You’ve heard me say the following before, but let me remind you;
“A church is not an organization, it’s an organism.â€
That means the church is alive. And that’s why all the descriptions of it are ‘living.’ The church is described as a body and the bride of Christ, among other things. When the Bible talks about the church it is not referring to the building down on 5th and Main. It’s talking about anywhere and everywhere that Christ followers gather to worship God.
Thinking of the church this way raises a lot of implications.
For example…
Living things grow old and frail. Does the church?
Living things need sustenance. Does the church?
Living things keep growing. Does the church?
Living things die. Does the church?
and if it does, does it ever linger too long? Should the church be kept on life support or are there times to pull the plug?
Seriously, I don’t mean to offend, but when it comes to churches, there are far more of them in a vegetative state than there are humans. And when it comes to keeping them alive, certain groups of Christians far outstrip leading scientists and medical professionals for the amount of time they can keep a church artificially going.
And that’s just it. Churches should never be places of artificial life. Jesus said he came to bring life and life to the fullest (John 10:10) A church building that’s stood nearly empty for decades is the polar opposite of a thriving, alive and vibrant church filled with the life changing power of the Holy Spirit.
But there are thousands of them all over the country.
There are a bunch of them in and around Charlotte. Some are huge, but only a handful of people remain.
What are they waiting for?
What are they thinking is going to happen?
Later (today) I’ll tell you what (sadly) almost always happens.