What is Church?

Written By: Guest Author Jen Schmalz

Can I just tell you what a LOADED question this is?! It sounds so simple, right? But once you start chasing this rabbit, let me tell you… you will end up down the street in the neighbors yard!

Pursuing this question came after some really deep hurt from my own home church. As I sat in grief, I wondered how on earth we were going to move on. I grew up in this church, I believed in this church, I fought for this church, I loved this church! Someday I may share the whole story, but for now I will share that I believe the leadership of this church became so deceived by the enemy that they followed his lead in taking down one of their own. It was the most disheartening thing to watch unfold. We were on our knees praying for truth to reign, praying against the work of the enemy, praying that the eyes of leadership would be opened. After several conversations and letters to leadership, pleading for them to change course, the damage was done. Following God’s lead for our family, we knew we couldn’t stay. We stood confidently in the truth of knowing who our ultimate spiritual authority was. We knew the truth. And we had to walk away from a church that we could no longer submit ourselves to. The spiritual authority of their leadership was compromised. It was absolutely gut wrenching and left our heads spinning and our hearts broken!

As we processed our grief, we began trying to figure out some of the “practical” implications of no longer having a home church:

• ·       What do we do on Sunday mornings?
• ·       Do we start looking for another church?
• ·       Virtual church?
• ·       Home church?
• ·       How do you “church shop”?
• ·       What do we look for in a spiritually healthy church?
• ·       Big church, small church?
• ·       How do we trust leadership in a church again?
• ·       What about our kids? How would they find Christian connection?

But the bigger question that really started burning in my heart, and perhaps laced with a bit of cynicism, was, “Well, what is Church anyway”?! It may seem like a ridiculous question. Especially for someone who was raised in the church, surrounded by other Christians for most of their life, and even worked on staff of a church for 21 years. But the question left me wanting more of an answer than what I truthfully knew how to answer at this point. So I did what I know as a believer is the only way to pursue real truth, I opened my Bible.

You can probably guess where I went. I went right to Acts and the start of the early church.  Acts 2 begins with the day of Pentecost, the filling of God’s people with the Holy Spirit following the death and resurrection of Jesus. Peter steps up in leadership to address a crowd that had gathered in Jerusalem and clearly shared the gospel in vs.38. Verse 41 then indicates that “their numbers were growing”… the very start of the church!

I read on, Acts 2:42-47 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

When you read through scripture, do you pray for understanding? I’ve read those verses before, I’ve heard countless teachings on this passage, but it was almost as if God reorganized these verses in my mind so that I could see His direct answer to me. Boy, do I feel loved when He does that! Here’s what He showed me:

Content – They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. There were some in spiritual authority here, teaching, chosen by God, and filled with the Holy Spirit. The group was devoted to prayer. And they praised God together. That’s Content! Right? It’s what they did together, how they were structured! I think this is WHAT church was (and is)!

Connection – Then, there’s the element of WHO they were. The church was (and is) the people! They fellowshipped together (they were believers who gathered together). They had things in common, sold their possessions, gave to anyone among them in need. That’s Connection! They knew one another so well that they knew each other’s needs. Do you know what the definition of “connect” is? It’s a verb, an action word, meaning, “to join, link or fasten together; unite or bind” (Dictionary.com). OK! Lord, I can see what you did here! You bound them together IN you!

Community – Could this be the HOW?! How they “did church”… they did it together. They broke bread (communion). They ate together. They met together every day! I’ve always loved the beauty of community that happens around the table and informal gatherings! Thank you Jesus for modeling this with your Disciples when you were on earth! You did life WITH your disciples, not apart from them.

Do you see it? Do you see what He was showing me? These 5 verses give us a pretty good picture of what and who the Church is, don’t they? I mean, it’s actually a really beautiful picture of what the church was created to be. A group of believers, filled with His Spirit, created for community with a unifying connection in Christ! That’s absolutely beautiful! This! This is the church!

There is certainly A LOT more scripture to consider if you’re pursuing this BIG question. I mean, a lot! But for the purpose of this blog post, I’m giving you the “simplified version” of what I found😊 Incidentally, there’s also A LOT I found in scripture about what the church is NOT. But we’re not chasing that rabbit today! But someday maybe!

Now that God gave me perspective on what and who He created the church to be, I wondered if I should still seek that answer on Where, When and Why? After all, He did seem to be answering me with those 5W’s!

There were some hints in the passage in Acts regarding the where, but I felt like God wanted me to pursue that one a bit more. Do you want to know where he brought me? Ephesians 2:19-22, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundations of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” God’s house is where His spirit is! And … as believers, His spirit dwells IN us! Matthew 18:20 says, “Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them”. The “where” is simply where His people are… gathered together! There are clear examples throughout the New Testament of different types of churches, big churches meeting in temples … and small churches meeting in homes (1 Corinthians 16:19). His church though… is much BIGGER than your local church. We have brothers and sisters in Christ in other churches in our own city, across the States, in other countries. God’s people TOGETHER make up His church!

I will be honest in saying I didn’t spend time seeking out the “when” and the “why”.  Some of that has already been answered, some of that detail I just didn’t feel I needed to pursue for me to feel like I had an answer to my initial question. But one thing I do know, His Church is important! It’s important for us to be in community with other believers and we’re important to Him! Ephesians 5:22-23 tells us the church is His bride! He loves His people! He created us for community!

Take note friends… what God loves, the enemy hates. 1 Peter 5:8-9 says, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith”. The enemy would like nothing more than to destroy what God has created! The first place he will go is your church leadership. I am a Pastor’s daughter, I know this to be true. I beg you to pray for your church, pray for your leaders and elders… and stay alert!

Church looks different for me now. I don’t go to the same building that I used to. It still hurts. I’m still working through a lot of grief. But I do have hope in trusting that God can take even this, something the enemy meant for evil, and use it for His good and His glory. Let us be a community of believers, filled with His Spirit, living in community with a unifying connection in Christ! Friends, let’s be HIS church!!

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” – Ephesians 1:18-21

Hey friends, Ellen here:) I want to express my gratitude to my sister and guest author, Jen for the time, study and prayer she has put into this blog post. We’ve had many conversations surrounding this question as a family. I asked Jen to write this post because she has had so much insight to offer us and because I knew the conversations we were having, would be valuable to you as well. May the wisdom Jen has learned in her pain and healing be transferred to you all. There are many churches that are doing wonderful things for the glory of God, we hope you are there. And cannot urge you enough to pray for the leaders of your church. Also, if you’ve experienced hurt from in the walls of your church, we know and feel your pain. May you know, that was not God’s intent for church and we pray for your healing as well. May this hope for His church that Jen has shared, go with you. “Let us be a community of believers, filled with His Spirit, living in community with a unifying connection in Christ! Friends, let’s be HIS church!!” There is SO much more in the Bible that could be included here, another rabbit trail so to say;) I think Jen did a wonderful job for the sake of a blog post. But, let us know if you’d like to hear more!