ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
February 10, 2022
We have confused the church with a building or an institutional structure. In the book, “If the Church Were Christian,” Philip Gulley asks some tough questions of those who claim to be followers of Jesus. Phil says, “Looking after a building and maintaining the necessary financial and committee structures is important, but only to the extent they contribute to the church’s primary mission of seeking transformation and meeting human need” (p. 133). In the book of Acts, the church is a body that welcomes and embraces (Acts 15:4) which is very different then the cold and impersonal institution or building that we are often describing when we speak of the church. Don’t get me wrong – a building can feel very warm and welcoming, but it probably has less to do with the architecture and more to do with the people who open the door and say, “Welcome!”
Holy God, may your church be defined by its mission, not by its address – by its capacity to love and welcome, not by its legal description. Amen.
