January 26, 2009

2 Questions: Part I

Over the past couple weeks there has been some buzz surrounding 2 questions at our church and I thought it could be kind of interesting to get your thoughts on those very same questions. I'm not going to give any explanation or share any of my thoughts yet because I would hate to 'taint' your view but would invite you to comment and join in on the discussion that follows. I'm only going to ask 1 question to start as the 2nd question is dependent upon the potential responses to the 1st. I'll give you a few days to think and share and then I'll post some thoughts and ideas.

The 1st of 2 questions is:

-What is the purpose of the church?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

The purpose of the church is to share God's love, the way Christ did, with our neighbors. . .

Simple answer to a complex question?

Anonymous said...

The purpose of the church is to lift up and encourage believers while providing a "roadmap" for our lives.

scott said...

The purpose of the church is to be a place where we can gather together as a community to give praise and thanks to God as well as a place where we can give love and support to one another in what sometimes can be a difficult world.

Anonymous said...

To be the hands and feet of Christ.

Anonymous said...

The purpose of the church is to build up believers in the Word so that we may be more effective witnesses for Christ.

Matt Lipan said...

Tracey: thanks for the read and comment. sometimes i think we make things more complex than they really are.

Cindy: thanks for the read and comment. the "roadmap" is an interesting idea. i'd be curious to hear you elaborate a little more on what that looks like for you and how it plays out in the life of the church.

scott: thanks for the read and comment. i really like your idea of community. when you look at the make-up of the early Church you see how important this idea of community really was...and is.

Anonymous: thanks for the read and comment. well said!

Lisa-Marie: thanks for the read and comment. i appreciate your thought of being built up in the Word. i wonder how often churches do or don't do that.

Anonymous said...

believe church is to teach us , love us and a place to give praise to God for loving us so much that he gave up his only son so we may be saved

Anonymous said...

The church strives to ignite a passion to follow Jesus.

Matt Lipan said...

Georgette: thanks for the read and comment. some interesting thoughts you bring up, they made me think of a couple questions: What happens when the Church fails to teach/love us? What responsibility, if any, do we have as churchgoers in the teaching/loving process?

Anonymous: thanks for the read and comment. passion is such an interesting thing isn't it? it can cause us to do and say things we would have never thought possible, both good and bad.

i'm curious, which things do you think are or aren't working that the Church is doing to ignite that passion in people to follow Jesus?

Anonymous said...

The purpose of the church is to provide a connection to other believers, allowing us to share in the worship and praise of Jesus Christ, grow in our faith, and share His love with the world around us.

Matt Lipan said...

Noel: thanks for the read and comment. i like the point you make of corporate worship and our need to invite the world to join us.

Anonymous said...

The purpose of the church is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and in doing so grow in our own faith as well as aid those who are not yet believers.

Anonymous said...

The purpose of the church is to bring people together to teach the word of God and how to apply it in every day life, inspire, support, praise, worship and encourage groups to go out and spread the word of the gospel.

Anonymous said...

The purpose of the church is to be be a light in a world of darkness and win souls to Christ. Church challenges me to live for Christ and to make him the center of my daily life. As I am shown and taught what it means to be in complete submission to the father, God is faithful to (often painfully) grow the fruits of the spirit in my life.