Nougat 31

Soooooo

Having endured a season of lockdown, how do we understand church? This is a very fundamental question being asked by many people today. Some would even go further to determine what worship is. As strange as it seems; this is a question for all times – consider today’s Holy Nougat

““It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭21:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If at all we agree that these words were Jesus’, then our First consideration may be that ‘Church’ is God’s house, and our primary role is prayer. (Of course there are the various nuances of church; as inanimate object: a building, vs the animated collective unit of gathered people. And yes, we are looking somewhat at both). And we probably would have then followed the definition alluded to BY the nougat with the thought that we are not like that. Which is correct. Right(?)

But, if the House of God is where one gathers for prayer, what are social media spaces? This is a challenge as we attempt to discern ‘Life post-Covid’, for many of us are realizing/have long realized that it won’t be ‘business as usual’ any time soon. With the distancing of many from physical worship spaces prior to the pandemic, how do we anticipate a return to physical spaces will affect numerical growth?

No, it’s not always the numbers game; rather it is an invitation for us to regroup and discern what and how we are called to be in a broken, hurting and dying world. Ironically we have had that mandate for a while. Ever since Christ’s commissioning of the disciples. Many of us failed to see beyond the maintenance of physical and organizational structures, which tho important, is NOT the only important thing. In the process, some leaders get sidetracked, and do all in our power to raise funds rather than praising God.

But, the building is just one tiny aspect of church. For it is a ‘house’ as well as the household. And as the Household OF Prayer, worship is our designation AND our function. It is what we do, and who we are called to be. But we are often sidetracked by the mundane or the germane, and have lost the collective power available to us.

Have we turned God’s House into something it isn’t called to be? For if God’s House is the space where God’s people gather, in Faith, for prayer; then mountains ought to be moving wherever we gather. That’s not the ‘gimmick’ that we use as a drawing point; it’s what we live wherever we are. In person, via virtual platforms, at work, at home, at school, in the hospitals, everywhere.

Once again I invite us to consider, what is ‘church’ for us? And as we frame our answer, let’s also ensure that we are fulfilling our calling in that regard.

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May all we seek be found in Christ