What is the church?

   Have you ever watched video of somebody hang gliding? It's fascinating, isn't it? They strap themselves to this enormous, winged contraption, run toward a cliff as fast as they can, then fearlessly leap over the edge. After a few seconds of free-falling, the wind eventually catches the fabric covering the wings, and they can begin to maneuver their way across the countryside with very little effort of their own.

   While I doubt that I'd ever have enough courage to attempt such a thing, I can still feel myself being swept away as I've watched others do so. The sense of freedom must be absolutely incredible. The views, astonishing. I know beyond a doubt it would be an absolutely breathtaking experience.

   One thing that becomes evident as you watch them do this is the way they use the wind to take them wherever they want to go. They don't fight against it, because doing so would be futile. They simply ride it out, and allow it to take them.

   What if, before jumping over the edge of the cliff, the hang glider decided that he or she wanted to bring a few creature comforts along with them? What if they decided to bring a cold drink to enjoy along the way? What if they tucked some food away in case they became hungry? Maybe they'd also want to bring their smart phone so they could take pictures, listen to music, and post about their experience via Facebook? Or maybe they'd bring their laptop along for the ride. Obviously, the more they brought along with them, the more their weight would increase, making them less able to maneuver, the more distracted they'd be from simply enjoying the beauty of their surroundings, and the more likely they'd be to end up crashing to the ground in a heap.

   So, how does any of this even relate to the question: "What is the church?"

   It all has to do with the mental images that come to your mind when you hear the word "church."

   During the days of the early church, this "church" was not a building. It was a gathering of believers for the sole purposes of teaching, encouraging, and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. They met wherever they could, from homes to street corners, from markets to hill sides.

   While doing so, they prayed, asking for guidance from the Spirit of God as to what they should say, where they should go, what they should do, and who they should speak with. They continually and consistently sought wisdom and guidance from God Himself, being completely open to wherever He might lead them, whenever He might lead them there. Once they had arrived at a specific location, knowing beyond a doubt that God had led them there, they prayed some more, asking God to speak to others through them. But here's the fascinating thing to me: They never allowed themselves to become too comfortable in any location. Once it was apparent their work was done there, they prayed for God's guidance and moved on. They lived their lives with one simple understanding. As Jesus Himself said to Nicodemus;

Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”  - John 3:6-8

   The church in America - from my own personal experiences - has become something very different. We've become very comfortable in our beautiful buildings, with our stunning video images, our state of the art sound systems, our slick presentations, our comfortable seating, and the list goes on and on.

   We invite everyone and anyone to enter these buildings..........buildings we've paid an enormous amount of money to buy and maintain..........We play some music for them, we teach them a lesson about who we know God to be, and we send them away until they can return the following Sunday and watch us repeat this performance.

   If we're not paying attention to our true purpose as believers, we can do this week after week, month after month, and year after year without once feeling a true and significant movement of the Spirit of God within those walls.

   We can, and in many cases have, become like a hang glider jumping off of a cliff with a Lay-Z-Boy recliner strapped to our backs. We jump off of various cliffs, expecting the wind - or the Spirit of God - to fill up our wings and allow us to soar to incredible heights, without even realizing that the things we've insisted upon taking along with us for the ride are making it impossible for the wind to make any sort of real and lasting impact upon the world through our self-ordained ministries.

   So how do we fix this? The answer is simple. We start being the church again. We start by praying, asking the Spirit to speak to our hearts, to guide us to where He wants us to go, to give us the words to speak, and to immediately act upon His leading. We let go of the American church mentality of needing bigger buildings, flashier presentations, and thereby release ourselves from the unnecessary burdens that holds us back from the experiencing the true freedom of jumping off of that cliff, feeling the Spirit fill our wings, and allowing Him to lift us to heights we never dreamed possible.