Who or What?
Issue 007
MARCH 28, 2018
WRITTEN BY ROBYN BISHOP
Dr. Robyn Bishop is the founding Pastor of The Distribution Center in Orlando, Florida - a faith community intentional about inviting, including and advocating for people affected by mental health conditions. Robyn received her Doctor of Ministry in Church Planting at Asbury Theological Seminary and has been married to her best friend, Stew, for thirty two years; they have five grown kids (two of them married into the family) and two young granddaughters.
The Church could be defined as a “gathering of people” or “a community of baptized people who confess belief in the Triune God.” Some may refer to the church as a building and some might refer to it as an institution that provides teaching on how to live a moral, upright life. Some might consider the church as a place where religious people attend out of duty and others might consider the church a healing center where people find hope and love. My understanding of the Church is influenced by how the Church has taught me, shaped me and shared love with me.
I was baptized at six weeks of age and my parents took me to church as I grew up so I would have an appropriate moral compass for my life. When I was in eighth grade, I found myself drawn to the prayer chapel so I could just sit in God’s presence. For a portion of my college years, I denied Jesus just as the apostle, Peter, had done. I struggled with depression and was angry that God did not do things in my life the way I wanted them done. Then on an Easter Sunday, after asking Jesus back into my life, I heard a sermon that brought me to tears as I sensed God telling me I was forgiven and loved; it was also in that moment I first heard the call to ordained ministry. Oh, how the Church has been instrumental in revealing who God is, who I am in light of who God is, and how much I can grow in love as I connect with a community of faith.
When the apostle, Peter, confessed Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God, Jesus told him, "For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:17-18). Because of this metaphorical reference to Peter as the foundation and Jesus as the Cornerstone, it could be argued that the Church is an establishment of brick and mortar (Eph. 2:20). The Church, although it consists of humans, is not something formed by humanity. Brought together by the revelation of the Holy Spirit with the confession that Jesus is the Son of God, the church is a living, breathing organism that has movement and regenerates. The one and only Triune God conceived the church (Eph. 1:3-6), Christ developed the foundation (Matt. 16:18), and then the Holy Spirit breathed and chose to dwell within (Eph. 2:19-22). The Church is the physical and spiritual representation of Jesus in the world with a prophetic purpose and mission to participate with God in his work to make the kingdom of God known on earth as it is in heaven.
“Brought together by the revelation of the Holy Spirit with the confession that Jesus is the Son of God, the church is a living, breathing organism that has movement and regenerates.”
With a big “C” I differentiate the universal Church that had its’ beginning when Jesus gave his Spirit to the disciples as recorded in the second chapter of Acts (Acts 2:1-4, 37-47). The Church consists of many “local churches” that reflect the character of God and yet each is unique to the context of the culture where they exist. People are wired differently and so churches may look or express themselves differently. The community of faith that I am a part of in Orlando, Florida is connected to a community of faith in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand when both hold up the same belief in the living Trinitarian God and each one observes the marks of the church (teaching the Word and administering the Sacraments of baptism, as well as Holy Communion). In Orlando, when we share communion we partake of bread and wine; in Ubon, for communion, they partake of sticky rice and hibiscus tea. We both meet in homes and yet we do things differently in response to our unique context.
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciple Peter and asked him to feed his sheep and care for his lambs (John 21:15-19). This is a metaphor for the Church that substantiates the importance of our response to Jesus. The Church needs leadership and community just as sheep need a shepherd as well as the support, protection, and care (love) for each other in the flock. The Church’s mission is based on who Jesus is and what he calls us to do in response to his love (John 3:16). So all this being said, the Church starts with understanding who Jesus is and then as people develop as disciples they grow in the likeness of Jesus by acting and thinking like Jesus in a way that is true to who they are in the culture where they live (Rom. 12:2).
The Church is beautiful and yet it is full of broken, imperfect people. The Spirit breathes life into our local communities of faith and yet connects us with truths that we can only know by the Spirit. God has created the Church and has transformed many like me through communities of faith. Are you connected in a community of faith in response to Christ’s love?