With the start of each New Year, I always find myself getting excited about the possibilities that may lie ahead. This year I find myself day-dreaming about the possibility that Jesus could actually return this year. Obviously, I have no idea if that will actually occur this year, but it is natural for someone who is engaged to dream about their wedding day that is approaching. Every bride wants to get ready for the day of her wedding and the church, as a bride, is no exception. Consider this description from Revelation 19:7:
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
Every time I read this passage, I can see a beautiful woman getting ready for the day she was created for. A ‘cleaning up’, so to speak. I am convinced that the church is going through this process as we speak, and it is flat out exciting! One area in which the church is in need of being cleaned up is in the area of how the church sees herself. In light of this ‘cleaning up’ process, I would like to suggest a very simple yet very profound New Year resolution that could aid in the process of correcting how we see the church at a fundamental level.
A Change in Vocabulary
I would like to ask you to seriously consider starting the New Year off by changing the way you use the word ‘Church’. The church is something very profound, and the language we use about her should convey what is true about her, and not continue to promote false ideas and beliefs about her. Here are some ways we can use something as simple as vocabulary to begin to clean up the way we see the church:
1. This year, I pledge to stop referring to the church as if she is a physical dwelling.
I’m sure that almost every Christian that I would talk to would agree that the church is people and not a physical building, but most people reveal their true beliefs about something in the way they speak about something. One of my pep peeves is hearing the word ‘church’ used incorrectly in casual language. Let me give you a common example:
“Go down the street, turn left, you’ll pass a ‘church’ on the right, then turn left.” (when giving directions)
or
“Look, that’s a beautiful church!” (when seeing or passing a pretty religious building)
or
“Wow, that’s a huge church!” (when passing a large religious building)
Now I know this might not seem like a big deal, but this kind of use of the word ‘church’ reinforces something profoundly untrue about the church. As people who represent Christ, we should promote truth in the language we use. Even though our culture is confused about this, we should know that the church is not a building. Why do we keep referring to her as if she was a physical structure? There is a very simple solution to this profound problem…call the structure what it is, and do not call the structure what it is not. For example, we all agree that a wife is a woman; so wouldn’t it be weird to refer to your car as your ‘wife’, or your apartment or home as your ‘wife’? It is also weird to refer to the wife of Jesus in such a ridiculous way as well.
This year, replace the incorrect use of the word ‘church’ with the correct word(s). If you see a religious building, call it a religious building. Do not call something that is not a church, a church. Yes, I know there will be a social price to pay if you refer to a religious building as a religious building and not a church. People will look at you in a puzzled manner. They may even tilt their head to the side slightly in curiosity. This may open a door for a good conversation about something vital and profound however, or it may not. At the least, you will not have reinforced something harmful and untrue about the nature of the church in something as simple as giving directions or sightseeing for example.
2. This year, I pledge to stop talking about the ‘church’ as if she is one physical location.
This example is closely related to the previous example I just gave. Since we are all in agreement that the church is people, we should not refer to the church as if it had one location. I am writing this blog post while sitting in a Panera Bread restaurant. I just had a very nice lady invite me to her church meeting. She said: “You should check us out this Sunday.” She finished out the invitation by saying: “Our church is at the corner of…”
Now, I know exactly what she meant, but hopefully you get the picture. I would like to ask you to pledge this year that you will not refer to the church as if she was synonymous with a physical location. Since the church is made up of many people, it is not accurate to pin the location of the church to a physical location. Here is an example of something I might say when inviting someone to a church meeting. “Our church meets at (such and such) location on Sunday. By saying this, we are communicating the profound truth that there is a separation between the church (people) and where the church meets.
(The more we believe this essential truth, the harder it will be to justify the taking of millions of dollars to pay for such edifices, but that is a another topic for another day:)
3. This year, I pledge to stop saying “I go to church” or “We’re having church”.
This is pretty straight forward. The church is not something you ‘go to’ nor is it something you are ‘having.’ Whenever I hear someone say this, it is a sign to me that they are still holding some false institutional beliefs about the church. For those who are in Christ, the church is something you are. The church is made up people who are in Christ. All who are in Christ are members of the church. When these members meet together, it can be correctly said that the church is ‘having a meeting’, or is ‘meeting together’. Obviously the church is more than a meeting or a series of meetings, so we should not refer to the church as if it’s synonymous with its meeting. This year, begin saying “we are going to meet with the church”, or “I’m going to the church meeting.” Yes, you may pay a social price as I mentioned above, but you will be sowing seeds of truth. Don’t laugh, those are very profound seeds indeed!
4. This year, I pledge to refer to the church as a ‘she’ and not an ‘it’.
Throughout the scriptures, the people of God are referred to as a bride. I could go on and on about that, but quite simply, the church is a woman! This woman has many members. She is the very bride of God Himself. (Stew on that one for awhile and your head will swim.) When talking about this woman (church), it is appropriate to use the personal pronoun of ‘she’ and not the non-living word of ‘it.’ For example, when referring to how amazing the church is, don’t say: “it is amazing”, rather say this: “She is amazing!” After all, would you refer to your wife as an ‘it’? We should not refer to the wife of Jesus as an ‘it’ either.
5. This year, I will not refer to my church community as if she had only one member.
Like I mentioned above, a nice lady invited me to her church meeting while I was sitting here in Panera Bread writing this blog post. (Not a coincidence!) She began to tell me how amazing her Pastor was. She was referring to how great a teacher & communicator he is. Obviously, the church is made up of many members, not just one, so it makes no sense to talk about the church as if it only had one member. After all, we are not a part of the church community simply because of one of its members. Now I know why she told me about her Pastor, so I know what she meant. I simply smiled at her and thanked her for her nice invitation. In her understanding of church, the member of the church that she was referring to as ‘Pastor’ is the acting head of her church community. She did not have to tell me that, she communicated that to me in the use of her vocabulary. From scripture, we know that the true head of the church is Christ Himself, so we should mention how great Jesus is, and use Him as a ‘selling point’, so to speak, to represent the church community. We should become a member of the church because Jesus is the good shepherd (pastor). (For more explanation of this truth, see Matthew 23:8-12)
I hope this has been helpful for you as you begin this New Year. I am convinced that the simple changing of the vocabulary that we use to describe the church will have a tremendous impact in helping us understand what the gospel really is, who Jesus is, who we are in relation to who He is, and how we are to function on this planet!
Happy New Year,
Jamal Jivanjee
illuminate 
Linda
January 8, 2011
Thank you for the timely reminders Jamal. I am guilty of almost all of them!!!! I do believe we are paving the way for the soon return of the Lord and these things are so important. I was reading John 17 where Jesus prays for all of us believers:
Jesus Prays for All Believers
John 17:20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
And more than anything He wanted His bride (the Church) to be brought into complete unity! Praying this is the year that happens!!!! God Bless you – I love the blog!
Linda
Jamal Jivanjee
January 12, 2011
Thanks Linda!
Andy McLoughlin
January 8, 2011
Thanks so much for doing this, Jamal!
Jim Spelman
January 8, 2011
I have already started (inconsistently) laying these “seeds of truth” in the hearts of my 4 little kids. They don’t really get it yet and sometimes it bugs my wife, but I hope when they are older and, Lord willing, walking intimately with Jesus as their first and greatest Love, they will have a more solid and biblical understanding of the Church than many of have today.
I hear your heart, Jamal. Some of this is “semantics” and we often know the truth even though we don’t state it in a truly biblically accurate manner, but I do agree that we can set a new and better precedent if we strive to intentionally change some of our “church language.”
Jamal Jivanjee
January 9, 2011
Jim, what a great heritage your kids have!
Robin
January 8, 2011
Great points!!!! I pledge too. It is hard to unlearn what you’ve learned and done for many years. The Holy Spirit is a great reminder of things though 🙂
Jamal Jivanjee
January 12, 2011
Robin, I know exactly what you mean!
Jill
January 8, 2011
Love it Jamal! Thank you…
OMAR LUTHER KING
January 8, 2011
I am totally preoccupied with my mission work on which I must remain focussed and will therefore not be able to contribute to the worthy and giganty task that you have taken upon yourslef for His sake and glroy.
May God enable you to complete the work He has assigned you to do.
Jamal Jivanjee, you are laying treasures in heaven.
Keep up the good work!
May God bless you in everything you do for Him.
Amen.
Jamal Jivanjee
January 8, 2011
Thank you all for reading through this article and considering these points. I appreciate your thoughtful comments, words of encouragement, and passages of scripture. May the purification of the church occur by leaps and bounds this year!
OMAR LUTHER KING
January 8, 2011
Amen to all that you and your FB friends are praying for to our Lord, who is coming soon.
May your prayer be heard by our prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God, and may your endeavour bear good fruit.
Amen.
Irwin
January 8, 2011
Good start to your blog Jamal, looking forward to visiting frm time to time.
Jamal Jivanjee
January 9, 2011
Come back anytime brother:)
Diane Jones
January 8, 2011
Thanks, Jamal. Excellent thoughts — the Holy Spirit has been revealing the same in my thinking and how we expressi the Church. The Holy Spirit has also been correcting me about our ‘marketing’ of our own ‘religious building’ to our community… I want to invite our neighbors and let them know they are welcome; we cannot put out signs due to deed restrictions in our community. We have been having various outreaches outside in our parking lot to get to know our neighbors and for them to get to know us.l. we went Christmas caroling to our neighbors around our building…. we walk the streets and talk to our neighbors… yet there are so many still to be reached. The Lord draws them, so we are praying.
Darcey
January 8, 2011
Thank you jamal as always for telling it like it is!! I chose to agree whole heartedly:)
Mark Burnett
January 9, 2011
Well put and timely as well. The more I get to know the Bride of Christ, the more I love her and the closer I want to be to her. The closer I get the more involved I get, and the more involved I get the more passionate I get for her – to see her become that bride that honors and magnifies the Groom – Jesus.
Jamal Jivanjee
January 9, 2011
That’s exactly how I feel too Mark.
Laura
January 11, 2011
Hey, Jamal…always appreciate your passion for seeing Jesus’ bride come into her full freedom and stature I. Him. When I read tis yesterday, I had no comment to make because I had nothing informed by Him. Today He exhorted me that we (the people) are God’s “family” and Christ’s “body”. The word “church” has incurred such an institutional meaning it doesn’t convey what we are to our Father. A lot of times I use ecclesia when talking to people because it more purely explains what I’m trying to say. But I think I am going to try using “family” when talking about Jesus’ bride. Why not use my words to get rid of a bunch of religion all at once, lololol!
Jamal Jivanjee
January 12, 2011
Linda, thanks for your comments. I agree wholeheartedly and I love the analogy of family when describing the nature of church. Thanks for the suggestion!
Laura
January 11, 2011
PS – Sorry for the typos. Sending from my phone.
OMAR LUTHER KING
January 12, 2011
“Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
Velvet Hale
January 12, 2011
Wow, Jamal…such simple truths. Never dawned on me to do any of these things; so hard to “unlearn” what I have been taught all these years in the “meetings”. Thank you Jamal. For paving the way, as others before you and alongside you have. If it costs you nothing, it means nothing. This means something. Very honored to be able to read your blog and your thoughts, and to hear your heart, Jamal.
Thank you, brother.
Jamal Jivanjee
January 12, 2011
Thanks for your comments Velvet. I think we are all on this journey of unlearning the system of man and learning Christ. I am finding that it is a long journey, but a worthwhile journey!
Joe Hale
January 14, 2011
I usually make time to read your articles, which I usually agree with to some degree. I simply do not have the time to “jump” into the debate, even though the thoughts, agreements, disagreements, etc., run wild in my mind. I think it is indeed healthy for us to think deeper about our terms, their implications and possible flaws, verbiage, etc. I disagreed with many issues in your (probably) most-controversial article, as I find no mandate in the Word that today’s “bride” is to be exactly like the N.T. “bride”; we are to be obedient to the Word, not making an effort to duplicate the “bride” of a different century. If so, using Facebook might be an issue! …also, asking for financial support with tax credit receipts might not fly either. I’m not objecting to these things, just making the point that you can’t pick and choose which things you apply to the “let’s be like the NT church” concept and which to ignore.
As for this latest post, I generally agree, and I do think it is an important issue, although it will be hard to be consistent for anyone…. my guess is most of us (even some of the posters in this stream) call God’s Spirit… THE Holy Spirit. Should it be “him” or “he”? Not really sure using “the Holy Spirit” is a big breech of what God wants from us. Personally, I like to use “God’s Spirit in me.” But I don’t feel I need to be critical of those who use “THE” Holy Spirit.
Joe
Jamal Jivanjee
January 16, 2011
Thanks for your comments Joe, I appreciate you taking the time to leave your thoughts here. I agree with you that there is no biblical mandate to be like the N.T. Church in areas of culture and time period. I don’t think I have ever advocated such a thing. If so, please let me know what cultural thing from the 1’st century I have advocated. Biblical values regarding what the the church is and how she should operate are much different however. The institutional church system is not structurally different from the church depicted in the New Testament because we live in the 21’st century, but because the values that the institutional church system stands on are completely opposite of the church depicted in the New Testament.
Joe Hale
January 17, 2011
Some examples:
Buildings-Looking at the NT church, it seems that they mostly met house-to-house, but there is no condemnation of meeting in a specific place intentionally for corporate worship. I am one that agrees with you about multi-million dollar edifices that mostly sit unused for most of the week…a shame! But I cannot ignore the O.T. reality that God, for whatever reason, wanted the building with “His name” on it to be a beautiful reflection of Him! Solomon went all-out and God never expressed displeasure that too much money was spent on an edifice. I realize that the N.T. brought in a new era so that, through His indwelling Spirit, God would now be “in” all of his saints! (Praise God for that!) It is clear that He wants more than anything that His new “dwelling place” (us) to be a magnificent reflection of Him. There is nothing forbideen, however, in regard to a meeting “place” for the larger Body, although the emphasis clearly moves from a specific place (OT) to people (NT). I do not think that we can emphatically conclude that today’s Church should not meet in large groups. Referring to one of your previous articles–the Church of Memphis would have to find a pretty large building! (but that’s another subject)
The role of elders, pastors, etc.–Clearly the Catholic-style “gap’ between “clergy” (I hate that word) and laypeople (I hate that word too), is not what the NT teaches. However, spiritual leadership within the Body IS taught. The fact that some abuse their position is a pity, but this fact alone is not enough reason to dispel the whole concept. Clearly the Apostles and the NT pastors were seen with great esteem and respect by their constituents. No, they were not “gods” nor were they perfect, but God did give them a special gifting and a special place within the Body of Christ, undeniably. I know many godly pastors today who are humble, gentle, Spirit-led men, who know they are not God, and who sweetly lead their fellowships. I believe it is unfair to broadbrush what you call “institutional” churches and those who lead them in a negative fashion; wouldn’t it be better to just do what you believe is right, without attacking those with whom you disagree? Then again, maybe you feel this is your calling… the gift of “prophecy” so to speak, and maybe it is. But it seems to me that, with your definition of the “Church” (as being basically one-per-city ), you will never really be able to pastor a local church, which leaves you with being a single voice speaking to the worldwide Body of Christ. If this is all the church is, how can there be accountability for you? I believe it puts you in a very dangerous position–while appearing to be “broad” really leaving you alone and under no authority other than God Himself. …then again, maybe I’m missing some facts.
Living by faith or asking for money. (or are those mutually exclusive?) Did the NT church share specific financial needs and ask people for money? And when presented with a need, or given the opportunity to give, did they give with the right hand “not knowing” what the left hand was doing? I don’t know that we can emphatically say either. Several missionaries and Christian workers like George Mueller strongly believed they should only ask God to meet their needs; others ask for money. Both believe they are practicing NT practices. Can we not allow them BOTH to be mutually respected, without saying one is NT and one is not?
“communal” living–Scripture indicates that the church at Jerusalem pooled their resources so that the needs of all could be met. Does this mean we have to do so today?
My point is simple: God wants us to be obedient to His Word, but everyone’s obedience doesn’t look exactly the same, even on issues that are not cultural. In fact, there is room for diversity and differences, and these things should not bring the wrath of one Christian on another, nor should it be grounds for putting all churches with buildings in one category, or all pastors who lead churches (institutional or not) into one box.
frankaviola
January 26, 2011
Bravo!
Jamal Jivanjee
February 1, 2011
Thanks for the encouragment Frank:)
Daniel Norlin
January 31, 2011
This is a great post! It’s also available in Swedish here:
http://levandestenar.com/wp/2011/01/ett-enkelt-nyarslofte-som-kommer-att-revolutionera-ditt-liv-2011/
Jamal Jivanjee
February 1, 2011
Daniel, thanks so much for taking the time to translate this article. I pray that God may be glorified through it and that the church in Sweeden would be edified and built up! Blessings on you.
Patty Grey
February 6, 2011
I understand we are the Church, the bride of Christ. I see the building rather than a “religious building” it is a “house for worship.”
Jamal Jivanjee
February 8, 2011
Thanks for your comment Patty. From what I understand in the scriptures, Jesus is the temple and the very house of God. We have been added to Him, so now we (church) are the house of worship. The house of worship (us) can meet anywhere. The house (us) can meet in a house, retail establishment, building, cave or tomb like the early believers, etc…the point that I think is important, however, is the fact that we (the house of God) should never be confused with a physical structure.