Church

During a recent discussion, a close friend of mine cited a compelling observation from the German Lutheran martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

…there is a word that to Protestants has the sound of something infinitely commonplace, more or less indifferent and superfluous, that does not make their heart beat faster; something with which a sense of boredom is so often associated. . . . And yet our fate is sealed, if we are unable again to attach a new, or perhaps a very old, meaning to it. Woe to us if that word does not become important to us soon again...

Yes, the word to which I am referring is Church.

Reading through Acts or Paul’s letters, we get an incredible glimpse of what Christ had just begun on earth—believers living and fellowshipping together in community, sharing their lives and excitedly discussing what it meant to have actually become citizens of another realm. The first fruits of the Spirit, seeking to fulfill Christ’s prayer that they be united as one just as Jesus and His father were one (Jn 17:11). And all this amidst such a hostile world that Christ would need to be with His Church and to lead it at all times, a continual interaction between Christ and those that love Him. Quite a dynamic setting for the start of the Church. How do we relate to this reality? We can take heart that we continue to be built together into a dwelling of God (Eph 2:21), but, considering Bonhoeffer’s somber observation of a commonplace Church, how do we see Christ’s headship today?

Bonhoeffer’s quote feels almost normal, and perhaps it’s less clear today that Christ is with his Church at all times (rather than once a week). We spend a lot of our time living by priorities that we consider unrelated to the Church, and consequently confine our fellowship with other believers to perhaps a couple time commitments a week. We erect life goals and pursue personal ‘callings’ or our individual ‘purpose’, but how often do we think of these pursuits in relation to the community of believers, the Body of Christ? Often I have thought of my own priorities simply as personal ambitions; perhaps they embodied what I thought to be my skills, or even as a specific plan God has ordained for my life. I have rarely thought about being built as one with other believers. Perhaps because the congregations I’ve attended have been so well managed I have considered it a few people’s calling to run local churches and everyone else’s role is outside of it. Hence, pastors fulfill the work of focusing on the fellowship of believers, while most believers focus instead on their more pressing individual responsibilities—getting back to their own work Monday morning. Church becomes a career for a few and commonplace for most.

While my past experience has indeed reflected the Bonhoeffer quote, scripturally there is no reason to doubt that the reality of Christ’s headship is just as living and dynamic today as it was at the beginning. No matter our impression of Sunday mornings, Christ’s ongoing work in His Church is no commonplace plan. And however this interaction between Jesus Christ and His Church is taking place, we can recognize—just as the early believers did—that this truly must be the most important thing that is going on in this world. “For I am accomplishing a work in your days, a work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you” (Acts 13:41). Let us be believers in the work Christ is accomplishing in our days and seek to explore God’s heart for life in His Church.

We open up this discussion with the topic of how Christ interacts with and leads His Church, for this is at the very center of God’s eternal plan. We hope there will be challenging opinions and encouraging words and verses so that we may grow and mature and Christ may continue to unite us, just as He and His father are one.