Church or Christ?

When introducing people to Christianity, there is a strong temptation to ask them, "Why don't you come to church?" instead of what the question should be, "Why don't you come to Christ?"

Of course it is incredibly sad to see churches by-passed and marginalised. What an influence they could have for good if more people openly supported them! They were once the glue that held society together. They contributed in a healthy way to the rhythm of life. I remember my father telling me that he knew when to come in for his morning coffee by the ringing of the church bell. In my own life there was a time when the church stream I was part of laid on insurance, holiday centres, leisure activities, endless ways to meet other people. It offered care homes for the elderly, housing and some financial support for those of its workers who were in need, safe spaces for youth to enjoy recreational activities, adventure holidays for various age groups … you could practically live your life by availing yourself of facilities supplied by the church.

The church is undoubtedly of the utmost importance. It is one of God’s appointed ways of carrying on the work of the Lord Jesus now that He has risen and ascended into heaven. Jesus was well aware of what would happen to Him at the close of His earthly ministry, and had a thoroughly thought through strategy for continuing His service in the world following His death. A central plank of that strategy was the re-equipping of His circle of followers to form the nucleus of a new People of God. The very first church apparently understood that that core should consist of twelve “apostles”, consciously modelled on the twelve tribes of Israel, the old established People of God. (Arguments rage back and forth as to whether the church has entirely replaced Israel as the chosen people.) So, when the traitor disciple Judas Iscariot died, leaving a gap, moves were quickly made to fill his place. It was not long before the church was swelling dramatically in numbers, a sign of God’s endorsement.

The church, of course, is made up of fallible human beings. There have been many low points in its history. Yet whenever it seems irreversibly bruised, battered and completely discredited, it always manages to take on second wind and emerge again. That is because it is central to God’s purposes and He will not be defeated.

You can’t see the risen Christ but you can see the church down the road. So isn’t it natural to invite an outsider to “come to church”? There you hope she will meet people whose company is good for her and will find herself exposed to good preaching. Maybe then she will become a habitual attender. You could say that person has moved from being an enquirer to an insider, a regular “Christian”.

It is easy to forget that becoming a Christian is actually not about joining a church, important though that step is. It is about meeting a Person. Jesus once declared,

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23 ESV).

A faithful Christian once told me the story of a keen believer who was working with a man who still did not know Christ – we’ll call that man Fred. The faithful Christian tried every angle he could think of, but somehow Fred still did not get it. Finally he told the puzzled unbeliever, “Fred, it’s like this. Jesus, meet Fred. Fred, meet Jesus”. That did the trick. The Person Jesus was introduced to the person Fred, and Fred came through.