ArticleChurch as a Community

In the New Testament, the Greek word used for 'church' is ekklesia. This word appears several times in the New Testament and is translated in the TB-LAI Bible as “Congregation” (e.g. Matthew 16:18; 1 Timothy 3:15, etc.). From the use of this word in the New Testament, there are several important things that we can note. However, on this occasion, we will only focus on the relational aspect of the church.

In ancient Greek literature, the word ekklesia was commonly used to refer to a crowd of people. In other words, this word is actually talking about the existence of a community. New Testament writers also seem to have used this word to emphasize this meaning. The church is a community, a collection of believers. The Lord Jesus himself also emphasized the nature of this community. That's why He taught us to pray "Our Father," and not "My Father."

This aspect of community carries at least two implications for our church lives. First, the church must live as a community. It must be admitted, current times tend to push us to be closed and individualistic. Worse, the rampant pandemic in recent years has further strengthened this trend. Many people are content with online worship and forget that it is an emergency mode that should be chosen due to circumstances. Lately, some circles even offer a virtual reality, which secretly actually strengthens our individualistic spirit. Because of these things, it is not surprising that I hear many churches complain that their congregations are reluctant to return to church and worship together.

Here we must remember that the 'church' is not a matter of mere ritualism. As a church, God wants us to live and worship as a community. In fact, when we distance ourselves from worship and community life, and settle for individual spiritualism, we actually lose an important element of being a church.

Second, the church must live as a relational community. In life as a community, God wants a relationship to be built in it. Unfortunately, the world tempts us to live only for ourselves. Before the pandemic, I met many Christians who made worship simply a weekly ritual. They come, they worship, they go home soon. There is no relationship that exists with fellow believers in the church. They don't even know who the person sitting in front or next to them is.

In fact, God doesn't want us to live just for ourselves. He wants us to build relationships with His fellow people. The relationship itself can only happen when we share life and goodness with them, and not just engrossed in our own business. This relationship will also not be built through a virtual reality, because humans need a real and deep relationship, not just a pseudo encounter. Deep relationships can only be built through real and open encounters.

In the midst of this challenging situation, are we willing to return to this calling of the church?