Going to Church

Church.

Whether you’re religious or not, chances are you’re familiar with that word.

In the United States, churches are found in nearly every town and, in some places, on almost every street.

In Europe, nearly every village or city has an ornate, elaborate church smack dab in the center - doesn’t matter if you’re in Rome, Italy, or Bapaume, France.

And it isn’t just the Western world either.

Churches of all shapes and sizes are becoming increasingly more common in Asia and the Global South.

Home churches, cathedrals, storefronts turned worship centers… our world is surrounded by churches.

So, naturally, it’s fair to ask…

What exactly are they?

Little “C”

There’s no shortage of ways to answer that question.

So, today, I’m going to take a two-thronged approach by talking about “churches” and “the Church.”

Let’s start with churches.

Churches (with a little c) are simply the buildings, places, and local communities where followers of Jesus gather for worship, reflection, and fellowship - typically on Sunday.

Plain and simple.

This applies to lavish, historically rich buildings used by traditional denominations, such as Catholics, Orthodox, or Presbyterians. 

…but can just as easily apply to a house church in China or a shopping mall church in the United States.

Furthermore, church can also be used to describe the group that meets in the building.

“My church meets at 11:30,” or “my church just received a new priest,” and so on.

This definition of church as a place or building is certainly valid but it isn’t exhaustive. In fact, I’d say it’s secondary to the definition we’re going to spend this week discussing…

The Church

I try to be intentional about how I stylize the word “church” whenever I write it.

When writing about a building or local community, I use a lowercase c, but other times, I'll refer to the Church - capital C.

What’s the difference?

When I’m referring to the Church, I’m not just talking about architecture or one group meeting in one place on one day.

I’m talking about the global community of women and men who follow the teachings and person of Jesus.

To me, that is the core definition of “Church” before buildings or localities get involved.

And this week on Theophilus, we’re going to explore that. We’re going to talk about what this Church is, what its implications are, and how we can engage with it.

We’ll continue with that tomorrow.

For now, be blessed.

Jon,

Theophilus Newsletter