Church: What lasts and what doesn't

Have you ever noticed that First Baptist Church down the road can change, I mean completely change and still remain the same.

There can be a new pastor...

There can be all new Sunday School teachers...

There can be new members...   In fact, all of the 'old members' can be gone.   First Baptist Church can have all new members.

Yet, with any or all of these changes, First Baptist Church is STILL First Baptist Church.  

So?  

If we don't understand the difference between what is temporary and what is eternal, we many think that building one IS building the other.  We may think that doing one thing- 'going to church' for instance is the same as 'being the church'.   

A closer look...

In the case of "First Baptist Church" we have what is called a misnomer.  A misnomer is a "a wrong or inaccurate name or designation".   How do we know that it is a minsomer?   We know it is a misnomer because we know that the 'church', the body of Christ, is eternal, First Baptist "CHURCH" is not.  You won't see First Baptist Church on the corner of Gold and Appian Way in heaven.  

What do we need to know?

We need to learn the difference between wine (US, you and I who are part of the body of Christ) and wineskins (the structures we build to help us get things done).     The body of Christ is the people.  What the people do & how they do it are the wineskins or ministries. 

We make commitments.   Some of these commitments are to ministries, to give and/or receive, or both.   A ministry has a birth, a life and a death.  A ministry is not 'eternal', it does not 'go to heaven.'  

Too often making a commitment to ministries is as far as people go.  So sad.  If that is as far as we go, we have missed the essence of being the 'wine'.  God wants us to make commitments to one another, this is koinonia, or fellowship.  Whereas ministries are temporary, relationships are eternal.  They start here and extend to our lives in heaven.  

What does it mean to us?

There are MANY wineskins/ministries.  First Baptist Church is an example.  These are vital and hopefully all the believers reading this discussion have a role to play in many ministries, both giving and receiving!    Unfortunately Christianity as it is lived out in the United States today is primarily defined in terms of the 'wineskins' we are involved in and even the roles we fulfill in specific wineskins or ministries.  People think of themselves, frame their identity, as Baptist or Charismatic; or their identity might be 'pastor' or 'worship leader'.  These things, which for many become their primary identity, are all temporal, temporary things that will pass away.

Our take away is this...

It just seems to be part of our human nature to major on the minors.   Scripture says that those things that are seen are temporary; those things that are unseen are eternal.   The most important but unseen thing is committed relationships, love shared between individual believers with Christ in the center.  These types of relationships sometimes 'just happen' - but, they should be 'built' just a deliberately as we would build a 'ministry', a 'local church' or a Sunday School Class.

What eternal relationship have you left on the shelf?  Maybe it is time to take it off the shelf, blow off the dust and give it the attention it deserves.   It is vital, after all, that relationship is eternal.

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  • Isn't this just semantics? Real religion is in the doing - not only worshipping but remember how Jesus defined members of His Kingdom... "When I was sick, you visited Me, when I was hungry you gave Me to eat, when I was thirsty you gave Me to drink." and they will say "Lord, when did we ever see You sick or hungry or thirsty?" And I will say, "What you did for the least, you did for Me!" How many folks do you know who regularly visit the sick or lonely of the parish? The nursing homes etc. In our parish there are about 9 of us who regularly go out to the nursing homes etc. My hubby and I are 2 of them. We have been Care Ministers since 2003. I feel the crux of ministry lies here and not the fun stuff i.e. music in church etc (which we also do every Sunday). But the ministry we do which is not fun (also called "heroic ministry"), that's directly what Jesus was referring to. And it's that ministry which I feel we do directly FOR Jesus because it isn't fun at all like music ministry is! Remember He also said "Not everyone who says 'Lord Lord' but those who do the Will of My Father." Many feel these are "hard words to hear". Real Christianity isn't for the faint hearted. :)



    Juanita said:

    One additional thought...

    IMO, it is only when we REALLY understand the difference between ORGANIC and ORGANIZED can we do it right.  And, doing it right is doing BOTH - organizing and organically connecting.

  • Sue, just 'warning' you - LOL - one of these days you are going to SEE the Kingdom.  And then you are going to see the CITIZENS of the Kingdom (all believers).  And, then you are going to see the 'containers'/wineskins that we create to house the people, I'll let you guess what they are...   One of these days...   :-)



    SueW said:

    Nothing wrong with "organized religion" as long as Jesus did the organizing.

    "On this Rock I will build My Church and the jaws of death shall not prevail against it!" (Jesus)

    The Catholic church is that church, organized by Jesus 2000 years ago.

    Blessed Epiphany!

    Sue

  • Nothing wrong with "organized religion" as long as Jesus did the organizing.

    "On this Rock I will build My Church and the jaws of death shall not prevail against it!" (Jesus)

    The Catholic church is that church, organized by Jesus 2000 years ago.

    Blessed Epiphany!

    Sue

  • One additional thought...

    IMO, it is only when we REALLY understand the difference between ORGANIC and ORGANIZED can we do it right.  And, doing it right is doing BOTH - organizing and organically connecting.

  • Amen!

    Bill Collier said:

    It's good to have ministries and vocations and what not, but these don't define us and they can't replace relationships rooted in what I like to call "A Christ-centered, Kingdom-focused" life, TOGETHER!
  • It's good to have ministries and vocations and what not, but these don't define us and they can't replace relationships rooted in what I like to call "A Christ-centered, Kingdom-focused" life, TOGETHER!
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