“Go to Church” or, “Go as Church”

It’s Sunday morning, and it’s time to go to church. What a devastating idea! It’s not devastating because you can’t sleep in, or enjoy the Sunday paper, or go play golf. It’s devastating because the very idea “go to church” is so theologically twisted.

“The Church,” as defined in the Bible, is the Body of believers, the fellowship of the redeemed. As such, local groups meet together, most often in a building. But the truth is, they are the church – they do not go to church. They are church when they are gathered, and they are just as much church when they are scattered. Frankly, it is impossible to “go to church,” because church is not an address. It is a calling and a life.

Our Gatherings are important. We meet for Worship and for Teaching and for Training. We come together for the healing of hurts through the repetition of God’s promises and the encouragements of God’s people. But even more, we come together for preparation for service, for engagement in our world as ambassadors and representatives of Jesus Christ. And so our Gatherings are only successful so far as believers are encouraged and equipped to serve Christ in all the aspects of their lives.

Are you ever relieved when church is over? Get rid of that thought! It’s not over at noon. It’s actually time to “go as church.”