{"id":606,"date":"2010-05-25T10:56:29","date_gmt":"2010-05-25T17:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sharefaithblog.wpengine.com\/?p=606"},"modified":"2017-10-09T10:34:15","modified_gmt":"2017-10-09T17:34:15","slug":"sunday-christian-living-life-exceeds-boundaries-church-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sharefaith.com\/blog\/2010\/05\/sunday-christian-living-life-exceeds-boundaries-church-building\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sunday Christian \u2013 Living a Life That Exceeds the Boundaries of the Church Building"},"content":{"rendered":"

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There\u2019s a little word game surrounding \u201cchurch\u201d that often presents a problem. The problem has to do with the fact that \u201cchurch\u201d is more than a building. It is, in fact, a local body of believers. But the church is also a universal entity, comprising more than just local believers, but believers from all nations and past ages, too. When someone says, \u201cI\u2019m going to go to church,\u201d I can figure out what meaning they mean. What concerns me is that the \u201cchurch\u201d word game sometimes messes with people\u2019s lives, too.<\/p>\n

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The way it happens is simple. People think of the \u201cchurch\u201d as a building, right? We go into the church building and sing, pray, and listen to a Bible lesson. Then, church is over. We go home and we\u2019re not in the church anymore. So, we live like we\u2019re away from church. Monday through Saturday are not church days anymore, so church living isn\u2019t as necessary. Thus, you have the problem of a Sunday Christian.<\/p>\n

What the Church Is Not.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though most churches have them, the church is not a building. God went to some effort to make sure that we didn\u2019t make this mistake. He described the people <\/em>of the church by using a building figure (Eph. 2:20; 1 Cor. 3:11; 1 Pet. 2:5), clearly indicating that no mere building<\/em> could ever constitute a church. Furthermore, the church is not something that happens just on Sunday. In fact, the early church was \u201cdoing church\u201d constantly (Acts 2:42-47), not just on Sunday. The church is not a social club, a bookstore, a musical program, or a place to while away a few hours on a Sunday morning.<\/p>\n

What the Church Is.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The church is a body of believers under the leadership of Jesus (Eph 1:22-23). The church is a unity of all kinds of people (1 Cor. 12:13). It is a living, active organism (Col. 2:19). The church is a fellowship of believers whose goal is to glorify God through intentional worship when gathered, and through intensive evangelization of the lost when scattered.<\/p>\n

The problem is that it\u2019s easy for us to bifurcate our lives between church and non-church segments. Understanding that we <\/em>are the church ought to change some things in terms of our behavior. Living a life outside the boundaries of the church overcomes the \u201cSunday Christian\u201d problem that may misguide one\u2019s spiritual journey.<\/p>\n

Being the church outside of the building. <\/strong><\/p>\n

How do you live a life that exceeds the boundaries of the church? How do you avoid being just a Sunday Christian?<\/p>\n