Since I was born, I have been in a church. Being born and raised by a pastor and a family that is devoted to Christ and active in the church has been both exciting and challenging. I had my own share of frustrations, confusions, and heartaches because of the fact that being raised in a Christian family is not that easy. Don't misunderstand this, but being raised in a Christian family is really not easy. It is not what most people would assume it would be if your whole family is a Christian.
But my point of writing this is getting myself clear about the "church." Church, for me, has always meant family. Church has been a place where my whole family is, and everyone else who is part of the church is also part of my family. It is a place where everyone can share their lives - celebrations, grief, and conflict. Yes, conflict. It is part of every organic being getting together. Yet, the church has been a place where conflict is seen as a point of learning, growing, and transforming the life of the individuals involved in it.
I grew up in a traditional church setting where we meet every Sunday for worship service, we meet for mid-week service or prayer meetings on Wednesdays, support group or Bible study on Saturdays, and a whole lot of activities especially meant for men, women, youth, and children. This church experience has spiced up my life in that I've been prepared for the kind of work I am doing right now. Church activities are like programs, church leaders like bosses, youth members are like my co-workers, and the whole organizational dynamics that are always challenging. Church and work have been very similar for me.
So, if church and work seemed similar for me, what then, is the distinction of a church? And what does it mean to become a peace church?
For more than a year now, I am part of a budding community we call Peace Church. We meet every Wednesday nights to study the scripture, share and reflect, and eat together. We meet some Saturdays to get together with each other's families, eat, play, reflect, and dream! We are a church. Not the traditional church setting people would expect us to be, but we are a church. We are a peace church because we all follow Jesus Christ and embrace his teachings of peace and nonviolence, and we strive to live in obedience to this teaching. Would it be sufficient description of a church? If not, then what are we?
The word church as we now know it has been originally written in the Bible as ecclesia, which meant "a body of Christians CALLED OUT of the Roman and Judean system to come together into a separate civil community." The early Christians have been an ecclesia in that they proclaimed no other king but Jesus. They were called out and were turning the world system upside down. They dethroned kings and rulers in the minds of the people, and those whose hearts responded became citizens of God's kingdom and joined the community of believers called ecclesia.
Now, let's look at the other way around. Suppose there is a community of people following Jesus and seeking to actively and obediently respond to his nonviolent radical teachings. Suppose they work together to read the scripture and actively pursue peace in their everyday life - career, business, family, hobbies, manners. Isn't that already an ecclesia? Isn't that a church? A church is not defined by the building where they meet or the regularity of worship services and the order of worship. A church, for me, has been and always will be a family. It is a community of shared lives seeking to actively follow the teachings of Jesus Christ in every aspect of our daily living.
What else do you see a peace church to be? You can share me your experiences and opinions.
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