class we recently completed the section on Ecclesiology and my appetite was whetted for further thought and discussion concerning the study of the church. This is the “baby” of my original study on Ecclesiology.

First, I believe there are three main aspects of the church: fellowship, worship, and evangelism. I will briefly address each of these topics, but I may end up eventually addressing more on each topic or discussing further dynamics of the church.  However, with that said, I don’t find it necessary to compartmentalize every area of the church. For example, worship can be a means of fellowship, and so on.

The church’s modern view of fellowship comes from Greek word “koinonia”, which means “to share”. Its intent is to emphasize the unity and oneness in the church; we are to be joined and knit together. Fellowship is a sharing of life and time as suggested in Hebrews 10:25- “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Obviously fellowship should be more than monthly potlucks and socializing after the Sunday service. As my professor commented regarding potlucks, “They shouldn’t call it a potluck… We don’t believe in luck. We should call it potprovidence”. So apparently the name doesn’t even suit its purpose for fellowship.  I am convinced that fellowship in the “koinonia” sense has much more to do with living life together (real people, living real life) than potluck dinners and a half-hearted, “Good morning. How are you?” In addition, 1 Corinthians states, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” The last passage of Scripture I want to point out in support of this different idea behind fellowship is in Galatians 6:2- Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Fellowship is so much deeper and more meaningful than so many churches have caused it to be viewed recently. 

Next, worship is a key element to the church. Worship is not a typical Sunday morning song set. It does not find its identify in hymns or contemporary choruses. It is not contained by drums or no drums, acoustic or fully charged. Rather, worship should be done with our lives, in everything we do. Worship should not be saved for Sunday mornings, and compartmentalized for just that part of our life. We sell God short and diminish the fact that He deserves the best part of every part of our lives when we view worship as a music set in which to participate on a certain day. I worship God in my time of studying, my time on the train, my time in blessed conversation with my roommate, my time with my boyfriend, my time in the Student Dining Room, my time chatting with an old friend on the phone, my time at home with my family, my time at my grandparents funerals; each of these things are just examples from an endless list of when I am engaged in worship. I am convinced that individuals of the church would behave differently if we allowed this truth to sink in and penetrate our heart to the very core. Worship should be taken seriously, as John 4:24 suggests, “God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” We are not to take lightly our call for worship. Worship should be a lifestyle, not a Sunday morning experience.

Finally, evangelism is a crucial part of the church. I have heard it said that after hiring a pastor the next full time staff member a church should hire should be a missionary. After all, Matthew 28:19 is a flat out command to go and make disciples; it is not merely a suggestion for healthy living. In addition, it should be noted that making “converts” is easy, but making “disciples” is a much more difficult task. It is an instantaneous task to make converts, but it is a continuous process to make disciples. Therefore successful evangelism must be coupled with intense discipleship; but that topic is for another discussion. Acts 1:8 should be used to our benefit and for the equipping of missionaries and evangelists. This verse states, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Evangelism is not something to be feared, avoided, or cut from the budget. Rather, it should be looked at as one of the main factors of a healthy, functioning church, and should be treated likewise, as something for which God will prepare and equip us.

This is as far as I will go regarding the church for right now, but I can already feel another Ecclesiology blog coming on. I think the proper view of the church is rare and should be addressed by all believers who are part of the body of Christ.