The Purpose Of: The Church
Today I’m going to start a new series called “The Purpose Of.” Like many times and many others who write, I’m going to give my opinions and share some of what I believe when it comes to purpose. Today, I’d like to start with the purpose of the church. We live in a unique time in the life of the church. Many outside of her walls view her as judgmental and disconnected with the world as it is. I also believe that most inside of her walls look to lead a life of love and obedience, the few loud ones tend to distract others from what the church is trying to accomplish. My hope here is to serve as a reminder to all of us, whether we belong to a church or not, to what her purpose is. The best way I’ve ever heard it put when it comes the church’s purpose is: to glorify God, to edify fellow believers, and to evangelize to the world. Alan Hirsch says it this way,
“it’s not so much that the church has a mission, it’s that the mission of God has the church.”
When the church does these three things, she accomplishes the mission and the purpose to which she’s been called.
Let’s begin with the glorification of God.
Our primary purpose of the church is to bring God glory with our existence and since the church is people and not a building, it is our purpose to bring God glory with our lives. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says,
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (ESV)
Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Everything we do in life points towards something or someone. Every decision, every conversation, and every action reflects our beliefs and even bigger, whom we believe in. I make no accusations but there seems to be a growing number of people inside the walls of the church that are using God’s name to build monuments to themselves. Paul’s second letter to his friend and mentee Timothy, he talks about a time where people will go where “their ears are tickled,” meaning they’ll like what the guy up front is saying. Like I said before, I believe this to be the minority of church leaders and church goers. For every celebrity pastor there are many more unknown living a life of bringing God glory. That is our purpose and i would argue if you are a Christ follower, that is your primary purpose.
That brings us to the edification of fellow believers.
It amazes me that we live in a world and time in which people say,
“I love Jesus but I hate the church.”
I get what they’re saying and the chances are they’ve been wounded by a church or church member. But the truth is, in all of her imperfections and hangups, the church is the bride of Christ. As Christians, how can we hate our own bodies? The second purpose of the church is to build up the church. Hebrews 3:13 says,
“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (NIV)
There’s the obvious literal nature of the word today, well because it’s always today. It can never be yesterday or tomorrow but only today. But I think the bigger statement the writer of Hebrews is making is as long as you have breath in your lungs, encourage one another. This means encouragement in the form of cheering one another on but I also think it means encouragement in the form of accountability and responsibility. Let’s not miss these chances to build up the church, the bride of Christ.
That leads us to the evangelization of the world.
I think this is the one that most people outside the walls of the church have the biggest problem with. They want to point to our errors, rightfully so, and our mistakes in attempting to do this. Whether you’ve been a Christian for many years or want nothing to do with the church, mistakes are part of our gospel story. I’d agree with you that we find some hypocrites in the church but I’d argue that as a Christian I can’t be a hypocrite. In order to be a Christian I have to admit I’m wrong, I’m a sinner, and I need help, I need a savior. Beyond that, to evangelize is to share the powerful story of God’s love for humanity. Let’s not get hung up on trying to make people conform to our way of thinking or behaving, that’s not for us to decide. If you find yourself on the outside of the church and have been wounded because someone did this to you, I’m truly sorry. We, the church, have made some mistakes and we’re looking to own them. If you’re inside a church, we need to be sharing the love of a Savior. That His story and our story collided and how we’re forever changed. Our purpose is to live in such a way that shows the love of Christ to others. 2 Timothy 4:2 says,
“preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” (ESV)
Be ready! When you feel like it and when you don’t, be ready. With complete patience, be ready. Know your story, live your story, and be ready to share your story.
There has been times where the church has forgotten her purpose and there are times she gets it wrong, even with the best of intentions, but she’s still the church. When she does these three things she is acting as the bride of Christ and she is the hope of the world. She doesn’t have a mission, there is the mission and it has the church!
Stay the course and keep pressing on! You have what it takes!