What Is Church For?

"Any God I ever felt in church I brought in with me. They come to church to share God, not find God."
- Alice Walker,
"The Color Purple."

I recently was talking, (by email), with someone who is not a Christian yet thinks they are. They were railing against churches and wanted me to know that they got more “god” in nature and going out camping then in any church. This person was disgusted, “I’ve never ‘felt’ God in any church.” That being the case for them, they saw reason to go to one.

My answer was a bit kinder and softer but the gist of it was, “Who told anyone they were supposed to ‘feel’ anything in church?”

Perhaps many think it’s always supposed to go like Acts 2 where cloven tongues of fire are supposed to make everyone explode every Sunday. That would be a bit much for this person I was writing with but still it remains that there is a predominant theory that the act of entering a church building and a church service is supposed to inspire an emotion or sensation of divine passion. If it’s not there then there’s something wrong and the blame is usually thrown at the church not the customer.

First let me ask, what is church? Well, right off let me point out that no where in the New Testament is the word “church” used to refer to a building. “The Church” is always used to refer to the body of believers as a collective. So let’s get that straight. Nobody entering a building is entering “The Church”. Churches can meet in buildings. Churches can meet in homes. Churches can meet by the river (Acts 16:13). Churches can meet under circus tents and churches can meet in secret catacombs under Rome.

“Church” is the assembling of the Saints.

Hebrews 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

It’s a meeting. It’s a meeting of the redeemed of Christ as His body.

To do what? Several things.
To study the scriptures…

Colossians 4:16
Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

1 Thessalonians 5:27
I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.

The writings of Paul were “scripture” (2 Peter 3:15-16) but even then it was compared to the Old Testament scriptures by the body of believers.

Acts 17:10-11
10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

The Church gathers to hear teachers exposit and explain the word of God…

1 Corinthians 14:29-30
29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. 30 But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent.

Acts 5:42
And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

Acts 15:35
Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

This is what the body of believers assemble to do.

And we sing…

Ephesians 5:18-20
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord

Jesus sang…

Matthew 26:30
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

These are all the components of the meeting of the believers in Jesus Christ when we assemble to speak together of our common faith.

We pray…

Romans 15:30
Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me,

Acts 12:5
Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

We collect money…

2 Corinthians 9:6-7
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

Why?
To support the charities…

Acts 4:32
32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

Acts 4:34-36
34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.

(See also Acts 6:1-6)

We support the people who work full time in the ministry…

1 Corinthians 9:13-14
13 Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? 14 Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.

We support missionaries…

Philippians 4:15-16
15 Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. 16 For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities.

It is an assembling of the Saints. A meeting.
And when do we meet? The Sabbath?

Acts 20:7
Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.

The Church met on “the first day of the week”.

1 Corinthians 16:2
On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.

Is “the first day of the week” the Sabbath? No. The last day of the week is the Sabbath (Gen 2:3). That day is Saturday not Sunday.
I don’t mean to go into keeping the Sabbath. It’s irrelevant to what I’m saying.
People want to keep the Sabbath? Go for it but Sunday ain’t the Sabbath and there’s no reason why anybody should make a big deal out of Sunday being closed for business or guilty if you mow your lawn.

Sunday was the first day of the week and the day the Church assembled to meet. Who knows, they might not have met on the Sabbath because they were resting that day and put off the business of meeting until Sunday.

The Church assembly is a meeting.
Yet so many are still frustrated that “I don’t feel God here.”
So I ask, “Where do you ‘feel God’?”
And my friend has said, “In the countryside and at the river.” (Beautiful places mind you.)
So I say, by all means, go to the countryside and to the river. Climb the mountains and lay down and stare at the stars.

Can God be seen in His creation? You bet!

Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Of course it has to be acknowledged that a big problem is when too many people think the creation is the god (Rom 1:25) but if you have that issue straightened out properly absolutely it’s possible to “feel” God in His creation.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying there should be nothing felt in church. I think God wants everybody to feel welcome.
That IS the job of the church at hand to be hospitable. We are often exhorted to greet each other with affection as a family, (Rom 16:16, 1 Cor 16:20, 2 Cor 13:12, 1 Thess 5:26), and anyone visiting should feel the love there. There is something terrible wrong with a church that has no love for everybody in the body.

John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

1 John 3:14
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.

1 John 4:21
And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

It’s a sin for a church to be unwelcoming to anyone. Brothers and sisters especially.

But no, I’m talking more about the craving for an epiphany every Sunday.
I end on this note. What are you looking for? God or a feeling?

“Well, I want to feel God.”

Fair enough but I warn anybody that what you want is to feel the TRUE God. You are playing a dangerous game by looking for the “feeling” first and then treating that as the evidence that you have found Him.
Many, many, many people are lost right now and headed for hell with great feelings going up their spines and lumping up their throats. The Mormons talk about knowing truth when they get a “burning in their bosom”.
That is no objective standard to base your eternal destiny on.
First, before the feelings, you need to find the true living God in truth.

John 4:23
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

And His Truth is only found in His WORD.

John 17:17
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

Any emotions before, during or after are useless if you have the wrong god.
And the true, living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has great emotions for us…

Romans 8:15-17
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

And such crying out can come anywhere. Hiking in the mountains, walking on the beach, driving in the car, in prayer alone, it can be anywhere. You know what? It can even be in church.

Which brings me to the end. Don’t blame a church if you don’t feel a tingle every Sunday morning. No where does the Bible, (where you find the truth), guarantee anything of the sort.
You are in the wrong for using that as an excuse to condemn this or that church as being “dead”.
God decides when a lamp stand is removed, (Rev 2:5), not you or any lack of a quiver in your lower lip.

Problem is plenty of churches try to get you hyped up.
Oh, sure. They’ll have great praise bands and professional singers.
Slick power point shows and funny skits.
Dancing bears and smoke and mirrors and a disco ball.
There’s a stand up comedian for a pastor who comes out in blue jeans and wire mic stuck on the side of his head.

It ain’t new but it’s swung from one extreme to the other.

For two thousand years people have misunderstood what the point of church is.
There have always been the crowd that think it’s whole point is to get you feeling… I don’t know… “high”.

Cathedrals were invented to make us feel “Wow”.
Candles and incense and robes and stained glass.
Icons and colossal pipe organs and gold dripping off the rafters.

Why? To make you “feel God”.

The problem is it will always take more and more to get you off. It was awesome at first and you want the same high every Sunday.
It starts becoming forced. It starts taking more and more to get you to your “first love”.
So many people talk about coming to church to get their “Holy Ghost fix” because He just isn’t with them the rest of the week.

The Church is a body (Romans 12:4-5) not a building.
Sunday morning is a meeting of the believers to agree together on doctrine, prayer, praise, and the support of the furtherance of God’s Kingdom.
“What is church?” is a question that perhaps you have gotten wrong all your life.
That’s not some churches fault and it’s certainly not God’s fault.