Dear Xander...
Today's blog post is an open letter to the person who posts on my blog under the name 'Xander'. It's in a response to a comment left on my blog which spawned some other stuff. I was going to let it go, but random being random, that's just not going to happen. Read on and you'll understand what I mean.
Dear Xander,
If Jesus is your Lord and Savior that makes you a Christian and by that association, we're members of the body of believers the Bible calls the Church. Praise God for that!
I looked up the definition of the word 'church' on my computer's dictionary and like many other words in the English language, it has many meanings.
A 'church' can be a building. It can be an organized religion, for example, the Church of England or the Catholic Church. It's also a word to describe Christians as a collective group; the Universal Church.
The term church for a building is used to describe a building constructed where Christians worship God. When you meet at a warehouse, in someone's home, or anywhere, to worship Christ and God, it then becomes, by definition, a 'church'.
Church, to me though, also carries through in our actions as you so rightly pointed out. I would have to disagree with you that my use of the word 'church' to invite someone to attend "church" as an idol. The church building is where we meet, but when we're not there, it's just a building. By its style of architecture, it's easily recognizable as a 'church'; again by definition.
When we, as believers gather to worship our Lord and our Heavenly Father, become the Church. When non-believers join us, they're likely to hear scripture, and a message that fulfills the Great Commission. As an organized body of believers, we have a Pastor to minister to our spiritual needs and teachers to help us both learn and live the Word of God. My Pastor led me to Christ because he was there for me. I knew where to go when I was in trouble and found Salvation! Praise Jesus for that!
You see, Xander, while the building has special meaning to me as the place I knew I could turn to, it was the people and the message I found there; not the building itself. I don't worship the building. I worship with others, both believers and non-believers, IN the building. I'd be just as content if the 'church' was in a storefront. The Salt Rock Cafe is a place of worship in Ogden. I've never been there. They're in a building designed for retail. They have worship services on Sunday. They have entertainment and coffee, too.
Jesus said this, too, in Matthew 18:20; "For where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am with them."
Xander, by no means do I look at my church as an 'idol'. What I said was by it's architectural style, the purpose of the building is easily identifiable, which is the case with church buildings worldwide. There are beautiful, ornate churches that are centuries old. The buildings are beautiful. St. Peter's at the Vatican is one that is absolutely beautiful. There is history there, both good and bad, and it's truly a thing to behold. I was impressed and in awe that someone would build something like that to God and I wasn't born again when I went there.
Yet, I believe these buildings aren't any more significant to God than five people sitting on folding chairs in the middle of a day room or office, reading scripture and worshiping Him. I've seen both. In the military, you take what you can get, and sadly, not once did I ever participate in these types of services. But they were always held and always attended by others. I think both bring Glory to God!
Some people, including me, refer to a church building as the Lord's house because it was built to His glory and to serve the purpose to be a place of worship. We have a Baptistry, too, that is shared with other congregations who don't have one. The Lord's House is a term of endearment, one of reverence and respect for our Lord. I'm grateful for our church, grateful that it serves as a beacon for others in the community. We had a lot of visitors at our worship service on Sunday. Praise God for that!
Maybe, like me, they knew where to go because the building's purpose is easily identifiable and the sign out front told them what time to be there. Or, maybe they were invited by someone just as you may have been invited to attend and worship with your group of believers. I don't know the answer to that, but I'm grateful to God that we have the building to meet together and that our group is getting larger, not smaller. That, again, is a testament to God's glory!
What I don't seem to understand, again, is how you make the claim that I'm saying my church is some sort of idol. I was actually going to just let the comment go, but I heard both verses you used in your comment today on the radio. In two different ways, but BOTH of them. First you quoted Matthew 15:9 which says from the NIV "They worship me in vain, their teachings are but rules taught by men.". Second, and coincidentally(?) I heard this verse tonight on BBN Radio as well is from Acts 17:23 which reads "For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you." Your original point with the verses in your comment was that God doesn't care where we worship. To that I'd agree, but my point is and always was that worshipping as a group is a positive experience. You validated that by saying you meet with a small group wherever you can. I added to that how I've seen believers in the military gather to worship. It was all Church, always will be Church.
But being the Church, big C this time, as that group of believers, part of the body of Christ's Church, is when we take what we learn from God's word and apply it to our daily lives. For me that means something that it wouldn't mean to someone else because the things in my life aren't the things in yours. God works through and for each of us for our collective good, but in different ways. I blog to share the Good News. Some might hand out tracts. I have some to hand out but never go anywhere anymore. So I blog. You may help someone in need. I've gone down to our church (little c) to pass out hot dogs and share the Good News with others. Someone else might visit someone in the hospital or a nursing home and read some scripture to them, or just pray with them. That's being the Church. Loving our Neighbor. Spreading the Gospel.
Two more things about churches, and this isn't my story but one the Mrs. shared with me when she was in Ohio (and still speaking to me). She found a church to go to in Hilliard. She knew it was a church because of the style of the building. Outside, the church had a sign that read: If you're looking for a sign from God, this is it". She was. I had the privilege of attending worship services there, too. Twice. There couldn't have been more than twenty five of us (if that) on either Sunday. But that didn't stop us from singing praise songs and worshiping Jesus and our Heavenly Father with zeal!
The second thing is this: I learned two of the most important lessons about being a Christian at a church, but it wasn't in the sanctuary and it wasn't "my" church. I learned about listening to God at a Bible study and worship meeting on a Saturday night in a fellowship hall. I learned that BEING a Christian is a LOT different than SAYING you are and going to church on Sunday. I learned that hard lesson from a lady that attended that little church because she figured something out and had the courage to talk about it in the absolute MOST CHRISTIAN way possible!
I hope that clears things up for you, Xander. I can tell you as one Christian to another, that in no way do I think my church is an idol. I'd ask you to maybe, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, to maybe revisit the posts that led you to that conclusion and hopefully you'll see that my intent is genuine: I'd like people to attend a worship service, get something they need out of it, and go back for more. I want our Church, the body of believers in Jesus Christ to grow by leaps and bounds and I'd love to see everyone I know have what I have and hopefully you do because of being able to accept Christ's free gift of Salvation, living God's word, and doing His will.
All these things bring glory to God, and after all, isn't that really the ONLY thing that matters?
Dale
Dear Xander,
If Jesus is your Lord and Savior that makes you a Christian and by that association, we're members of the body of believers the Bible calls the Church. Praise God for that!
I looked up the definition of the word 'church' on my computer's dictionary and like many other words in the English language, it has many meanings.
A 'church' can be a building. It can be an organized religion, for example, the Church of England or the Catholic Church. It's also a word to describe Christians as a collective group; the Universal Church.
The term church for a building is used to describe a building constructed where Christians worship God. When you meet at a warehouse, in someone's home, or anywhere, to worship Christ and God, it then becomes, by definition, a 'church'.
Church, to me though, also carries through in our actions as you so rightly pointed out. I would have to disagree with you that my use of the word 'church' to invite someone to attend "church" as an idol. The church building is where we meet, but when we're not there, it's just a building. By its style of architecture, it's easily recognizable as a 'church'; again by definition.
When we, as believers gather to worship our Lord and our Heavenly Father, become the Church. When non-believers join us, they're likely to hear scripture, and a message that fulfills the Great Commission. As an organized body of believers, we have a Pastor to minister to our spiritual needs and teachers to help us both learn and live the Word of God. My Pastor led me to Christ because he was there for me. I knew where to go when I was in trouble and found Salvation! Praise Jesus for that!
You see, Xander, while the building has special meaning to me as the place I knew I could turn to, it was the people and the message I found there; not the building itself. I don't worship the building. I worship with others, both believers and non-believers, IN the building. I'd be just as content if the 'church' was in a storefront. The Salt Rock Cafe is a place of worship in Ogden. I've never been there. They're in a building designed for retail. They have worship services on Sunday. They have entertainment and coffee, too.
Jesus said this, too, in Matthew 18:20; "For where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am with them."
Xander, by no means do I look at my church as an 'idol'. What I said was by it's architectural style, the purpose of the building is easily identifiable, which is the case with church buildings worldwide. There are beautiful, ornate churches that are centuries old. The buildings are beautiful. St. Peter's at the Vatican is one that is absolutely beautiful. There is history there, both good and bad, and it's truly a thing to behold. I was impressed and in awe that someone would build something like that to God and I wasn't born again when I went there.
Yet, I believe these buildings aren't any more significant to God than five people sitting on folding chairs in the middle of a day room or office, reading scripture and worshiping Him. I've seen both. In the military, you take what you can get, and sadly, not once did I ever participate in these types of services. But they were always held and always attended by others. I think both bring Glory to God!
Some people, including me, refer to a church building as the Lord's house because it was built to His glory and to serve the purpose to be a place of worship. We have a Baptistry, too, that is shared with other congregations who don't have one. The Lord's House is a term of endearment, one of reverence and respect for our Lord. I'm grateful for our church, grateful that it serves as a beacon for others in the community. We had a lot of visitors at our worship service on Sunday. Praise God for that!
Maybe, like me, they knew where to go because the building's purpose is easily identifiable and the sign out front told them what time to be there. Or, maybe they were invited by someone just as you may have been invited to attend and worship with your group of believers. I don't know the answer to that, but I'm grateful to God that we have the building to meet together and that our group is getting larger, not smaller. That, again, is a testament to God's glory!
What I don't seem to understand, again, is how you make the claim that I'm saying my church is some sort of idol. I was actually going to just let the comment go, but I heard both verses you used in your comment today on the radio. In two different ways, but BOTH of them. First you quoted Matthew 15:9 which says from the NIV "They worship me in vain, their teachings are but rules taught by men.". Second, and coincidentally(?) I heard this verse tonight on BBN Radio as well is from Acts 17:23 which reads "For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you." Your original point with the verses in your comment was that God doesn't care where we worship. To that I'd agree, but my point is and always was that worshipping as a group is a positive experience. You validated that by saying you meet with a small group wherever you can. I added to that how I've seen believers in the military gather to worship. It was all Church, always will be Church.
But being the Church, big C this time, as that group of believers, part of the body of Christ's Church, is when we take what we learn from God's word and apply it to our daily lives. For me that means something that it wouldn't mean to someone else because the things in my life aren't the things in yours. God works through and for each of us for our collective good, but in different ways. I blog to share the Good News. Some might hand out tracts. I have some to hand out but never go anywhere anymore. So I blog. You may help someone in need. I've gone down to our church (little c) to pass out hot dogs and share the Good News with others. Someone else might visit someone in the hospital or a nursing home and read some scripture to them, or just pray with them. That's being the Church. Loving our Neighbor. Spreading the Gospel.
Two more things about churches, and this isn't my story but one the Mrs. shared with me when she was in Ohio (and still speaking to me). She found a church to go to in Hilliard. She knew it was a church because of the style of the building. Outside, the church had a sign that read: If you're looking for a sign from God, this is it". She was. I had the privilege of attending worship services there, too. Twice. There couldn't have been more than twenty five of us (if that) on either Sunday. But that didn't stop us from singing praise songs and worshiping Jesus and our Heavenly Father with zeal!
The second thing is this: I learned two of the most important lessons about being a Christian at a church, but it wasn't in the sanctuary and it wasn't "my" church. I learned about listening to God at a Bible study and worship meeting on a Saturday night in a fellowship hall. I learned that BEING a Christian is a LOT different than SAYING you are and going to church on Sunday. I learned that hard lesson from a lady that attended that little church because she figured something out and had the courage to talk about it in the absolute MOST CHRISTIAN way possible!
I hope that clears things up for you, Xander. I can tell you as one Christian to another, that in no way do I think my church is an idol. I'd ask you to maybe, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, to maybe revisit the posts that led you to that conclusion and hopefully you'll see that my intent is genuine: I'd like people to attend a worship service, get something they need out of it, and go back for more. I want our Church, the body of believers in Jesus Christ to grow by leaps and bounds and I'd love to see everyone I know have what I have and hopefully you do because of being able to accept Christ's free gift of Salvation, living God's word, and doing His will.
All these things bring glory to God, and after all, isn't that really the ONLY thing that matters?
Dale
I understand... You've schooled me regarding "church". But if you are a true "reborn" as you call it Christian.... Why are you celebrating the "Day of Death?"
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