What Do We Mean by 'The Church?'

by David Chronic

The Church and the Poor

The poor, marginalized and powerless compose an important constituent of the church. The poor and excluded hold a special place in God’s heart; therefore, they hold a special place in the heart of His people. “Yahweh executes justice for the orphan and widow, and shows His love for the stranger by giving him food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:18). “Yahweh performs righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed” (Psalm 103:6). “Yahweh raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the dung heap to make them sit with nobles and inherit a seat of honor” (1 Samuel 2:8). Because of God’s bias toward the poor, the church is biased toward the poor, being family for the family-less, advocating for the powerless and standing against oppression. The church lives under the anointing of Jesus to “preach good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18).

The church’s priority for the poor also follows Jesus’ promised presence among the poor. Jesus said that whatever we do to the hungry, thirsty, ill, naked, estranged and imprisoned, we do to Him (Matthew 25:40). This, in the first place, is not an invitation to works of mercy but a call to faith in God’s promised presence. “The apostolate says what the church is. The least of Christ’s brethren say where the church belongs.” The church is present to the least because Jesus is present in the least.

The church is called to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). Part of this apostolic mandate is “only to remember the poor.” The Apostle Paul replies that this was “the very thing I was eager to do” (Galatians 2:10). The church celebrates God, who “chose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him” (James 2:5).

In fact, the church has not historically been wealthy. The only wealthy church is the one sanctioned by the state. For the first three centuries, the church was poor, marginalized and powerless. Paul reminds us, “Consider your calling, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish and weak things of the world to shame the things which are wise and strong” (1 Corinthians 1:26-27). To become a Christian often means the loss of privileges and suffering under the hand of oppression, but the church embraces this suffering in following Jesus: “though He was rich, yet for our sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

The church’s preferential option for the poor subverts the world’s value system. The church is always tempted by the world’s values of sex, money and power. In Christ, the church finds the counter-cultural commitments of celibacy/chastity, poverty/simplicity and obedience/submission. The church also stands among the victims sacrificed on the altars of the world’s value system: the poor. Those sacrificed to the idols of sex are the prostitutes and sex slaves. Those sacrificed to Mammon are the destitute and malnourished. Those sacrificed for power are the downtrodden and oppressed. In its witness to the poor, the church expounds the values that conform to the Kingdom of God, which brings salvation, freedom and life.

We are the Church

Gathered in the presence of Jesus, indwelt by the Spirit, directed toward the New Creation, we participate in the Triune fellowship of love and endure as a living icon of the Trinity in the world. Glorifying the Lord unto the margins of the earth and anticipating His future filling of all the earth with His glory, we are the messianic church in mission. Standing against divisions that break humanity apart, committing to live together in loving relationships, and imploring His unifying presence in us, we are the church in partnership (koinonia). In relationship among the poor and revolutionizing the world’s value system, we are the church seeking to minister to Jesus in the “least of these.” In the power of the Spirit and through the presence of Christ, we passionately desire to be the radiating people of God that burns to do justice, loves to do mercy and walks humbly with our God.

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1. What do we mean by 'The Church?'
2. How do you embody your theory of church?

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on The Cry, a publication of Word Made Flesh and is reprinted by permission. The image above was an art installation by Shinji Turner-Yamamoto.

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Comments

Greg Carlson

A paper like this is greatly needed! When working with young adults in the Christian Ministries dept. at Trinity, many have a need to wrestle with ecclesiology. In fact, I would like to use this article for my Intro to Ministry class.

Ralph Neighbour

I would agree with this but feel it does not go far enough. The Basic Ecclesia is the literal body of the Son, the Christ, on the earth today. It permits the Son to penetrate a segment of the world that is attached to the body members through relationships and/or geography. The role of Christ today is not to send his followers as salesmen to speak of Him, but rather to so inhabit and empower his ecclesia that He Himself will be manifested, revealing His Presence and Power. He Himself is the Witness. 1 Corinthians 14:24-26 clearly spells this out. I have written, over four years of pondering and study, a special treatise on this subject: "Christ's Basic Bodies." It is my earnest prayer it will lead to further awareness that the ecclesia is the most sacred treasure of God on the face of the earth today.

Antony Billington

Unfortunately, the pdf link doesn’t work.

David Befus

Where do all the resources spent on buildings fit in?

David Chronic

thanks Q for posting this article, and thanks for the comments! Ralph: great ideas on Christ as the witness. That is a beautiful image. This is what I was attempting to point towards in what I said about "indwelt", but you are right that I need to go further. Antony: you can find the full article on the wordmadeflesh website. David: I used to be adamantly against the buildings...and I still think many in the west are wrong-headed in their constructions. but I do think we need to consider building institutions (buildings included) that sustain and support missional communities. (see Hunter's "Change the World").

Gemechu

Its interesting.bless you.

Colby

Exeetmrly helpful article, please write more.