You Are the Church!

You really don’t need anything at all to be the church. Wait, what? “Be” the church? Is that what I said?

Yes, I said what I said. You are the church. You don’t need to go to a church building, nor do you need to organize a home church (which is still a church).

Jesus said we would B-E the church.

The Body of Christ is also the church of Christ. That’s us- all of us; you, you, you, and you! Whether or not you call him “Lord, Lord”. Whether or not you acknowledge “Jesus is Lord”. Whether or not you even flip open a Bible- you are still in Christ which makes you THE church. It’s a collective term that identifies all of us.

So many of us, unfortunately, get caught up in this idea that we need to reinvent the church, or restructure it, or “unchurch” it. We like our revitalization programs, don’t we? We are innovative creatures that are so stuck on reinventing the wheel that we often forget we actually don’t even need the wheel.

“I will build my Church.”

**Hint, hint- that’s us. You and me, and him and her, and they and them. We were built to be the Church of God.

Upon this rock I will build my Church.

Upon this rock- this dirt- this earth; Jesus was set to build his church. Not by electing elders. Not by appointing pastors. Not by ensuring that those who wish to proselytize were properly educated through seminary school so they could speak over hundreds or thousands of others as seniority. But by laying down the foundation- L-O-V-E, and hoping for that love to grow and spread as quickly as the rumors do when your neighbor gets arrested.

Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.

When I am in the kitchen with my husband, or with my children; “there am I with them”.

When you are making love to your partner- no matter how BDSM related it may be; “there am I with them”.

While you are putting a Band-aid on your child’s scraped knee; “there am I with them.”

While you and a friend are tossing back a beer during happy hour; “there am I with them.”

Even if you and two friends are passing a joint around and philosophizing about existence; “there am I with them”.

See, Jesus came to show us that we didn’t need a wheel; only that we needed to recognize and harness the power from within. This power is that when we are connecting with another, we are bringing forth the presence of God.

Therein lies the greatest exemplification of church- connection. It is through connection that we continue to build the church. It is when we gather because of love that we have God with us. Every act of love is a demonstration of Jesus’s teachings.

Church is connection. Connection is free! You don’t need to buy a book, attend a speaking event, listen to a podcast, nor attend a service in order to connect and bring forth Christ.