Key # 1: Define church the way Jesus did

The key to how we do church is discovered in how we define church. We can define church many ways. We can define it by what we want to get by going to church. We can define it by how we have always done church. And we can define it by how it is done in our culture. But there is one a problem with defining church in any or all of these ways: it may not be how God wants us to be and do church.

The simplest way to define church is the way Jesus taught and modeled it. A question to ask in helping us arrive at a biblical definition of church is this: what are the minimum biblical essentials to be church? In the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:20, there are four ingredients that answer that question:

1. Two or three people: Jesus did not require a large group or a recognized leader to be church. There doesn’t have to be a building, and there doesn’t have to be a pastor. But there does have to be people, people who gather.
2. Gathered: To be gathered in His name is not just to attend a meeting. Church is not a meeting you attend or a building you meet in. Church is people who form a spiritual family. To gather is to be a community of friends who are dedicated to following Jesus. Just as Jesus gathered His disciples and invited them follow Him, the same thing is happening today, all over the world.
3. In His name: The focus of church is Jesus. The church is made up of those who seek to know Him and obey Him. The church exists first for God, not us. To be gathered in His name means we are committed to obeying His commands.
4. I am with you: Jesus promises to be in our midst when we obey him. Matthew 28:19-20 tells us that we are commanded to go, preach, baptize and make disciples, and that if we do those things he will be with us. Acts 5:32 says the Holy Spirit is given to them that obey him.

Church is God’s family living for God’s glory. Paul described a local church community as those who are being built together for a dwelling place of the Spirit and those who are joined together. He went on to say that this joining together of our lives causes growth of the body to edify itself in love. Paul said to the Roman Christians: we are individually members of one another. (Ephesians 3:14-15, 2:20, 4:16 Romans 12)

“Jesus did not die to have a disconnected collection of individuals who are saved and going to heaven. He came to fashion a people who belong to Himself, a bride, a body, a family.”

Jesus modeled church with His disciples. He came to die for the sins of the whole world - and to build His church into a loving family. One without the other does not work. Church is not an option for those who follow Jesus – it is who we are. We are the ecclesia, literally, the "called together ones." IF you follow Jesus you will belong to a band of brothers and sisters who are seeking to love each other and spread His love to others.

To do church the way Jesus did it is to respond to His call to follow Him and to reach out to others. It is not only to be joined to His family, but also to obey His commands. The commands he gave His disciples can be broken into the following categories:

• Believe and receive Him as savior
• Be baptized and live a new life
• Remember His death through the breaking of bread
• Love each other
• Pray daily
• Give and forgive generously
• Make disciples of all nations

In the New Testament, the church followed a pattern of small and large gatherings. They met from house to house and in large celebrations in Solomon’s temple. (Acts 2:40-47, 20:20). We need both small community and large worship meetings. Both have a role to play in our spiritual growth and our witness to the world.

(To be continued)