What is "church"?

Around our house we have been asking the question for awhile, "What is 'church'?" Since my surgery has limited my activity, I have been devouring books and Scripture and had plenty of time to think...

One thing I believe church is NOT is what many of us in America have made it: a weekly ritual of showing up in our Sunday best with our Sunday faces and Sunday graces for an hour or two and then fading back into what we consider our "real" lives. This is about as far from the New Testament teaching of Christ on the church as one can get. Jesus spoke most harshly not to the sinners He encountered but to the religious leaders of His day who, instead of lighting the path for seekers to move toward relationship with the Living God, busied themselves with ritual and showy acts of piety.

When we "go" to church and refuse to "be" the church, we are falling into the same trap. We become so enthralled with our habits of religion that we obscure the path for those who are thirsting for the Living Water Jesus offers.

Sunday worship is not a bad thing. It is good and proper for the people of God to join together in adoration and recognition of Him. But perhaps we need to examine HOW we do Sunday worship--do we always have to have 3 songs and a sermon? Could we not have an hour of praise and worship? How about an hour of prayer that wasn't relegated to a Wednesday night but occupied the primary gathering on Sunday morning? Does the pastor always have to be the one who speaks? Could we not (as the Bible suggests) allow each person to bring forth a testimony, hymn or spiritual word as the Spirit directs?

What would our services look like if they weren't so predictable? Who would they minister to? What life would pour forth as each congregant was empowered to use the gifts they have been given? What if children were encouraged and allowed to remain in the service instead of being shuttered away so the adults could listen undisturbed?

I long for the exhuberance displayed in the Psalms labeled "songs of ascent". These were sung as the Jews walked up the hill to the temple on holy days. They were songs of joy--"I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord"--how many of us approach our Sunday worship services this way?

May the Lord Himself shake us from our slumber and quicken our hearts to beat like His!