The idea of Church

It’s normal when someone hears of a church, the first thing that comes to mind is the beautiful interior and exterior of the building. I actually learnt last week that in European countries, the easiest way to identify the city centre is to find the big church which I find hilarious.

Growing up, I disliked going to church at some point because I found myself counting the hours instead of just enjoying the time spent there.

I’ll tell you a secret : It all happened due to my dislike for the church I went to. I didn’t understand why the praise songs were in a language I do not understand . I wanted a different one where I could relate to the songs and the sermon without counting the hours.

Looking back now, I’m grateful for that phase because I can truly appreciate the growth between the time periods.

Church: The building or Christ’s bride?

The Building?

Is the church supposed to be about the building or the people there?

Many times, we forget that the church is about the people there and not the building. You can worship in a magnificent building and not be a part of the church with your heart. Do you know the Bible verse that says:

‘For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”’ Matthew 18:20

I didn’t see any thing about the structure here, I only noticed the part of ‘two or three gathered in my name’. Moreover, As individuals you and I need to be careful what we make church about. It’s not the place to display your newly acquired clothing items or oppress people.

Think of church in this way: If you are going to meet God, how will you dress and behave and what will you take with you ?

Christ’s Bride?

When I wrote down the key points for this article, I remember thinking of the church as Christ’s bride with reference to Ephesians 5:25-27 .

Since it is Christ’s bride, we should treat it with the respect and love it deserves.

Could the Parents be at fault?

Parents will always teach from what they know, particularly about church. If you grew up in Nigeria like I did, you will know that going to church was a norm. Even when you didn’t want to go, you were forced to go.

Many people my age and older have lost the zeal for going to church because they did it a lot when they were little or something of that sort. Many people will blame parents but can we analyse the situation?

Yes, your parents made you go to church a lot because they thought it was the right thing for you. They dealt with you just as their parents did or maybe better.

Religion says come to church every sunday because it’s an obligation but the relationship says come because you actually want to meet God there. Our parents are starting to realise that it’s the relationship that matters not the religion.

Most of them took us to church because it was an obligation to be there on sunday and every other day of the week. I’ve heard of parents who scarred their children with their hypocrisy -they are blue in church but black at home.

Being a parent is difficult, that bit I know. Knowing that God has blessed you with a child to nurture and train, are you doing your best ? Will you be the reason why your child will not believe in God or go to church when they are older ? (Would like me to share my experience with my parents in a post? please let me know)

What’s your approach ?

‘I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord .”’ Psalms 122:1

It’s not enough to go to church, do you hesitate when you are going ? Do you need to be constantly reminded that you should go to church ? Do you intentionally come late ? Most importantly, do you avoid the calls of people who look out for you when you don’t show up ?

I believe we all need to re-evaluate our stand if there was a yes to any of the questions above. There is a need to go to the house of God willingly and joyfully.

Are we losing ourselves?

If you notice the trend of churches now, you’ll see that there is a need to attract the world to Christ. I believe it’s a great idea to pull people to Christ but we are losing ourselves in the process.

The essence of the house of God is to ensure the brethren is having the right relationship with God alongside a community of God lovers. We should also sharpen ourselves in line with Proverbs 27:17 .

In the bid to accommodate the world, the church is gradually sinking. It has become the place where pastors are being quoted no longer the Bible. I wrote about the role of pastors , you can read it here.

The devil is seriously waging war against the church and it is up to you and I to spot the flaws in the near perfect picture. You may not notice it but the church has now become grounds for seed sowing and motivational speeches.

We are the church and the church is us. Let us pull the world to Christ but not make Christ the world. May God grant us the grace to know where we are coming from, in order to know where we are going to.