Friday, December 12

The church within the church

Within every church lives what I would call, the real church. What I mean is that attending a church service or even joining a church, is not the same thing as being the church.

Regardless of size, there seems to be a core group of believers within every assembly who are truly "church." This group can include or exclude leadership, but in every sense, they ARE they church. They are the church when there is a scheduled meeting, just as they are the church throughout the week.

Over the past seven months we have been Stateside, we have visited many different churches. One observation I have made is that within churches there seems to exist another, much smaller, assembly of people. This smaller "church within the church" is made up of vibrant, loving, serving believers--call it the 20% who do 80% of all that ever gets done.

I have been fascinated by this group of people. To me, they are the real church. The rest seem to make up what is certainly called the congregation, but the true ekklesia seems to be the heart and soul of what makes a church a church.

Not only does this core group fill the slots in their local church's program, they are the ones who pray for one another, visit the sick, witness to the lost, invest their money in the Kingdom, fellowship together outside of the planned programs, minister in Jesus name, engage with their community, walk in fellowship with the Lord, disciple/mentor others, share their spiritual gifts within the body of Christ, engage the marginalized of society, share what they have with those less fortunate, serve others instead of waiting around to be served, gracious with those who don't see eye-to-eye with them.

It doesn't matter if that church takes the form of a mega, simple/organic, traditional, or cell church. Nor does it matter what denominational background they come from. A true remnant of God's people can always be found within the gathering of believers who are truly seeking first His Kingdom, His righteousness, and His glory.

These people exist within every church I have ever known. They are the real church within the church.

What do you think?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks Guy! I attended a mission training school in Mexico last year, and my professors Chris Leake, and Grant Haynes, encouraged all of us to read your blog. It randomly popped into my head today, Guy Muse being a very memorable name, and I was encouraged by what I read. It's cool that you see it, and spent the time to write about it. Thanks. -JC

TKB said...

I agree.....Good thoughts.
Beth

J. Guy Muse said...

JC,

Thanks for stopping by. I always enjoy Chris's blog and have it flagged in my Bloglines. Tell him to keep up the good work. Mexico is such a vast mission field. My "hat is off" to you guys there. May God grant you a fruitful ministry!

Beth,

Yo tambien! I love it that God keeps showing us new stuff about himself and the kingdom.

El Perro said...

Bendiciones Guy!

Como siempre me haces pensar en lo que sucede no solo "alrededor" de la iglesia sino en la iglesia misma...

¡Que el Señor te siga usando!

P.D. Espero que hayas pasado buenos momentos en este tiempo de navidad...

J. Guy Muse said...

El Perro,

Saludos mi hermano. Gracias por tu visita y palabras de respaldo. Hemos pasado muy bien estos dias de Navidad con familia. Que Dios te siga bendiciendo ricamente en el 2009!