What Kind of Grace Member Are You?

What is Grace Community Church?

You might be thinking, “Ah!  A trick question!  Well, I’m not going to fall for it.  You’re not going to make me look stupid.  The answer to that question is in the very name itself.  Grace Community Church is…...well……a church.  That’s obvious.”

Yes, Grace is a church.  But what is a church? 

Hmmm………much tougher question, isn’t it?  Or maybe not.  Perhaps you can quickly rattle off an answer – “A church is a gathering of God’s people” or “A church is the body of Christ meeting locally”.  But what does that mean?  How is a church distinct from any other gathering of Christians, say at religious concerts, seminars, or baby showers?  What does a church do?  What is the purpose of a church?  Why do churches exist?  Why does our church, Grace Community Church, exist?

If I asked this as a survey question at the mall I would get a variety of answers – some positive, some negative, and certainly some outrageous ones.  But if I limited this question to churchgoers, I would probably find these three responses to be the most common:

“A church is a place where Christians go to sing songs, pray, and hear a sermon.”

“A church is a religious organization with a variety of programs and ministries to serve Christians and the surrounding community, such as the singles’ ministry, outreach, AWANA, and the hospitality committee.”

“A church is an organization run by a pastor, elders, deacons and other staff to provide worship services and various activities for Christians.”

Because Grace Community Church prides itself on being well-versed in the Scriptures, most of our members would see the error in all of those responses.   They would know that the church is not a place – not a location, building, or an address, but “a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).  We are an organism, a living, breathing body made up of many members (1 Corinthians 12:27), not an organization or a collection of programs, services, and activities separate from its members and run by the church staff. 

We know these truths; I know these truths.  But do I live this way?  Do I live as if the church is an organism, living and breathing, needing nourishment, prayer, compassion, hard work, patience, and constant attention just like my own physical body?  Or do I simply give lip-service to these truths but live as if the church is just a separate organization, a place where I come and go at will, and where I rely on the leadership and church staff to do all the “work of the ministry” (Ephesians 4:11)?  In short, do I hold to a godly, biblical understanding of church in my head but live according to a worldly, carnal understanding in my life?  How about you?

In the next several posts, I want to examine myself against the Scriptures and answer the question, “What kind of Grace member are you?”  I don’t want to fool myself or anyone else into thinking that I am the perfect church member – far from it.  So I would love for you to join me as we pose some tough questions to ourselves regarding whether our view of church membership, and our daily practice stemming from that view, is pleasing to God and will result in Grace Community Church attaining “to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).

I’m excited to be embarking on this journey!  I hope you are, too!