At church, newcomers are common, we get them every week. Once in a while, one of them will ask if he or she could join, or we would usually invite them to join us for lunch. I had one of the most heated (but still friendly) lunch discussions on Sunday, in between the end of service and the church AGM. We were talking and discussing about the role of church and how the church can/should/could show love.
The newcomer who came along was from the UK and attended St Helen's Bishopgate. He has been in London for close to 30 years, and I would think he has been with the church for quite a fair bit of time. He claimed that he didn't like his church in the UK, and didn't fancy St Ebb's either. I was pretty surprised because I know those two as good bible teaching churches in the UK. He preferred megachurches like NCC because he thought it was more 'lively' and like a 'church', whereas churches (The Crossing Church included) that focus on preaching the Word are boring and dull. To him, the gospel message and preaching the bible message clearly are good to have, but should not be the key focus of the church. Questions about "whether the pastor would visit an ill church member?", "would fellow church members attend to the needs of another church member even though it brings inconvenience?", or "does the church think that community work and serving the community by providing for its needs?" were thrown out at the lunch table. At this point, I was getting a bit uncomfortable. Does he really understand what a church's purpose is? What really is more important?
I sat down after getting home later at night to consider what was being poured out over the lunch conversation. That newcomer reflects very well who I was just three years ago. I have been a Christian for seven years, but for the most part of it, I didn't understand the meaning of a church and what its purpose should be. I insisted that a church must have a building, liturgies that people recite, good music, friendly people, care for my needs, do community work, and if the gospel is preached it will be good but it doesn't really matter. Looking back, I was so lost, very lost and misguided by my own poor understanding.
A church is a community of God's people who believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel of Christ makes a church possible. It is only through Christ that the church can grow and love. The gospel message is at the very core of a church, and what the church members do is a response to the grace and love they received, spurring each other on in the Word. Thus, the motivation of what the church does is not to show love, but as a response to the fact that we have died with Christ and are raised with him in his resurrection. The best way for a church to show love is to preach Christ crucified for our sins, and those who believe are made alive in him in his resurrection.There is no greater love than that of God sending his own son to save sinners.
It can be good for a church to be lively, welcoming, caring and loving (in the worldly sense). But without the gospel and Jesus, it is nothing more than a social gathering of (good) people, or a mere charity.
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