Wow! That is the best way I can describe all that God taught me during this first Super Summer Global mission trip. Talk about a paradigm shift! I've always known that the building is not the church but that we are the church; however, that truth really came alive while we served in Germany.
Germany has a rich Christian history but many of the church buildings have been turned into museums or are simply left empty. The primary work of the church in Germany today is found in new church starts, which are meeting in homes or shops. It was much like what I would imagine the New Testament church was like. They weren't worried about building buildings or making sure there were enough parking spaces. They were taking the church to the where the people worked and lived. What a novel idea!
The "come and see" mentality of many of our churches today is so pervasive, yet we have been commanded to go and tell. We have a concept of church as being an institution or organization with buildings, by-laws, steeples, and stained glass, but is that really what makes a church a church?
Can there be a message without a pulpit? Can there be evangelism without a tract? Can there be missions without a Lottie Moon Offering? Can there be a Bible study without Sunday school? Can there be a baptism without a baptistery? Can there be salvation without a public invitation? Can there be a church without a steeple?
YES! Where God's people meet, fellowship, learn, worship and serve is where the church exists. The church can meet in a parking lot around a flag pole in front of a high school. The church can serve in an orphanage or nursing home. The church can be discipled in a house or an ice cream shop. The church should not be bound by walls, pulpits, by-laws, constitutions, business meetings, steeples and stained glass windows. The church should be unleashed to go to where the people are living. The church should be unleashed to reach those who would never darken the door of a religious institution. We are the body and it is time that we go where God is at work instead of merely asking him to bless our works. It is time that the true church become UNLEASHED!
