THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH
“What is the purpose of the church?” If I asked this question of 20 different people, I would receive 20 different answers. Even people who do not participate in church have an opinion regarding the purpose of the church
I had a discussion with several pastors a few years ago regarding the church’s influence in the community. We concluded that many churches do not have a significant influence in the community that they reside. Even worse, one of the pastors noted, “People would be more upset if JJ’s Fish and Chicken Restaurant left the community than a church.” Later that evening, I continued pondering the question, “Are fish and chicken restaurants more impactful to a community than a church?”
In the City of Milwaukee, as I imagine in most major cities, there are more churches than there has ever been, however the problems are greater than they have ever been. In fact, many churches now occupy buildings once occupied by movie theaters, car dealerships, grocery stores, restaurants and small manufacturing companies. Are we to suggest that movie theaters, car dealerships, grocery stores, restaurants and small manufacturing companies contribute more to the viability and sustainability of our communities than a church? Ever more, there are hundreds of sermons preached every Sunday morning until Sunday afternoon, however the myriad of problems in our communities remain unresolved and receive little to no attention from Sunday afternoon until the next Sunday morning.
There is a refrain that is commonly shared in the community, and often articulated on the local radio talk shows and in the community newspapers: “Where is the church?” While this statement is piercing, and initially moves those in the church to adopt a defensive stance, the statement is, nevertheless, appropriate, and in many communities, true.
Consider this story told of an individual who, upon leaving prison and desiring that no one else go there, decided to go to church the following Sunday, and become a part of changing his community. On his way to church, the pimps were pimping, the prostitutes were prostituting, the dope dealers were dealing dope and the gang bangers were gang banging. When he arrived at church, the people sang songs that lifted the attributes of Jesus and everything that He has done. They shared testimonies of how good God is. The preacher preached a dynamic message that extolled Jesus for the gift of salvation, and concluded with a celebration of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection from the dead. The people rejoiced and celebrated until they wore themselves out. The man left the church and on his way home the pimps were still pimping, the prostitutes were still prostituting, the dope dealers were still dealing dope and the gang bangers were still gang banging. With everything that was happening inside of the church building, little of it was influencing what was occurring outside of the church building.
