Be the CHURCH!!!

It is always interesting to ask the age old question..."What is the Church". Here's the walls, here's the steeple, look inside and here's the people. The answers that often show their faces when this question is asked are: "the people", or "the body of believers" etc. Both of which are right, but when one takes the question further, answers get a little shaky. Let me give you an example. I may ask, "Ok so we know what the church is, now what do we do?" or "what is the church's purpose?". Once again, a variety of answers follow, but in my experience one central thing seems to be missing in most of the answers. COMMUNITY!!! We know that we are to be salt and light, and tithe, and pray, and feed the homeless, but what about community. What about the encouragement and edification of one another in order to be victorious over sin, and to bear one another's burdens, and to make disciples. We live in a world that needs the gospel, so we go and tell them, but if there is no community....the church becomes anemic. Very little edification, very little victory over sin, very little bearing of burdens, and very little discipleship. So I ask again...what is the Church. I don't claim to have it all together, but my prayer is that we may search the Scriptures a little deeper to find the answer to this question. May we strive to be more like a biblical church for the Glory of our Lord