Yesterday, I posed this question on Facebook: If you had to describe your church in 3 words what would you say?
I decided to answer the question too. I thought for a minute and then completely cheated and used two hyphenated words for a grand total of 5 words. I said:
My church: Spirit-filled, Christ-centered, and family.
But, if I have to play fair and really only use 3 words, I would say the 3 words that best decribe my church would be:
Jesus, Spirit, and family.
They sound like such simple words, don’t they? They aren’t hot-button Christian words. They aren’t new-fangled concepts or ideas.They can’t really be misconstrued (Oh, but people do try).
Jesus, Spirit, and family.
And sure, I could have said “organic,” but that word helps describes what our church looks like not Who it is about. We have no head pastor, other than Jesus Christ. As for the Spirit, I could have said “prophetic,” or “supernatural,” but again that word describes the result, not the Person responsible.
And lastly, I said “family,” which is really the only word I can use to describe how I feel about the people of my church. We are family. Through and through. One big, messy, beautiful, glorious, imperfect family.
As for the question on Facebook, I loved reading the answers from others and those answers varied wildly. People said things like authentic, community, artsy, hopegivers, missional. So, I thought I’d pose the question here, on the blog, too.
Mostly because I’m curious and a tad nosey. But, also because I think it would be edifying and fun to just read one another’s answers. Because Jesus is infinite and uncontainable. As a result, His church has many different expressions. So what’s yours?
If you had to describe your church in 3 words what would you say? AND WHY?
P.S. Be sure to check back tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel, to read the “How to Hear from God” post. It’s gonna be radical.
Freedom, Fellowship, and Jesus.
Kaelynn,
I love “freedom.” That word is the driving force in my relationship with Jesus.
I was wondering if you’d share WHY you chose those three words? Why do these best describe your church?
P.S. You look beautiful in your wedding photo!
Redemption, worship and family (our church’s name is “Redemption.”)
Ooh, I’m intrigued by all three words. Just like I asked Kaelynn, WHY those three words?
What goes on within your church that represents those three words?
Redemption reminds me that Jesus paid the atonement for my sins and bought me back from slavery to sin. I am not my own; I was bought at a price. It is also a gift of love, unearned by anything that I do, past, present and future. This is the message consistently preached in my church and it was the name our leaders decided upon when two churches in the area decided to join together. They wanted to put the mission and message of our church into the name.
Worship is what naturally flows from realizing what God has done for me and others and how amazing He is. It is more than just singing on Sunday–it is acknowledging what God has done daily and living for Him, though I am so imperfect and so easily distracted. My church worships in both English and Spanish, reflecting our congregation and it gives me a little taste of what heaven will be like when we are all gathered together.
Family reminds me that I am now a child of God and I have many brothers and sisters in my neighborhood, church and all over the world that have nothing to do with my genetic pool. We are all grafted in by the blood of Jesus and bound together by the Holy Spirit. God has been really hitting this point home with me in my current church, where some of my brothers and sisters don’t even speak the same language that I do. And yet, friendships have formed in spite of the cultural and language barriers. It is an awesome thing God is doing!
Currently not existing.
Because I’m looking for a home church. :)
Fair enough Jason, but how about this…
What three words do you want your future church to exemplify?
Go on, day dream and present it to the Lord…
Honest, Hopeful, Powerful
Sarah,
I love that and I especially love “powerful.” Our God, and His people surrendered to Him, is powerful!
on FB i wrote : authentic, hopegivers, moving
and they are. most of the time. most of them. all of the above.
except when they’re not. or we’re not.
my hubby is the guy that preaches most Sundays. we love and are privileged to serve in this way. but boy, are we sure glad that JESUS is really our Senior Pastor, and not us.
that is way too big a pressure to bear. thank you for your heart. for challenging the church, each of us, to be just that – HIS bride.
Jenny,
Man, you are so right and thank you for bringing this point up. None of us are always anything all of the time. We are never only the best parts of ourselves and that goes for our churches, as well.
We are imperfect people serving a Perfect God…and yes, blessed to be His bride.
Missional – Because there is a big focus on outreach.
Scripture – Because our pastor is an amazing teacher.
Young – Because we’re a relatively new church and absolutely full of college students. :)
3 words that describe my church:
Jesus, community, gospel
I say Jesus because the reality is, my church doesn’t preach anything other than Jesus. Every Sunday, it’s always about Jesus. It’s awesome.
We also don’t consider church to be the building. We consider the church to be us, the people. We meet in small groups at people’s houses during the week as missional communities. That’s where we do life together and share life with those around us. That’s why I said Community.
I also said Gospel because that is what our lives are all about. Living in the good news and showing that good news to those around us.
Safe – It’s a safe zone for discovering and learning how to use spiritual gifts.
Empowering – You can’t hide in a back pew and just listen. All are equal contributors and you are empowered to use your voice and gifts where they will be appreciated rather than seen as interrupting the scheduled flow of things.
Family – There is a focus on doing life together rather than just interacting for 3 minutes of “meet and greet” time before a sermon.
I LOVE this…and I think you know why. it makes me so happy that these are the words you chose to describe your church.
You are such a valuable member of Christ’s Body.
Divided; seeking; rebuilding. We are seeking God’s face in all we do; and we are starting again after a change of pastor and leadership (Because of division the church itself may not survive the process, and we will start a new house church if it doesn’t)
Imperfect, Dysfunctional, and Volatile.
Very much like the group Jesus selected and developed.
Gray,
Yeah… those adjectives could describe my church too. Although we have not had much volatility yet, but I’m sure it’s coming…
Ah, Jesus…sometimes I wonder what He’s thinking. We’re a mess sometimes, but He still chooses us and for that I’m thankful.
Broken, Family, Hopeful
I really cannot think of three words because I think of things like Scripture and Jesus are so essential, they are like breathing. But if I had to use one word, it would be real. Real people, real problems, real stories, real faith. I simply love the real.
I Don’t Know
Because I’m lost and feeling church homeless….again.
Mary Jane,
My heart breaks to hear that and yet, I know what that feels like–to be an orphan in the church with nowhere to call home. I am praying that God brings a spiritual family to you and soon. Please be encouraged knowing that your Heavenly Father does not desire for you to be alone, but rather wants to envelop you into the family of God. I expect, if you ask, that He will do nothing less.
Mary, Keep your ears and eyes open. I testify, from experience, God will guide you home again.
I decided to post this, because the feedback may help –
family, Spirit, tired
Maggie, are you tired or is your church out of steam? I am curious because you also listed “Spirit” and He does not get tired. We need to live dependent upon His power to accomplish God’s will in all things.
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. (Gal 6:9)
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
Spiritual (meaning of The Holy Spirit), binding, familial.
And the best part? It has no walls.
Love that! Binding…so good.
And amen to no walls. There is such freedom in this truth.
Nicole, check this. Family is covenant. Covenant is The Church. Family is The Church.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=159590330846312&set=a.159590294179649.35900.100003860380420&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
I would describe my old church as carnal, charismatic, and ungodly. I would describe my new church as intimate, God fearing, and interpersonal.
Wow, what a contrast Alexandria. I’m glad for where you find yourself now.
Hypocritical, Anti-Gay, Judgmental, Ignorant, Close-Minded, Sheltered, Two-Faced, Sanctimonious, Bigoted, Out of touch with reality, Major on the minor things, Use the bible as a weapon to discriminate and justify their unchristan behaviour and immoral beliefs, Too Political, Too focused on sin, Condemnatory, Self-Righteous, Arrogant, Intolerant, Unwilling to change, Cause more division and harm than good, Treat others who are different or who believe differently as a threat, Unaccepting, Cherry-pick bible verses and disregard the true context. Sorry 3 words to sum up how I feel about churches overall, wasn’t enough.
Unchristian* behaviour (Spelling mistake).
The church I’ve been going to for 13 years: Hypocritical, fake, judgmental (unfortunately my husband still likes it, although he has agreed to go to the other one with me)
The church I’ve been going to for 15 months: Deep, loving family