A church sign in our area reads, “Church: The Place to Be Seen in 2018.”

It’s clever.  It rhymes.  But it is bad theology.  I get the sentiment; they want to encourage people to come to church more this year.  That is certainly an admirable and worthy goal.  I wish more people attended our church.

I also appreciate the challenge of keeping a church sign current and entertaining.  But current and entertaining is no excuse for poor church sign theology.  I wrote a blog sometime back about another instance of bad church sign theology.  You can read it here.

Bad Church Sign Theology

The sign referenced above reinforces at least two common misconceptions about the church.

Church is NOT a PLACE.

We often think of our church as the place where we meet on Sunday. But the Biblical concept of church emphasizes the constitution of the church more than the address.  The PEOPLE are the Church.

If someone asks you where your church is, you – like me – probably answer with an address.  Or possibly you share directions and landmarks that identify the physical location of the building where you meet. But in reality, our church is spread all throughout the community during the week.  We still own and maintain a building at a physical address, but it is not the church. WE are.

When we relegate the church to a physical address, we abdicate our responsibility to BE the church everywhere we go.  Matthew 28:19-20 prescribes what we call Jesus’ Great Commission.  Jesus tells us to be about the business of making disciples as we are going. The church is not like the movie Field of Dreams carry a promise that “they” will come if only we build it.

Church is not a place we should go; it is a public presence we should be.

Church is not a place to BE SEEN.

People go out to social events to be seen.  Church is not another public gather that provides others the opportunity to see us.

As members of a local church, the Holy Spirit has given each of us special spiritual powers, called Spiritual Gifts.  The point is that we USE those gifts to SERVE.  We have the privilege of God using us in supernatural ways to make an eternal difference in others’ lives.

Church is not about being seen on one day of the week.  Church is about demonstrating the power of God working through us everyday as we interact with others around us.

The Challenge

Let me encourage you to rethink your concept of “church.”  Recognize that church is not somewhere you go but the body of Christ of whom you are a part. Move beyond seeing and being seen.  Actively serve.  Use your gifts. Take Jesus to work, to school, shopping, to the doctor’s office.  Represent Jesus wherever you go. Be the church not just on Sunday, but every day every where you go.

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