What I Learned About Church From Reading The Bible

This past summer I read an article that talked about how gyms and other secular communities are starting to fill spiritual and social needs for many nonreligious people. And this really got me thinking…

What Is The Purpose & Definition of Church? 

And why can’t I make my hobby or activity my own personal worship service? If my intentions and thoughts are God honoring while participating in an activity can I skip church on the weekend? What if I am listening to a sermon?

Which led me back to my Bible. Here is what the Bible says about the church and how it is recognized:

  • Teaching and preaching the Word of God. (Colossians 3:15)
  • Providing fellowship and accountability. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
  • Communion and baptisms. (Acts 2:42)
  • Biblical leadership. (Ephesians 4:11-13, Titus 1:5-9)
  • Sharing the gospel mission and discipleship. (Matthew 28:19-20)

The word church comes from two separate greek words.

  • Ekklesia –> gathering of citizens called out from home into a public place or an assembly
  • ology –> study of

Ecclesiology is crucial to understand God’s purpose for believers in the world. Ekklesia in scripture can refer to two different things, the church can mean all Christ followers across the world or the local church and a specific body of believers.

What Church Is Not

In order to understand what church is you need to know what church is not.

Church is not a building. Early Chrisitans met in homes.

Church is not an event. In 1 Corinthians it says that they were to do things that would strengthen everyone present like sing, teach, and share revelations from God. Not all church gatherings may have had all these elements but these are a few of the things that occurred. Church is about worshipping God but it needs to be looked as different from an event or production.

Church is not a business. The church is a living organism rather than an organization.

Before I had kids, when I was at my peak of teaching group fitness, yoga, and personal training clients, I would occasionally skip church in order to hike, bike, swim laps, run, or participate in another form of physical activity. I justified skipping church to take care of the body God had given me and to enjoy spending time outdoors in God’s creation.

At face value this idea seems good. It is God honoring to take care of the body He gave you and there is nothing wrong with enjoying the beauty in creation and giving thanks back to God. God is the creator of all things and he created all things to glorify Him. The problem that arises is when these activities replace church and try to become a substitute under the guise of creating your own kind of “worship service”.

What I Learned

The church is the body of Christ and each of us has a specific function within that body. If we are truly seeking to follow Christ and be a part of God’s church then we understand that God has called us to be in fellowship with other believers. The church is far from perfect because it is filled with sinners. Myself being one of them.

The beautiful thing I have learned is that by reading, singing, praying, and learning from the Bible in church God is glorified and by His grace and goodness I am being transformed by His word.

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How Family Discipleship Works in Our Home

For the last 6 months our family has been reading, studying, and memorizing scripture together, and using a shorter catechism. Josh and myself did not grow up in homes where this was modeled. So if we can do this anyone can. I know I am always so thankful to read examples of what this looks like in other families and thought that I would offer out a very basic outline of what we are doing.

First and foremost, if you as the parent aren’t committing to read your Bible it will be hard, to nearly impossible, to make a habit of family discipleship with your kids. In order for this to work you have to be in God’s word yourself. This year I am reading a chronological version of the Bible. Josh is using The Bible Project reading plan.

Second, pick a time of day that works for your family and be consistent. But also be aware that leading your children to follow Christ should be happening throughout the day. For our family breakfast time Monday – Friday is what has been working best. I make sure that the kids food is at the table with our books ready to be opened. We spend 15 – 20 minutes five days week at breakfast focusing on family discipleship. If you are looking for ideas on how to disciple your kids during the ins and outs of the day check out Reset for Parents: How to Keep Your Kids from Backsliding by Todd Friel.

And lastly, keep it simple but keep the truths of scripture in front of your kids. My kids need to be reminded daily of the Gospel message and to be honest so do I.  The resources I am sharing today are what we have been using for the last 6 months. They don’t sugarcoat or downplay Biblical concepts or doctrine but the wording and repetitiveness of the lessons makes these these truths easier to grasp.

Our breakfast time begins with prayer. We pray that God opens our eyes and ears to see and hear what he is saying in the Bible. I always make sure to remind the kids that they are about to listen to God’s Holy Word. This helps to insure there is minimal amount of interruption while scripture is being read.

We are currently working our way through the New Testament with our kids using Old Story New by Marty Machowski. You can look inside the book on Amazon to see how the lessons workOld Story New uses a ten-minute a day structure and walks children through the great truths of the Christian faith in the New Testament. There are simple discussion questions (and answers!!) for each day’s devotion to help children understand and remember Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and the birth of the Christian church. Old Story New is a family devotional program designed to explain God’s plan of salvation through the New Testament and is suitable for children from preschool through high school. I can’t say enough about this great book! We also have The Gospel Storybook Bible and read the corresponding story several times throughout the week.

After we complete the lesson for the day we spend 5 minutes on our catechism question for the week. For reference we are using New City Catechism. Today many churches and Christian organizations publish “statements of faith” that outline their beliefs. But in the past it was expected that documents of this nature would be so biblically rich and carefully crafted that they would be memorized and used for Christian growth and training. They were written in the form of questions and answers, and were called catechisms

Josh and I truly believe there is benefit for us and our children being familiar with and knowing doctrine. Using this question and answer method the catechisms explains clearly what the gospel is, but also  lays out the building blocks on which the gospel is based, such as the biblical doctrines of God, of human nature, and of sin. It also helps to address false beliefs of our culture so that believers can reflect the likeness of Christ.

You can download the New City Catechism app on your phone. We love this app because it is free and we also have easy access to the songs that make it super easy to memorize each question/answer. There are 52 questions and every week we do a new question. Our kids enjoy the songs and it is amazing to see how much they are learning. We also have it in book format as well which can be purchased HERE. We finish the last few minutes reviewing memory verses from Sunday school and preschool.

And that is how we have been doing family discipleship in our home the last 6 months. It is nothing fancy but it works for us. As parents we can’t feed into our kids what we aren’t nourishing ourselves with.  We have to believe what we are pouring into our children now is what the Holy Spirit will build upon later. The concepts we are teaching our kids are being imprinted on their mind and heart, waiting to be connected with new insights, teaching, and experiences.  It is our responsibility to build this biblical foundation in their minds and hearts.

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How the Church Can Engage Millennials

The past weekend our pastor posed a question to the millennials in our congregation, how can the church better engage millennials? He challenged any millennial to send him and the church staff ideas about how to get this generation, my generation, more involved. Normally this isn’t something I would write about, but here I go, about to try.

To preface this post I am writing very broadly. I am not just writing in regards to my own local home church but to the body of christ universally. That being said here are my thoughts on how the church can engage millennials.

Please read, teach, and engage me in God’s word. My generation is used to seeing advertisements and gimmicks so show me something different on Sunday mornings. Show me the goodness and truths in scripture and help me apply it to my life. In a world that is constantly changing teach me about God being the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Read me scripture because I need to hear it. Encourage and challenge me to study scripture and learn at home because it will enhance what I am hearing on Sunday.

When I was little I remember starting out in the sanctuary with the entire congregation and then 20 minutes into the service being led to the children’s class. I am not sure when this exactly stopped happening, but from late elementary school on I can remember only being with my peers unless I begged my mom to let me come with her. As a mom of three young children I would love to bring my kids to a family style worship service a couple times a year. I want them to see other adults engaging in worship.

Don’t hold back. Be bold and preach on the hard topics. Help me see the biblical worldview in a culture that screams otherwise. I love theologically rich hymns that challenge me and allow me to mull over the words even after Sunday worship. Remind me of the gospel message over and over again. I am still dying to myself daily and need to be reminded of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Keep on creating opportunities for real face to face fellowship. My generation has grown up with technology. This has been both a blessing and a curse. Pornography is running rampant, the selfie has made us even more self aware, and I don’t even want to admit how many times my husband has had to retake a photo of me for this blog. Real fellowship and real community is what we crave and as much as we try to cultivate it online it will never replace how life giving and necessary real friendship is.

Speaking of technology, make sure that your church website is easy to navigate. If it is hard for me to find basic information such as service times, statement of beliefs, and the different ministries your church offers there is a good chance I won’t be coming for a visit. To get my generation in the door a simple website with this information is all you need.

When I really think about it, the major way the church can engage my generation is by sharing the gospel. Jesus brings life change. And that life change is what will get and keep millennials, like myself, more engaged in the church. So pastor, keep preaching from God’s word.

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