Church is About Participation, Not Passivitation

[Sermon MP3 is available for download at the bottom of this post.]

I was always taught that the church is the people, not the building. But the example was different.

For example, worship was treated casually, as something to do, or a place to be on Sundays. At the same time, meetings held at the building carried a more "authoritative" aspect to them: we felt these "meetings" were required, while the same thing (i.e., a bible study) held at someone's house was merely a "get-together" which was optional. (Note the difference in terminology.)

The reality is that God has a great vision for his church, his people (Eph. 2:19-22): We are members of his household, fellow citizens with his people, built by him on his foundation. These things are identifiers, signs, that we are chosen by God.

He chooses us, then he builds us. He builds us into a temple he can live in. The purpose of the church in this is to be the container that reveals the glory of God to the world (Eph. 2:21-22).

So we are expected to participate with God in his building project. Too often we view "church" as something passive--we pay professionals to teach and preach, even to "lead" singing, and the majority of us are content to be passive consumers of the products others create and offer to the community. And worst of all, we mistake our passive consumption for real participation.

This is what I call "passivitation"--the notion that we are actually participating even though we are only passively consuming.

What guidelines does scripture give us for how to participate? In 1 Cor. 14:26, Paul points out (amidst a conflict over worship) that what is done in the church (the worshiping people, not the building) should be done to strengthen all. In the first part of that verse, he describes how that happens: "Each of you" participates by bringing something that adds value to the community, either a hymn, a teaching, or some other thing.

In a participating church, the church participates together out of the gifting God has given them to build each other up (see Eph. 4:1-16).

Many of us take or receive value from our worship and church experiences. But do we add value back in?

Consider how you can contribute to strengthening the church. What gifts, talents, or abilities do you have that can help the church? How can you add value to your church community?

If you receive value, add value.

Sermon: Church is About Participation, Not Passivitation