Our Church

6 min read

19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20 Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
— 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

I am stunned again and again by how much 1 Thessalonians has influenced my ministry. Is GCC Canvas “our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes?”

What Paul’s statement communicates is the significance of every single local church that is in Christ. In other words, his statement speaks to the perspective and attitude that members of our church family should have toward GCC Canvas.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians -

10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Ephesians 3:10-11

We cannot escape the plain truth that the church (every church) is at the heart of God’s plan of redemption for the world in Christ Jesus. That being the case, every believer ought to examine his or her perspective and attitude toward the church that they call home (and every church, really) with respect to this truth.

Here are some attitudes that the Holy Spirit wants to flush out of His churches:

1. The church as a venue for spiritual entertainment, or a place to get a spiritual boost once in a while. If there is a preacher who preaches the word of God but is a bit boring or dry, and someone says, “I’m not being spiritually fed” because the message is boring, that person is seeking spiritual entertainment. The same holds with respect to the music and any other aspect of a worship service. Of course, that preacher should (and must) try to become a better preacher. But that takes time and relational investment in the preacher, the worship leader, and every other servant in the church. I have experienced this (and continue to experience this) firsthand.

2. The church as a training ground for moralistic, therapeutic deism. The word of God does not merely teach us to be “good” people. Jesus is not merely a psychoanalyst or therapist who came to fix our emotional scars and make us feel good about ourselves. God is not some vague, supernatural power that is detached from the human condition and from human history. God is the Alpha and the Omega, AND God is Love.

3. The church as a social club for easy believism or pharisaism. Those attitudes are polar opposites, and yet both are an affront to God’s glory. Easy believism says that all we need to do is “believe” in that Jesus is the Son of God and died for our sins, and we are “free” to do whatever we want. Pharisaism says that you have to conform to a rigid set of rules in order to be saved.

There may be others, but those are just the ones that stand out for me.

I know that I have much growing to do. At any given moment, these attitudes may be guiding my thoughts and behaviors. But I want to be mindful of these pitfalls because the church matters that much to my Lord.

Father, I stand in Your grace and mercy, and that only because of faith. Forgive me and forgive us for any unhealthy attitudes that we may carry toward our community, which is YOUR church. Train us to have a healthy attitude toward YOUR church so that our glory and joy may be GCC Canvas. In Jesus’s name. Amen.