Build My Church
These words are very well known by many but are a mystery to most! Who is the ‘My’? What does it mean to ‘build’? How can anyone be sure what ‘church’ means these days? If you were a church-goer when you were young, are you still? The fact is that many have stopped ‘going’ to church, the church is ageing, it is divided into many denominations and has suffered many indignations. There’s a lot that can happen to make a person give up on church as you can probably testify. Is it still an ‘institution’ recognised and respected today? If not, why not and what is its future? So many questions, but current statistics reveal much decline in traditional churches although there are various expressions of church bucking the trend in some areas. The pace of secularisation in Europe seems unrelenting with far fewer claiming a Christian identity. And yet, it was the Lord Jesus speaking to his original 12 disciples who said: ‘I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it’- Matthew 16:18. Eras of history have shown great advances despite the many setbacks. Wikipedia states that c.2.5 billion people are Christian which is c.30% of the world’s population. It does beg the question as to what it means to be a Christian and to be part of Jesus’ Church.
- ‘A church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints’ – Pauline Phillips
- ‘Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile’ – Billy Sunday