jordanabina
For the disciples, the world around them was being restructured and reframed daily with every word that flowed from the mouth of Jesus. What a wonder-filled existence it must have been to walk and talk with Jesus. If you can, imagine yourself as one of the disciples, being with Jesus daily. You’ve now left your life behind you, you’re traveling to different towns and villages, and you’re seeing things happen that you still aren’t quite sure you believe. You listen attentively to Jesus, trying to understand all the deep and seemingly ancient words that come from His teachings and parables. Imagine yourself trying to fall asleep after a day where you handed out hundreds and hundreds of bread and fish to thousands of people not knowing how your basket stayed full. Imagine wringing out your drenched clothes after Jesus lowers His humble hands that have just wrangled and tamed a vengeful storm. Imagine drying your hair in front of Jesus after using it to wash His very feet with a mixture of your tears and all you had to give. These were real moments for real people, and they were happening all the time.
Perhaps more than others, one moment, in particular, has traveled far on the winds of history. Words exchanged between Jesus and one of His disciples have become a banner to wave over the gathered people of Jesus. This moment, this one drop in the pond of time, has rippled out and stood as a pillar in the evangelical histories and has been interpreted in more ways than one. The reason being is that Jesus says a word that matters to us all, and that word is church.
After a moment of testing from the religious leaders of the day, Jesus and His disciples get on a boat and head to the other side of a lake. During the trip, Jesus again instructs His followers to listen and watch carefully to everything He says and to be on guard against false teachings and demands for signs. At some point, they then travel to the region of Caesarea Philippi and the moment arrives. A discussion, that has lingered to this day, takes place between Jesus and Peter. The words traded warrant reflection and reinstatement.
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is? 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will bebound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Matthew 16:13-20
For a minute, let’s use that amazing tool we abandoned far too soon, our imagination. find a quiet place on the carpet in your mind, turn off all distractions, and listen closely to the story. Imagine yourself as Peter for a moment. You are there listening to Jesus say this to you. Maybe you’re a little embarrassed, maybe you’re not. Maybe you notice everyone looking at the two of you, maybe you don’t. Answer this question for yourself, how you would have received this statement:
“18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
Matthew 16:18
I can tell you how I would have received these words…personally. Why in the world would Peter, or any of us ever in a million years be thinking about the church as we know it today? We would never think that. I believe we would have received it much like I believe Peter received it, personally. For Peter, Jesus was going to do something with his life, something special, something that would change his life forever, and not even the devil could stop it. (Romans 8:39) Jesus told Peter that He was essentially giving Peter the keys to the Kingdom and that authority and power would be a part of his everyday life. Imagine yourself at that moment, with Jesus. Did Jesus look at Peter straight in the eyes? Did He pause as they walked, grab Peter by the shoulders and make this declaration straight into his face? What a moment to be alive for Peter. The Church that Jesus was building could never be stopped and somehow Peter was a part of it.
For many years there have been men and women saying a phrase, sometimes halfheartedly and other times with full conviction. The words have been true any time they’ve been given space to be heard, but now I feel that they have taken on an entirely new level of truth. Over and over again I’ve heard the phrase the church is not a building and have even said it myself. But what did we all mean by that and what was our motivation for saying it? For me, the motivation was most likely trying to get the listener to understand that although we call our place of gathering a church, the Church, is something much larger and even more personal than a venue ever could be. I believe that the intentions for saying those words were good and righteous and wonderful and true. But now I wonder, what type of conviction did I have behind those words? What was I willing to do to help people see the truth in those words? And most importantly, what has been my personal response to those words?
It really doesn’t matter what we feel about what happened regarding churches in the last couple of years, all that really matters is whether or not we will take time to reflect on what happened. Reflection is key. Reflection is vital to being able to process the details about the past and allow the Spirit of God to help us decipher what may be hidden to us because of our emotions, fears, and overall feelings about it all. The Spirit of God is a counselor, He helps make things clear.
There’s something we have to accept, for many people in our churches, the church is just a building. For many people, Christianity lived in a building. Then, in circumstances that we could have never imagined taking place, we found the doors to our churches closed. That’s when the test began. What would happen to people when their place of gathering closed their doors? What would happen to the worship of God’s people now that the corporate worship was absent? What would happen to God’s people now that in a wild turn of events, they found themselves without the routine of gathering for a church service each week? Many aspects of our walk with Christ were brought to light, and for many people, including myself, the progress report was poor.
As I’ve spoken to pastors around the country, the report seems to be the same. From coast to coast, churches have seen about 50% of their people dissapear. Now, before you write this off in your mind, these are amazing churches with amazing pastors and teams. These were vibrant places of fellowship, Bible teaching, and worship through music and prayer. These were churches killing it on social media and had people coming by the hundreds. These weren’t lazy people, and these were not already failing churches, these were healthy places of worship. And yet, in the midst of all that, people have trickled away from faith communities.
What are we to make of that? How is it possible that people who seemed to be healthy and thriving be completely derailed during the months of closures due to COVID-19? Well for starters, this was an incredibly difficult season in general. Families found themselves together at home all the time. Kids weren’t in school, parents worked from home, and there wasn’t any real interaction with others. This has been an incredibly isolating time. Marriages have struggled, domestic violence has increased, suicides have run rampant in youth, and people are struggling. But why, even in those circumstances would people walk away from church?
There are many opinions to that question, and I believe we will be unpacking them for years to come, but I want to suggest something to begin the process of reflection and restoration. I would like to submit this question: Have we in the midst of all our work and Sunday gatherings, forgotten what the Church really is? Do we truly believe that nothing could ever stop her from thriving?
You see, the saying the church is not a building is not a cliché, it turns out it really is true. More than that, it turns out that it’s not just true but it’s incredibly important in the grand scheme of things. We have to take responsibility as Christians to acknowledge that we have lost touch with the reality that the Church was never meant to be a bunch of buildings in our cities, it was supposed to be something more. Are our churches bad? No way. Should we stop meeting? Absolutely not. But we must allow the Spirit of God to reteach us what His Church is and how it is to work in the world. Surely, what we’ve seen cannot be a reflection of the church Jesus spoke to Peter about. Because if it is, then how did the gates of hell prevail against her so easily?
As we begin to rise from the aftermath, will we take time to look at our beliefs, our local church we attend or lead, and our soul and ask Jesus to tell us where we got off track? Will we look to the word? (2 Timothy 3:16-17) I know we will because I believe Jesus is using this time to clear the temple again. Remembering that Jesus knew this was coming should bring some level of comfort, but it should also bring a pang of hunger to find out what God is doing in the midst of all of it. Lord, what is it you want us to see through all of this?
I believe the journey back should start with truly understanding what the Church is and what it isn’t. In truth, the Church of Jesus Christ is not a building, it’s His people. Living and breathing people who love Jesus. This is at the core of all of what Jesus has done. There was a day when people gathered to a place to experience the presence of God, but those days are gone. The veil has been torn. Now, in an incredible turn of events, the Spirit of God dwells in the hearts of every believer, taking the worship of God to wherever they are (Romans 8:11). This reality makes gathering together as the Bible instructs even more powerful because we are carriers of His presence. But our worship, our devotion, our prayer life, our motivation to lives of holiness cannot be based upon what we receive from a Sunday gathering or it will not survive.
2020 & 2021 showed us something very important about many in our believing communities and it was this, that Sunday church gatherings are at the very center of our spiritual lives. The routine of coming to church every Sunday was at the core of our cultural beliefs and shaped much of our actions outside of our places of worship. The local church was where we took our problems, where we got our motivation to live for Jesus, and most likely was the place where we read the Bible. Sunday church was a place to be refreshed, for our kids to enjoy themselves and learn about Jesus, and overall felt like a good part of our lives. And for the most part, that’s really wonderful. I believe the local church should be all of those things in most ways. But the problem with that is when the local church and the Sunday gathering dwells at the center of our spiritual lives, it won’t take much for that system to break.
We saw this before the pandemic didn’t we? We would miss a couple of weeks at church for whatever reason and there was that thought of whether or not we should go back. I know I’ve spoken to many people over the years who had missed a week, that turned into a month, that turned into forever, simply because they found it hard to go back. When Sunday church is at the center of our spiritual lives, we run a serious risk, and the pandemic proved this. The reason people have left the church is not because of the COVID restrictions, it’s because we have put Sunday church in the very center of our spiritual lives and everything flows from that nucleus, but in order to walk this life with Jesus, everything must flow from Him.
What Peter said to Jesus was personal, and I see that now better than ever. I think Jesus looked Peter in the eyes, gave Him a name, and said He would build His church on that name. I believe Jesus has done that with all of us. He has saved us, redeemed us, restored us, and filled us with the power of the Holy Spirit for the mission set before us. It’s upon this work that Jesus is building His church, on us. That’s the Church that can never be corrupted, could never be conquered, and the Church that the gates of Hell cannot prevail against. We must enable our local churches to begin to see this again and come back to her first love.
When Jesus is at the center of our lives, and not a local church gathering, everything else in our lives begins to be fueled by the ultimate source, Jesus Christ. We must begin to see this again because the moment of reflection and restructuring is passing us by with the hunger for normality. Leave it behind, for yourself, and for the local church, you attend or work for. Jesus is the rocket fuel to everything in your life. If we cultivate the Church, the person that Jesus gave His life for, the work will blast forth into every area of our lives.
Look what happens on the chart above if the local church had to close its doors for some reason. Our community of believing friends is our first line of defense (more on this in another chapter). Because we have Jesus at the center, we’ve stepped past casual shallow relationships and we’ve begun to link our lives with people on the journey with Christ. We pray together regularly, confess sin to one another (more on that in another chapter), and genuinely love people with a bond sealed by the Spirit of God (Acts 20:13-37). Many people found out just how alone they really were this last season, others saw just how special their connection to other believers really is. We cannot let this continue in our lives and in the body of Christ.
Secondly, even if for some reason we can’t get with our community, we have our family. Our spouse and kids, our parents and aunts and uncles. We have times to pray and worship together in our homes. The future is in the home! Men and women, filling their houses with prayer, devotion, fasting, worship, and a love for Jesus. If we have people in our homes who don’t love Jesus, then it’s time to get to work in Jesus’ name. Let’s build the family church before anything else. For singles, for those who find themselves alone, the Spirit of God will fill the void that is felt in these seasons. Dedicate yourself and every room in your living space to the Lord. Lay the foundation for the spiritual health of your future family in Jesus’ name.
Now I know someone is reading this and I just lost you. As soon as it became about you leading your home in worship, prayer, devotion, and Bible reading, something clicked off in your mind. Allow the Lord some room to speak to that, right now. Close this book, and pray. In the last five years, the Holy Spirit has challenged me greatly in this area, to be an active participant in the spiritual life of my family. it hasn’t been easy and it took a lot of courage in the beginning but it has truly blessed my life. As a Christian, wouldn’t our natural response be to see those we love to come to Jesus? Part of the feeling that rises up and makes us uncomfortable might be because for years we’ve given that responsibility to others when it was ours all along. The feather of the phoenix that has put our spiritual health into what happens for an hour on a Sunday simply cannot grow back. God is doing something new in you, pray for faith to believe it.
I love this! The massive Church of Jesus Christ starts small, it starts in the heart of believers! Let’s now move from the center of the chart outward. I believe when we have a personal church, a personal devotion to Jesus, your family will change. I believe that when homes and families begin to live for Jesus, it will be felt in the churches we attend. I believe when Christians partner together in life and look to the needs of their immediate community then the local church will be transformed. Because the local church is so important, but it is not meant to be the place where the spiritual people motivate the less spiritual or even the sole place where people should meet Jesus. The local church is a place where people who’ve been meeting with Jesus all week, get to rally together and worship Him together and be an encouragement to those who’ve stumbled in looking for hope from God. It’s the best. And oh, when the local church begins to have people walk through her doors with a personal devotion to Jesus, there’s no limit on what might happen. I believe, when we begin to understand this, a pandemic won’t even make a dent.
The Church of Jesus Christ is first and foremost His people. It’s you and me, it’s Peter. This is what Jesus does, He changes people and gives them a new name and destiny. The Church of Jesus Christ will grow and thrive when it begins in the most important part of who she is, you and I. May we rise again in the name of Jesus.
So how is His Church doing, meaning, you?
As we adjust to this new world, as we feel new life coming, we must leave this type of spirituality behind. As we rise back into a new normal, this is a feather we can’t allow to grow back. Instead, we ask You, Jesus, to refresh us by Your Spirit and to renew our strength. Father, return us to our first love and remind us that we are the Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against us.
And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 2:17
