I’ve been forced recently to ask myself a number of questions concerning the purpose of the church. Why does the church exist? What is its reason for being? Am I doing what I should be doing as part of the church?

 

A survey was done recently by Win Arn, a leading church consultant. He surveyed members of nearly a thousand churches asking the question, “Why does the church exist?”  The results? Of the church members surveyed, 89 percent said, “The church’s purpose is to take care of my family’s and my needs.” For many, the role of the pastor is simply to keep the sheep who are already in the “pen” happy and not lose too many of them. Only 11 percent said, “The purpose of the church is to win the world for Jesus Christ. That survey while not really surprising is nevertheless troubling. I feel very strongly that the purpose of the church is not to impact the church, but to impact the world.

 

I came across a quote recently that I think is particularly pertinent:

The church is not:

* An ark for the saving of a select few.

* A ferryboat to take effortless passengers to the shores of heaven.

* A life insurance company, with no obligation on policy holders except the payment of a small annual premium.

* A social set, welcoming certain people and excluding others from its fellowship.

* A Sunday pleasure club for the providing of pleasant occupation on the day of rest.

The church is:

* A lifeboat for the rescue of sin-wrecked and perishing souls.

* A family, in which love and service are expected from each member to each member.

* An organized community, with constant activities and continual growth and development.

* A company of believers who have found the one way of life and obey the one Lord of life.

* A union of those who love for the benefit of those who suffer.

* A center of social worship, in which the spiritual life of each is helped by the spiritual life of his fellow.

* The representative -- the "body" -- of Jesus Christ on the earth, reflecting his spirit and controlled by his will.

 

Over the past few years we have had many new people come to the church. It is a very comfortable feeling to have fine middle class people become a part of our fellowship. It can make us feel successful. Certainly such people are indispensible to the church.  However, a couple of years ago, you may remember; I placed on the church sign the following statements. One side said: “You are not too good to come to church.” The other side said: “You are not too bad to come to church.” Sounds good doesn’t it! It’s nice sometimes putting those catchy sayings on the sign and attracting attention. But it can be quite another thing actually living up to them. I had a number of comments on the sign, and several people even called and asked me if it was true. I assured them that it was. But now, here’s where the rubber meets the road. People whose life styles have not always left us with that warm fuzzy feeling have taken us at our word and have attended. It’s not my purpose here to go into the nature of the difficulties, but we have at times had to put deeds to our words. The temptation for some members at such times may be to withdraw behind our four walls, or to take off and run. There are times when our comfort zone feels encroached upon. We realize at such times how complicated life has become and how much we need the Lord’s wisdom and direction in carrying out the mission he has given us. 

 

Doug Murren in his book Churches That Heal states that one of the major factors that hinders the church from becoming a church that heals is the “Us versus Them” mentality. This mindset builds walls and barriers toward unbelievers. Our task as a church is to be the light and the salt to the lost world around us. We are to tell people about Jesus Christ and show them the way to eternal life, not hide from them. It is vital that we not forget our reason for being. Several years ago the city of Pittsburgh constructed a large, new post office at the cost of several million dollars. On the day of its opening, the Governor made a speech, the bands played and the people cheered. It was quite a celebration. But when the first man entered to mail a letter, to the embarrassment of the engineers, it was discovered that in the rush to meet the deadline, they had omitted the usual letter drop. Here was a costly new post office, but no place to mail a letter! It was a slight omission, but it negated the very reason for its existence. That brings me to the very point of this article: WHEN ANY CHURCH FORGETS THAT IT IS HERE TO BE SALT AND LIGHT IN THIS WORLD, IT SURRENDERS THE VERY REASON FOR ITS EXISTENCE. SALT AND LIGHT is not a side line! It is the LIFELINE of the church.

 

Chuck Colson in his book Being the Body, said this: “The church is like Noah’s ark: The stench inside would be unbearable if it weren’t for the storm outside. It’s true—sometimes we stink and the world is stormy. But as imperfect as we are on this side of heaven, the miracle is that God in fact chooses to use his church—us, as His proclaiming love, truth, and hope.”  Bill Hybels adds these thoughts. “I believe that there is nothing like the local church when it is working right. Its beauty is indescribable. Its power is breathtaking. Its potential is unlimited. It comforts the grieving and heals the broken in the context of community. It builds bridges to seekers and offers truth to the confused. It provides resources for those in need and opens its arms to the forgotten, the downtrodden, and the disillusioned. It breaks the chains of addictions, frees the oppressed, and offers belonging to the marginalized of this world. Whatever the capacity for human suffering, the church has a greater capacity for healing and wholeness. Still to this day, the potential of the local church is almost more than I can grasp. No other organization on earth is like the church. Nothing even comes close.”   These are indeed powerful words. The challenge is there. It is undeniably up to us to make sure that this is true.