Precious Promises

Open Booklet here:

New Family! Koinonia in the Ekklesia of Christ (document format)

New Family! Koinonia in the Ekklesia of Christ (booklet format)

What is church, anyway? After “going to church” all of my life, it dawned on me that this basic question needed to be answered.

I’ve been exposed to more varieties of “church” than most people have, which eventually made me realize that I needed to start from scratch, go back to this question and research it without making any assumptions from past experiences.

Most people are aware of the fact that “church” is not the building but the people. We know that in our heads, but we usually act as if we do believe that it is normal to “go to church” rather than to “be the church.”

As translations have been done over the centuries, the very real danger of twisting the words to fit traditions that were already in place has unfortunately happened. Going back to the Greek sometimes helps me understand the Bible more clearly. In this case, I was amazed to discover that “church” isn’t even an accurate translation. So that’s why the subtitle of the booklet is “Koinonia in the Ekklesia of Christ”–to arouse curiosity about the meaning of these descriptions of the “how” and the “what” of doing and being what we now call “church.”

The bottom line is that God intends for his children to experience a lifestyle that is inspiring rather than institutional, organic rather than organizational, as members of his family in very dynamic and synergistic connections and interactions. As this new family life is shared with and seen by those who aren’t yet part of it, God promises that many will be attracted to want to also become part of his family.

“Church” isn’t really very complicated, but it doesn’t come naturally and requires good leadership that can help others understand and participate in the deep and meaningful fellowship.

It’s hard to break habits of the way we think of church. But the vision God puts in front of us in the Bible is so enticing that it’s worth it!