We are the Church

Grace and I have been trying to go on more dates together.  We are trying to make the most of our time.  We want to celebrate each other's company.  It's been a joy. If you haven’t been able to do this with your spouse, try it.  Marriage is worth investing in.  While doing these new date times, we went on a tour of the city of St. Augustine.  It is the oldest city in America.  That's pretty neat.  I never knew that. And in the oldest city in America, there is the oldest church in America, Cathedral Basilica.  

Cathedral Basilica is controversial as the oldest church though.  This is because the church has burnt down a few times and has been rebuilt.  It was initially built in 1565 but burned down in 1586.  It was later rebuilt but burnt down again in 1599.  It was built again in 1605 and once again burnt down in 1702. It was rebuilt for the final time and it is how it stands today in 1797 more than 90 years later.  This church has seen its fair share of problems for sure! But why is it considered the oldest church then if it has been destroyed and rebuilt so many times?

What makes a church? Is it the building or is it the people? I have to declare it is the people.  That's the reason why it is considered to be the oldest church.  The congregation continued to meet in spite of all the obstacles before it. The people continued to gather together as believers.  It seems like historians are taking a page from a biblical perspective!  Scriptures talk about the church in terms of people not places.  Wherever the people of God gather, the spirit resides and the church is present.  What constitutes a church is that the people of God gather to worship Yahweh, fellowship with one another, and spur each other to look like Jesus and await his advent.  I remember in college a slogan my friend said frequently, “We are the church!”

Let’s remember this when we speak about the church.  She is not a building but God’s people.  This I believe is absolutely important because it reframes our mind around what the church is called to do.  If the church is the people, then wherever we go we represent what it means to be a body of believers.  If we remember the church is the people, it reminds us of Christ's love and sacrifice for his people.  If church is the people, it reminds us of the unity and togetherness we should have amongst each other.  This means (and I might be stepping on some toes) that if we leave one “building” and go to another, that we still are connected to and a part of what we left because we share in the common Spirit of Christ.  And if that is true it means our love for those brothers and sisters should not change and reconciliation and encouragement should still be desired and sought for.

The church is the people.  And the people of the church are the bride of Christ!

For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 1 Corinthians 12:13

Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her Ephesians 5:25