‘Doing Church’, an Oxymoron
May 29th, 2006 by admin
I received a post card in the mail that stated, “How to ‘Do Church.’” It seems that ‘doing church’ is ‘in’ these days, and it couldn’t be more out of a phrase. Admittedly, I have never gone to a ‘doing church’ seminar or conference, but the title scares me terribly. Can there be a phrase that smacks more of works-based righteousnessness than ‘doing church’? Also, how does one ‘do’ the church when the church is not a process or a system or a project. I think of the church as our Lord’s ‘Bride’ (Ephesians 5:22ff.) and the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12). Such identifications seem like something that one cannot do at all.
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hey sam, great blogs… i don’t know how you bloggers do it though. i have trouble enough working (i’m bi-voc), spending time with the wife & the 3 rugrats, serving the church, etc. etc. etc.
but anyhoo, i think i’ve used that phrase on occasion. and yet, i couldn’t agree any more with you your assessment of it. we are the church without a doubt, so of course it’s more an identity thing. i think, or at least i hope, i use it in a more functional type of way meaning how we should live out our identity. i’m sure the postcard didn’t denote it in such a way.
I guess when it comes to ‘doing church’, I guess definitions are important and you can use the phrase correctly in a biblical way. Although, you’re right, the postcard I receievd did not have that in mind.
Sam,
Great blog — found it via your friend, Billy Park. You cover a good range of topics and I’m glad to see you’re very active about giving voice to practical theology issues. Would love to know more about you and what you’re doing! Thanks for the blog and keep up the good work…
David