What is the Church?

Final post for a week - taking a break till Tuesday July 16.  But here are some more thoughts from C. Kirk Hadaway, from his book, "Behold I do a new thing: Transforming communities of faith."

If we rediscover that the purpose of our church is to transform people- to bring down their self-constructed walls, dissolve their delusions, and help them see God - then we also have a mission.  That mission is to be a church that actualizes our purpose in a way unique to our congregation.  It is to form a transformational community.... The primary purpose of the church is to be the church - not to try to become something that it is not, however wonderful that new something might seem. Being oneself, and growing from there, implies doing something, of course, but our focus should not be on achieving goals or measuring output."

"At base, a church is (or should be) a worshipping community where people are transformed into citizens of God's Realm, into people who see differently and, thus, live differently in the world.  In order to be churches, all churches should be that .  How they worship, form community, and transform their members will differ.  But the doing of these things is always connected to their basic purpose as churches."
"If a church's mission is directed at its purpose and its members are being transformed through that mission, the congregation can and should dream about doing great things (ministries) that are in keeping with its purpose and unfolding incarnation.  A mission (to actualize purpose) should be "like a compass that shows us the direction to go in and that keeps us on course."

Some very helpful thoughts!