So What is a Church?

Some of you are very dutiful readers of the "Friday Letters"; for that, I thank you. I do value the platform as an outlet to share some thoughts on our life of discipleship together, infused by the resources of the gospel, as well as a place to share information concerning the logistics of that life together. Others may have popped in this week because you had a little time on your hands, or perhaps, you were intrigued by the letter title. Thank you, as well. I hope we can persuade you to become more regular readers. Let me tell you why.

In the title line, I asked the question, what is a church? There are lots of ways to answer that. One could answer it sociologically by saying that a church is a "social club" or and collection of "activists" who voluntarily come together for like purposes. Another might answer the question more literarily, a church is a family, a hospital, an army, or a training center. While some of these metaphors pick up on pictures the Bible actually uses, the more technical theological answer may be to say that the church is comprised of people that have been brought into a saving relationship with Jesus and are now considered members of his body.

While each of these captures an aspect of what the church is, our goal over the next several months is to show you what Christ Church is all about through a series of bi-weekly "Friday Letters" that highlight various ministries of the church. Our hope is that you get to know your church better, and you are moved to pray for her and for the ministry that goes on within and emanates out. It may even be that you are motivated to align yourself with a ministry that you come to know!

Logistically these Friday Letter ministry updates will replace the end of the year reports that have accompanied our stated congregational meeting. We hope that these will be more personal and a bit more meaningful when they don't come all in one big dump. If you miss one, or want to remind yourself of a ministry, we post the Friday letters as blogs on the website. We have already put Michael's letter last week on the marriage ministry there. They will also be collated together on a congregational report webpage before our congregational meeting in December.

I love Christ Church, and I know many of you do, too. It is humbling to think how the indescribable God of the universe invites us into fellowship and partnership with him! What a journey.