What is church?

Is it a building with a steeple & a cross on top?

Is it a place that is somehow built on holy ground? Built with something more than a regular building would have?

 

What is a church?

Is it a place where certain people can gather to worship?

Is it a place where god himself is present to give his guidance to his followers?

 

Does it need to be ordained with gold? Stained glass? Grand arches?

When we think of church we think of a beautiful building with stained glass & a steeple on top, Ordained with carvings & murals depicting religious events throughout history.  At least that is the common perception of a church. Lots of pews with a pulpit up front & a "fire & brimstone" preacher waving a Bible, loudly quoting scriptures while people in the congregation shout out "Hallelujah". That is one type of church, others involve kneeling, bowing, drinking, eating , even waving snakes. But I do not believe in any of that is necessary to be a church.

No, I think a church is a place to learn about God & the afterlife. A place to come together to try & figure out answers to some of our most profound questions. I don't think there needs to be a formal protocol to follow. Do we really need to stand, sit, kneel, confess, cross, eat, drink, testify & say "Amen" a hundred times? Does God really care about those things? Do we need to sing songs & wave our hands in the air for him to hear our voices? Do we even need a special place together to worship God? I have an answer for these questions, as if you didn't think I did. NO.

 

No we don't need a fancy building, no we don't need special procedures, no we don't need to drink grape juice, we don't even need to dress up. God doesn't care about these things.

Why would he care? I can't believe all of the Dogma that people get caught up in, worrying so much about what they are doing they don't stop to think about why. Which brings me to my point. How would I want church to be?

 

My church would not be hung up on all of the crazy rules that plague so many others. We would talk to each other, & not just be preached at. We would be open to new ideas & discussions. If someone has a differing view we would listen to it, not denounce it. We would talk about our lives & how things relate to us, no about a bunch of people who have been dead for thousands of years. But most of all, we would love one another. Not just that "love thy neighbor" crap that others talk about but never follow. I mean really love one another, like a family. I want people gathering together & enjoying it. Giving each other hugs (even the men) & truly getting along. if someone is having a problem, People will jump in & help them out. If someone is feeling sad, they will get support & comfort from the others. My church would be a community of friends, that care about one another.

 

As far as the operation of the church, I take a lesson from the Mormons. I went to a Mormon Church for about 3 years, until I heard the story of how it was founded then I left. But the wacky Mormons do have some good ideas on running a church. One of them is this: Rotate the members through the different positions. A church needs people to run it; a minister, secretary, director, or other people depending on the size. Allowing members to work at a particular position for a determined time & then moving them to another one & moving someone  else into theirs is a great idea. This way it let's everyone who wants to take part in the operation of the church do so. It also keeps things open & people get to know about the inner workings better.

 

Then there is the problem of money. Mormons had this one figured out as well. Don't pay the preacher. That's it. In fact don't pay anyone in the church administration, everyone has a job that makes them money, we don't need to make money from our church. That is done out of love, as a volunteer effort. When the church is large enough to need an actual building to meet in, it will inevitably take money. The bank will want rent, the city will want it utility bills, no one will just give things to you because you are a church. Then there is building upkeep & maintenance, insurance, lots of things that need to be paid for. So you will need to collect some money from the members. I don't want to pass plates around & beg for money. I would prefer anonymous donations from the members that will be used for the bills. That's another Mormon idea, tithing. I wouldn't say you must give 10%, no set amount, just simply give what you feel comfortable with. No one will point you out & say "you don't give enough", no one will compare you to others. After the bills are paid & church business is taken care of we could give any extra money back to the community in some charitable fashion.

 

The main thing is, I DON'T WANT TO BE THE LEADER. I don't want to have a leader. I may be the person who starts the church & gets things going. I may be the person whom the members look to for guidance, but I want all of the church decisions to be done as a group. A democratic process. History has shown many times before that power corrupts. There is no greater power than the power of religion. It runs almost everything around us, around the world. It should be shared by everyone & not used for personal gain.