And He is the head of the body, the ecclesia, Who is sovereign, Firstborn from among the dead, that in all He may becoming first
Paul to the Colossians 1: 18, Concordant New Testament Translation
If you hang around amongst Christian circles often enough you might just hear "The" question thrown in your direction. What church do you belong to? I've heard this question often enough in my life until it made me think that I not only needed to attend a church, but I needed to belong to a church. Doesn't this sort of sound like a Jesus fraternity? I had this conversation with a friend this week, one who knows all too well the inner workings of fraternities, as he was in one while in college. Not only was he in said fraternity, but he "Belonged" to that elite group. Now, this is nothing against fraternities per se, because I'm sure that they have their finer points. For the purpose of this post, my goal is to illustrate how our belief in Jesus has been hijacked by those within the mainstream church. I believe that it is no longer acceptable for the church that someone simply believes in Christ Jesus. No, we not only need to believe, but we need to accept and proclaim Jesus as Lord and devote ourselves to one particular church. Think I'm off base here? Consider the requirements which many churches openly speak to, requirements which they fully expect from their members. Requirements to attend the church, to serve said church AND to be initiated into the church. Initiated? Yes, initiated. Like so many college fraternities out there, far too many churches insist upon a requirement which one must perform in order to be accepted as a member of the church. I'm talking about the ritual of baptism. I can recall going through the membership classes of the last church I attended, classes which were required if someone were to be considered a member of the church. Sounds like a fraternity to me. Part of joining almost any fraternity is the initiation into said group. This is where the pledge is judged worthy of joining the fraternity. Of course, this is just the first step, for even after joining, the new member is saddled with expectations that they serve the fraternity. My friend offered up more than a few stories of how he was expected to perform. What church doesn't follow these same practices?
There might be more than a few people who will get bent out of shape by this comparison of the church to a common fraternity, but the similarities are simply too hard to ignore. They demand that those who choose to worship in "Their" church adhere must prove themselves worthy of the congregation they seek to join. Still think I'm wrong? Why is it that so many churches continue to offer up membership classes, as if the requirement is to somehow "Join" the church? Why is so much importance placed upon serving said church? When someone askes me what church I belong to, I smile and tell them the church of Jesus. I am a member of that church which Jesus is actively building among us. The church where Christ Jesus is the head of the body {Paul to the Colossians 1:18}. In His church, there are no requirements to prove you belong. In the church Jesus is building, all are welcome. I commented to a good friend of mine this week that I see similarities in my group of gym friends to that church which Jesus is building. We gather and we talk about Jesus. We are contractors, doctors and industrial workers. At first glance, you might not see this group as a church. We don't have all the traditional trappings one might expect to see in any run of the mill church. There's no worship music, no offering and, above all, no new membership classes people need to attend in order to become a member. THIS is the church Jesus is building. Jesus isn't looking for someone to prove that they belong here. In the Lords eyes, this is His assembly, His ecclesia. My invitation is the same which Jesus gave to those who sought to know about Him, come and see.
Now Jesus, being turned and gazing a them following, is saying to them, "What are you seeking?" Yet they said to Him, "Rabbi (Which, being construed, is termed "Teacher"), "where are thou remaining?" He is saying to them, "Come and see." They came, then, and perceived where He is remaining, and they remain with Him that day, it was about the tenth hour.
Johns Account 1: 38-39, Concordant New Testament Translation
~Scott~