We Are the Church
When living in Portugal and teaching at Greater Lisbon Christian Academy my husband and I attended Riverside International Church for several years. I loved the diversity of the church and the spirit filled worship that multiple cultures brought to our corporate worship. Forty-five or more countries were represented at any one given service. Through this church we became friends or shared personal worship experiences with families or individuals from Angola, Brazil, Canada, France, Great Britain, India, Nepal, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, the United States, and I am sure others as well. Through a writing ministry I was able to meet and at times correspond with women from additional countries.
A few years later we felt the leading to support and help with a new church plant in the Lisbon area, much closer to our school. We again were blessed to have cultural interactions with new friends and acquaintances from Albania, Angola, Brazil, Canada, Nepal, Portugal, and the United States.
Our school, where we taught, had a student body that at one time represented up to 12 countries. Interactions in these different settings were rich in cultural experiences. From these we learned that many cultures were much more expressive than the Midwestern, North American, step back from my bubble, worship culture that we were accustomed to. We not only learned, but also experienced that worship, music, praise, presentation of the Gospel, and prayer do not always look the same. None of what we experienced was “wrong,” but much of it was, in some ways, different from our home experiences. It was eye-opening. It was refreshing. Taking part in these worship opportunities each week felt like a prelude of the diversity and worship that we will someday experience in heaven.
As I read about the church through my personal Bible study, I am fondly reminded of these dear friendships and the fact that the church is not just the building of stone and mortar. More importantly, it is the body of believers who share a love of Jesus because of his sacrifice on our behalf.
Eph. 5:23b states that “Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.”
Eph. 1:22, “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church.”
Col. 1:18, “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”
1 Co. 14:12, So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.”
So why do I stress these verses? Because if the church is actually the people, then as members of this family of God, we need to each do our part. Each of us has an important part to play.
Romans 12:5 “so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
1 Co. 12:12 “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”
1 Co 12:14 “For the body does not consist of one member but of many.”
1 Co. 12: 15-31 helps us to understand how our Lord designed and expects us to work together, edifying and sharpening one another for the health of the church and the glory of our Lord. Friends, it takes all of us to come, study, worship, share, pray, and strive together. We each have our part, and the part of the body that you bring to a ministry is just as important as what another might bring. I know that circumstance and health issues or concerns have kept many from attending their local church during times of the pandemic. There are sometimes personal health or life issues that also keep us from attending for a few weeks or a season. But the church needs you to share the gifts that were bestowed upon you. I encourage you to take part in a small group to study God’s Word, join in corporate worship, reach out and try different ministries. Stepping out of our comfort zone might open our eyes to skills and talents that can bless others. Christ is the head, but he has, in his mercy, allowed us, broken and imperfect, to be an important part in the makeup of his church.
Dear Father, Thank you for the church. Thank you for a physical place where we can meet together to worship you, but thank you most of all for the people that make up your blessed church. Thank you for the varying interests, skills, and teaching that we learn from and through each other. Thank you for the diversity of this community of believers and how we can all learn and grow from our shared experiences. May you be glorified through the songs, praise, teaching, and prayer of your people, the Church.
