A couple good posts

I haven't posted any links to other blogs for a while. Don't take that to mean that I think there haven't been good posts on other blogs! But, this morning I ran across two that I think deserve a wider audience—not that my readership is large enough to make a difference (right, Ted).

On the Simple Church blog:

Although most of us understand that we, as God’s people, are the church, we consistently misuse that term and many others. I remain guilty of this myself. But, the result is that we use language that continuously waters down the true wonder of who we are in Christ and our purpose in Him.

When we say, “I’m going to church,” we are not affirming that we, His people, are His church, His spiritual temple, filled by the Spirit of God in order to take His fragrance everywhere we go. We must regularly declare the truth of who we are in order to fully walk in it!

He goes on to note other ways we misuse the word and why it matters. Good stuff! Read the whole thing, it's short.

And Alan Knox links to a good article that he wrote on "doing" as opposed to "being" in the life of the church:

I know how to do a Bible study. For as long as I can remember – at least from elementary school – I have been in Bible studies. They have had many different names: Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Discipleship Class, Youth Group, Bible Fellowship. But, they all had something in common: a bunch of people got together to hear someone teach a passage or topic from the Bible...

But, I have also learned something else. Bible studies, participatory church gatherings, and communal serving are very important. However, they often work to segregate our lives into “sacred times” and “regular times.”

Living as the church of Jesus Christ together does not mean holding Bible studies, participatory church gatherings, or service projects. Instead, living as the church of Jesus Christ means sharing our lives together – all of our lives, including the dull times and the messy moments.

Spend time together. Eat together. Talk together. Play together. Work together. Serve together. Study together. Grow together. This is the essence of life in the Spirit of God together as the church of Jesus Christ.

Amen! Do read the whole thing. It's a window into modern american church life—whether house or institutional—and how we fall short of what God desires for us as a body.