Is comedy supposed in the Church?
Is dancing supposed in the Church?
Is laughing supposed in the Church?
Should we really build large Church buildings?
People ask these questions every time because they don’t really understand what the Church is. Over the years, we have erroneously come to refer to Church building as the Church. While it has come to stay, the true definition of Church cannot be compromised as that is what God recognizes. Jesus died for us and not for the building! We are the redeemed and not the building! Unfortunately, terrorists often bomb church buildings thinking they are destroying the Church. The Church cannot be destroyed for anything.
The Church is not a building! Understanding this solves a lot of misconceptions which have come to stay for a long time in our minds. The Church is us, the Christians! The Church is the body of Christ and not our Cathedrals and mansions!
God does not dwell in buildings made with human hands, if he does, it could mean He can also dwell in those objects made by mortals!
Build gigantic house or build a kiosk, it doesn’t mean anything to God, it only means a lot to us! The Church building is simply a place to accommodate us and shelter us as we engage in cooperate worship and learning from elders and teachers.
When Churches decides to contribute money and build world’s biggest auditorium in the world, it shouldn’t be questioned! Whether it is the ideal or not, it is nobody’s business because that is what they have agreed to do. Nobody questions you on your decision to build large houses. If you find a very comfortable house to live in, you shouldn’t question people who wants to meet in a large and comfortable place.
God’s altar is in His temple and we are God’s temple and not those special places in our church buildings. While lots of things in our Churches may be symbolic, it is not the main thing. We are the ark of the new covenant because we have God’s word in us just as the old ark have the laws of God in it! We are more relevant than the ark of the Old covenant and we are more relevant than the buildings.
Worship is not just what we do in our Church buildings, it flows from the heart and is heard from our mouth and seen through our relationship with people. Worship is done in the knowledge of God’s word which is the truth and with the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus told the Samaritan woman that the time has come when those who worship God will do so in Spirit and in truth! That is the only acceptable worship to God.
It doesn’t matter how the building is built, it doesn’t what has been done in the building, it doesn’t even matter if it has been used as Mosque or Hindu temple. The moment believers in Christ comes in the name of Jesus, it has become a Church building and it does not nullify the relevance of the gathering!
Often times we are lost in certain arguments because we don’t really understand what the Church is and the power of the Church. Christianity isn’t another religion, a place of dos and donts, a place of rules and regulations… No! Christianity is life, a life of Christ that we have received and it is not controlled by culture, reasoning and traditions of men! Rather, it controls and filters how we do what we do. The Church is not a place of worship, it is people who have received the life of Christ in them!
Jesus said that whenever we are gathered in His name, He is already in our midst! That is to say, it doesn’t matter where our gathering took place, it doesn’t matter what kind of building we met, it doesn’t matter if it had stage or not, it doesn’t matter if we had special liturgy or not… As long as that gathering is done in His name, Church is there! The Church is us!
The Church building is not a sacred place, it is not like the native doctors Shrine or the altars of pagan non-existing gods. The Church building is open for the worst and the best, the poor and the rich, the weak and the strong, the ordered and the disordered! There is nothing sacred about the Church building and we must understand it! It is us, the believers who are sacred because God’s altar and temple is us! We are the body of Christ and not bricks and stones. We are a holy nation, a chosen people and we are made Kings and Priests and our throne is not on earth but in heaven. The bible says we reign with Christ in the heavenly places. These things makes me want to shout and fly right where I am.
Sometimes, people question why Christians should organise social events like dance concerts, comedy nights, dinner events and all that! I am always amazed at the level of ignorance certain people display when they criticize Christians for doing such! Well, if it is sin to do those things in the Church building, then it is sin to do it elsewhere and it is sin to even participate or watch it.
Many believers go to comedy events an pay money to be admitted to these things, but when the Church decides to organise it, same believers begin to come up with certain teachings. Some argue that it is very bad for a comedian to stand on the same sacred altar with a Pastor and I wonder what they understand as altar! I also wonder what they think the Church is.
While I do not endorse dirty jokes, I think Christianity isn’t a kind of gathering that has rules on how it should be done. Christianity is a life and when we receive that life, everything we do is filtered through that life we have received. For instance, when believers plan events, they do not make plans like unbelievers! They are hoping to achieve different results.
Secular organisations organise fund raising events for charity, even Muslims do that but it doesn’t mean when believers do it, they are hoping to achieve the same result Muslims wanted to achieve. Christianity doesn’t dictate how you laugh, how you eat and how you walk… It doesn’t dictate that! Our activities as believers in Christ are simply filtered by the life we have received.
The Church can organise get together parties, birthday parties and all that! They are not limited to just clapping hands, crying during songs and staying mean all the day! We are not Muslims who don’t sing or laugh in the Mosque! We are believers in Christ who have received a life of freedom in Christ Jesus!
When we understand the true meaning of the Church, we will be more interested in people than in buildings. We will be much more interested in life oriented programs and not fund raising events! All these things can be done with the right mindset of what the Church is. The Church is marching on and the gates of hell shall not prevail.
We are living stones and we are being built up as a spiritual house! God Himself is building His church and not man. Build auditoriums and call all the men of God in this world to dedicate it, it doesn’t make it become a Church. We can name it Church but it doesn’t really become Church, it remains a building for the Church. When we refer a place as Church, we are simply referring to the people there and not the building.
God bless you.
Bible References:
“You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:5
“What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.” 1 Corinthians 14:26
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” 1 Peter 2:9
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” Ephesians 4:11-12
“Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.” 1 Timothy 4:13
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