CHURCH: Better Than Ever! Week One

In the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, inventor Caractacus Potts transforms a Grand Prix winning car from trash to treasure, from forgotten to fantabulous. I believe that many have seen the church as they have seen Chitty - a once wonderful thing that is broken and need of repair. But it simply is not true! The church is the body of Christ and is just as wonderful and amazing today as she was on the day of Pentecost some two thousand years ago! The church, if conducted biblically, is better than ever!

Bill Hybels, pastor and founder of Willow Creek Church, is passionate about the local church. He states:

"Nothing on earth has greater potential to change lives and carry out His kingdom work in your community, than your local church. There's nothing like the local church when it's working right. Its beauty is indescribable. Its power is breathtaking. Its potential is unlimited. No other organization on earth is like the church. Nothing even comes close."

Jesus foretold the power and impact of the church in John 14:12. Speaking of his believers, the members of his future church, he told us:

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these."

Wow! Imagine all that Jesus did while he was here on earth. No imagine that we, his body, his church, will be able to do all those things and more. The church can be an amazing element of influence and change in this world. In order to be that impactful entity it is designed to be, I believe we must fulfill three main roles.

First, we must fulfill the Great Commandment. In Matthew 22 we read of an exchange between Jesus and a group of the teachers of the Law.

“Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” they asked. 

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

As a church we need to focus on loving God - our spiritual service, worship, and study. Equally though, we must work on loving our fellow man - both the fellow believer and the non-believer around us. We cannot love God if we do not love our fellow humans. This love takes many forms. It can be a helping hand, a listening ear, and sometimes an instructive word. Loving our neighbor was best explained in the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). There Jesus lays out that our neighbor is anyone and everyone.

Second, we must fulfill the Great Commission. In Matthew 28, just before he leaves his disciples here on earth, Jesus gives them (and us) this goal:

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The church is often focused on converting non-believers into believers - which is good, but not fulfillment of this passage. Here Jesus lays out the practice of conversion followed by discipleship. We must teach, train, and develop fellow believers. While on earth, Jesus set the example by taking time to tell others about God's love, trained them for a time when he would not be with them, and developed them to lead the church after his departure. We must act as a church in the same way - producing mature Christians that are trained and ready for the challenges of Christian living. 

Third, we must help build the Great Community. The body of Christ is the church, comprised of many parts (1 Corinthians 12:12-20). Each part has its place and its role to play. In order for the body - the church - to function properly, the parts must do what they are intended to do. 

• We need to be the eyes of the body – not looking for the wrong in people but the good in them.
• We need to be the ears of the body – hearing the hurt and pain of people, not just hearing them be hurtful.
• We need to be the hands of the body – not striking out at people, but reaching out to people.
• We need to be the feet of the body – not trampling over people, but propelling them forward.
• We need to be the heart of the body – not having a hard heart, but having a NEW heart (of Christ) for people.

When we move from adversary to advocate, we can serve our world more effectively as the Church. 

The church is better than ever when the church is completing its mission, fulfilling its purpose, and bringing glory to God. Let us pray as Paul did in Ephesians 3:20-21 for the power from God to bring glory to him:

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."