Gospel Prism

Introduction

Our fourth value reads as follows:

We value the primacy of the LOCAL CHURCH to sustain the believer’s continuance in the Gospel.

It might surprise you but the word “church” has never been more ambiguous than it is today and it has never been more attacked than it is today. More and more churches are abandoning the word “church” in their name because some find the word culturally irrelevant, some find it obsolete, and others find it offensive. Some churches are now attempting to reinvent themselves to be anything but a church. An emergent blog proposed this idea for a church:

So, church=
->lots of newspapers, muffins, coffee, cafe tables
->open for about 2 hours on a Sunday am
->a number of stations set up that relate to sections of the newspaper. As people read a section, then they have the opportunity to go to the relevant station, where various responses - confession, intercession, praise - are offered.
->a regular liturgy of coffee, in which God is thanked for her gifts
->followed by a 20 minute interview with 2 people, in which the weeks events are reflected on from a Kingdom perspective. So various articulate, witty people get to help all us poor newspaper readers make sense of the news. They would have to be both well read, yet quick on their feet, because the newspaper is setting the agenda.
->a small, regular, set liturgy ends this.

The comments on the blog read: “What a wonderful idea for an everyday church,” and “Interesting, definitely an idea with potential.”

Some churches not only have a disdain for the word ‘church’ but also for hierarchical leadership. One church called, ‘The Church of the Common Table’ (a church that meets at the Jammin’ Java in Vienna, VA) encourages everyone to take turns leading the services. When I was in Africa, I met some people from Connecticut who recently formed small groups which had split from a church after the church closed down. He explained that the people in the church did not want any leadership structure but community power-sharing. But of course, in a fallen world, there really is no such thing is unobtrusive power-sharing.

The problems in defining ‘church’ does not merely rest with the churches themselves, nor the men and women who run them, but with the people as well. Josh Harris calls such people “church-daters.” These are people who believe the church is about me than it is about God or His people. Such people tend to be critical since no church could ever live up to the standards of the Almighty me. He then tells the story of his friend Nathan who attends two churches, one because he likes the music and the other because he likes the preaching.(Josh Harris, Stop Dating the Church!, 17-18) We’ll talk about this phenomenon a bit later. But you can see that the church is at a crossroads. People are not merely leaving the church, but they are changing the church to be something quite different. What are we to make of all of this?

I’d like to explore why we value not only the universal church, but perhaps even more importantly, the local church. It’s not that the universal church is not important. It is. But most Christians wholeheartedly support the importance of the universal church while some deny the relevance of the local church. So first, I’d like to address what the local church is not, and then what the church is according to the Bible.

The Local Church Is Not

First, the local church is not a store in the mall. As Josh Harris’ friend Nathan viewed the church, so too do many others. There are some who will attend three to four churches much like visiting different stores in a mall. A person will go to one church for the music, another church for the preaching, another church for its happening small group, and another church because they have a great Bible Doctrine class after worship. But to treat the local church as a mall is self-defeating. It undermines the very purpose this person has in taking this approach to the church, a desire to grow in Christ. It also negatively affects each one of those churches in a unique way. Imagine a man dating three different women simultaneously. The first woman he dates because of her physical beauty. The second woman he dates because he loves the conversation they have together. And the third woman he dates because she has the qualities that he believes would be perfect as the mother of his children. In his mind, he believes that he is receiving optimal benefit because each woman provides their strength to his joy and satisfaction. But what he doesn’t realize is that marriage is not about each component part growing separate from the other. No person can predict exactly what he needs for his greatest joy. Sometimes, trials and pains lead to a far greater ultimate joy than a lack of trials and pains. Also, the commitment and longevity of remaining with one person leads to a far greater joy than multiple partners could ever bring. The mall mentality is self-defeating in the end because it never truly satisfies, much like dating multiple women will never truly satisfy one’s soul.

Also, this person not only negatively harms himself but each church that he attends. You might think this is a bit far-reaching, but if we take Paul at his word in 1 Cor 12:26: “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together,” we must believe that a person’s half-hearted commitment to a local church will be felt by the church body. For example, if this person were to share with others in the church that he attends another church for the music, of course, the first question that he will be asked is, “Why?” And the answer will probably be something along the lines of, “Well, the music at the other church is better,” which conversely means the music in this church is not as good. This can lead to divisions, criticisms, etc. The sad truth is, the mall mentality benefits no one, not the individual and not the various churches he attends. If any of you have such a mentality, I want to urge you to attend one local church. If this church is not the church you believe is your local church you wish to commit to, then please do not use this church as one store in your church mall. It will not benefit this church or any of the churches you attend, and it will not benefit you.

Second, the church is not an arcade. I loved going to arcades as a kid. The sound of the guns firing, the bells ringing, the lights flashing, made me bounce around with giddiness. It was wild entertainment and it was thrilling. But now when I enter an arcade, it’s not as thrilling. The carpet smells musty. The kids seem hypnotized by the sights and sounds. The games seem boring. What happened to all of the excitement I once had? The entertainment was no longer entertaining. Watch some of the old TV shows you grew up with when you were a kid, shows like Gilligan’s Island and Happy Days and you find them to be corny and boring. That’s the problem with entertainment. It gets old and it can even get silly.

The church is not an arcade and not a TV Show. But sad to say that in the past couple of decades, there has been a move to make the church a place of entertainment. Tod Ford, who is an architect that designs churches, explains why this move has taken place. He says a big reason for the gradual change is that churches now have to compete with other aspects of entertainment in order to reach young people. ‘The thrust now is becoming the celebration of the assembly and not so much the written word.’” Youth Groups are notorious for the arcade mentality. Far too often, pastors, churches, and youth pastors have assumed kids need to be entertained or they simply won’t be interested. Youth Pastor Ken Moser calls such thinking a lie. He writes for Youth Specialties, saying, “Most groups have bought the lie that, to be an effective youth group, you must put on a night of entertainment so that the local young people will come, have a truckload of fun, hear a short message from the Bible, and then maybe come back next week for more. For many people, the local youth group is nothing more than a glorified coffee shop—a place to hang around, have a fun time, come back next week, and start all over. That is, until you move on to better, more fulfilling entertainment.” And there will always be better entertainment than what the church can offer. If the church continues to believe that entertainment will capture the hearts and souls of people, it will lose all hope of reaching people with the Gospel of Christ. This simply is not the church. No, the church is Jesus’ beloved Bride whom He gave His life for. There is gladness in the church always. But there is a weight to our gladness. Our lives according to 1 Cor 7:23 were purchased with our Savior’s blood. That’s not entertaining, but it is oh so joyously freeing.

Third, the church is also not a building. This past week I was speaking with a friend who is a youth pastor at a church. During a congregational meeting he attended, the elders began a screaming contest, accusing each other and the pastor of undermining the church. The reason for all of this anger? The purchase of a building. Buildings can be a wonderful blessing that God can certainly use for His glory. But buildings never equate biblical faithfulness and a God-glorifying church. We must never believe that our church MUST be in a particular type of building, MUST own a building, MUST remain in this building. To think in such a way is to dismiss the biblical idea that the local church is not a building, but as we will see later, the people of God.

Fourth, the church is not a therapy center. You might have heard the analogy that the church is a hospital, a place where sick people come. That analogy is accurate, to a point. Far too often people believe the church should be the place where felt needs are met. People want to feel good about themselves but at the same time want their consciences messaged. They want to come to a place where there is healing so long as there is no personal accountability. The want to see transformation but do not want to be told there is a such thing as sin. David Powlison comments on what he calls the therapeutic Gospel:

In this new gospel, the great “evils” to be redressed do not call for any fundamental change of direction in the human heart. Instead, the problem lies in my sense of rejection from others; in my corrosive experience of life’s vanity; in my nervous sense of self-condemnation and diffidence; in the imminent threat of boredom if my music is turned off; in my fussy complaints when a long, hard road lies ahead. These are today’s significant felt needs that the gospel is bent to serve. Jesus and the church exist to make you feel loved, significant, validated, entertained, and charged up. This gospel ameliorates distressing symptoms. It makes you feel better. The logic of this therapeutic gospel is a Jesus-for-Me who meets individual desires and assuages psychic aches.

This might not so bad if it actually brought true healing and full transformation. But without any understanding of personal responsibility or a look into the deepest recesses of the human heart which reveals the reality of sin, there is no Gospel at all. But when the church caters to this person, when you merely come here to feel good about yourself, and we do nothing more than try to make you feel good, we are no better than the Yoga studio, the Mormon church in Oakland, or the self-help books section at Borders. Paul describes this phenomenon in his letter to Timothy: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2 Tim 4:3-4)

Fifth, the church is not a political headquarters. If you were to ask me who I was going to vote for this election, I would be willing to tell you. If you were to ask me why I was planning to vote for this person, I would give you some reasons. But I will not endorse a politician in the pulpit. Why not? Because while I believe that according to Romans 13, the church is called to pray for our political leaders, I also believe that this country will not ultimately change because of politicians and laws. I am not advocating that the church completely disengage for all political processes. There is a time when we must be willing to march to oppose abortion and I can preach that from the pulpit. But what drives the message is not a political affiliation, but rather, a biblical outworking of the Gospel. The church is a prophetic voice to the world about the glorious Gospel, not a stopover for a political candidate or party to trumpet its views.

Sixth, the church is not a small group. Now, I need to define what I mean by this. I am not talking about the size of a church. The church can in actuality be a very small group of people meeting together. But the church is not a small group of people gathering together to talk about politics, or to play poker, or to go bowling, or to even do book studies who happen to be Christian. There are far too many people today who have relegated the church to consist of any gathering of Christians with some purpose. Such a perspective completely ignores the biblical ideas of a church.

Seventh, the church is not an action. The local church is not feeding the poor. The local church is not evangelizing on campuses. The local church is not “saving the world.”

Finally, the local church is not the parachurch. It is not the local chapter of InterVarsity or Campus Crusade. It is not the home office of World Vision. It is not BSF or MOPS. It is not Hands at Work, Africa. While these ministries have its place within the universal church, to assume that attending an InterVarsity meeting weekly is the local church, is to disregard what the Bible teaches about the local church.

So now that we know what the local church is not, what exactly is the local church?

The Local Church Is

The local church is first the Body of Christ. Paul continually uses the body metaphor to describe the church. Paul tells us in Romans 12:4-5:

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

1 Corinthians 12:12-26 is a further explanation of the functions, roles, and structure of this Body. It’s here that we see the critical importance each member has to the full-function of the Body. And Ephesians 4:11-16 defines the purpose of each part of the Body and its role to support one another. The fact is, the body metaphor is the engine that must drive our understanding of how the church works.

In the Body, we know according to Ephesians 5:23 that it is Jesus who is the head. He is the not only the reason we exist as a Body, He is also the nerve center upon which the church draws all of its resources, its energy, its decisions, its plans, its strategies. Much like the head controls our bodies, Jesus is the centerpiece upon which the whole body operates. We must never forget this reality. But sadly, we far too easily can forget this truth. Whenever we assume that Jesus is a ‘given’ in our plans and strategies, we assume headship over this body.

Also, the body consists of parts that are utterly interdependent upon one another. Paul tells us quite plainly in 1 Cor 12:26: “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” Every part of the Body is significant. Each part has a purpose that God wants to use for His glory. And according to Ephesians 4:11-16, the roles that each play is different, but each has its significance. If we look at this text, Paul writes:

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

There is so much in here that would require a whole sermon or two to unpack. But let me make a few points regarding the Body from this text. Notice that while there are apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers in this body, it is the saints who minister so that the church will no longer be like children, captured and swayed by every doctrine. In other words, it is my role to train you to minister the Gospel to this church. I cannot alone care for each of your souls faithfully. It’s an impossibility. I have a hard enough time, energy, and strength to care for my own family’s soul. Praise God that my job is not even attempt such a task, since I am neither intelligent enough, strong enough, or disciplined enough to do so. No, according to this text, my job is to equip you the saints to help others mature. Also note that the Body is not something we create, but rather something created. The Holy Spirit does the miraculous work of transforming this church into Christ’s Body. That helps each one of us tremendously when we think we are inadequate in helping others. God does the work albeit in His timing. So the church then, must be different members of the Body coming together, being equipped by the teachers/pastors, for the purpose of making certain that each part is working properly, making certain the body grows so that love is the outflow.

What this means for us as a church then is this. We cannot be a church that relies on three people, Sam, Tim, and Linda for spiritual growth. To do so would ignore the significance of the Body of Christ. This is one critical reason why Homegroups are so essential. You must utilize your Homegoup leaders as avenues of God’s grace. Also, please seek other members of the Body, particularly in your HGs to care for your soul. And may you learn as well that God wants to use you as His instrument of healing and growth for others.

Second, the local church is a heart tenderizer. Sometimes I will BBQ some tri-tip for dinner. When I do, I’ll get that big slab of meat and put it on our cutting board. Then I reach into this drawer and pull out this heavy metal tenderizer that I will pound that meat with until it becomes soft, juicy, and perfectly ready to be cooked. Without the pounding of the tenderizer, that piece of meat is cooked so tough that it seems to lose its taste. Well, according to Hebrews 3:12-13, which was a letter written to local churches to sustain their faith in the midst of trial, we see this heart tenderizer effect:

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

What keeps us from the danger of drifting in faith is what Hebrews 3:13 tells us. It is too easy to fall into the trap that the community of worship is defined by the gathering of people who profess Christianity. But Christian community IS NOT a group of “seekers” gathering together for bowling. It is not two Christians meeting for lunch and talking about the economy. It is NOT the social aspect of gathering. Hebrews 3:13 won’t let us off that easy. It is about “exhorting one another” EVERY DAY. Exhortation is the Biblical idea of warning, correction, and encouragement. This of course is always to be done with grace, seasoned with salt (Col. 4:6). And it sets the stage for a community based pursuit of God. That is to say, our faith is vibrant, living, and sure by not only individual vigilance, but corporate vigilance as well. Because of the realities of verse 12, exhortation is an absolute necessity in the life of the believer. And that is why corporate worship extends even beyond the Sunday Service context. Sunday worship is the central to the life of the church. It is the ultimate exhortation where we hear God’s Word exposited in preaching, where we communally lift up songs of praise, where we offer up our gifts to the Lord. And from this time, believers should be exhorting one another so that we would not fall away from the Lord. But this also needs to be a regular occurrence in regular meetings as well.

The sad truth is that we are prone to get into the habit of not meeting together regularly. Hebrews 10:25 gives us the classic exhortation concerning corporate worship and its necessity:

And let us not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

A few thoughts from this text…It is too easy to get into a habit of doing something. And it is sobering to see that this was no different in the early church. For whatever reason, some people just got into a habit of meeting together. Most likely, people became preoccupied with other parts of their life. And so they gave up meeting together.

How do habits form? Do people altogether just get into a habit? Usually, this is not the case. It usually begins by not coming once. It only takes once. And then the next time that believers were to gather together, they began to think, “You know, I can really rest this week too.” And so another week passes by. By this point, it takes all the more energy to meet together. And from this “giving up of meeting together,” begins the heart of apostasy. Do not think we are any different than the NT church in this regard. I have found that people who turn from Christ do not simply worship God one moment and then reject Him the next. No, it is a gradual distancing. And from such distancing out of convenience, is the dark road of apostasy. Biblical Commentator William Lane puts it this way, “Whatever the motivation [of people giving up meeting together], the writer regarded the desertion of the communal meetings as utterly serious. It threatened the corporate life of the congregation and almost certainly was a prelude to apostasy on the part of those who were separating themselves from the assembly.” (William Lane, Hebrews, 290)

Much is at stake on Homegroup nights and Sunday afternoons in our church. Every time we meet, we are preparing for the joy of worship and love together and the battle against the enemy’s deceptions. And you know what? He wants us to give up meeting together. Giving up meeting together is a destroyer of the church. It is in our meeting together that God dispenses His grace through the lives of brothers and sisters, fellow members of the Body.

But notice for some of you, come homegroup night, the last thing you want to do, ESPECIALLY if you have missed HG for weeks now and feel as though you don’t need to go, is to go to HG. You’ll suddenly feel extremely tired. A long time friend will come into town and want to hang out with you. Work will come into your mind and you’ll be tempted to want to go in. None of those things are bad. But all of those things will keep you from meeting with others to spur one another on and to be spurred on in faith. God wants to show you grace at HGs. We can save work for another time, knowing that on your death bed you will not be wondering, “Boy I wished I worked that Friday night instead of going to HG.” We have decided to get into the habit of meeting together because we have assumed we don’t NEED to meet together. Hebrews tells us that YOU NEED TO MEET TOGETHER or you are in danger of turning away from God. That’s what the Hebrews writer warns in 10:26-27: “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” Do you see what the writer is saying? That if we neglect meeting together (v. 25), we are in serious and mortal danger of deliberately sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth. Even after knowing that not meeting together, not gathering for such encouragement, not engaging one another in continually battling together in faith can lead to sin, to give up such things leads to what he calls “a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” This is not much different from 3:12-13 which says that not exhorting one another will lead to a “falling away from the Living God” and a hardening by the deceitfulness of sin. Thus, Wellspring gathers together on Sunday worship to make sure that you and believers like yourselves exhort one another to continue to pursue the greatest joy and thrill of an eternity, Christ. But we must gather at Homegroups, not as another option in our busy schedule, but as that which keeps our hearts tender rather than hardened to God’s grace in our lives. If you have missed HG or have found reasons why you need not attend, I want to gently though firmly warn you that you are in danger of falling to the deceitfulness of sin. Please don’t miss out on God’s grace for you.

Third, the local church is an eternal family. According to texts like Romans 8:15-17 and Galatians 4:4-7, we are adopted into God’s family. And as such, these bonds will last far longer than any earthly bond we have here on earth. We will be brothers and sisters with one another far longer than we will be married or a son to our parents or a sister to our earthly brother. This relationship that the local church has is eternal. And as such, there must be a lasting quality to our relationships that persevere through difficulties. This is every reason why church-hopping/church-dating terribly impacts both one’s personal spiritual growth and the growth of the church. And this is the very reason why we must exhibit patience with our spiritual family, as we are willing to do with our earthly family.

Fourth, the local church is the people of God. Paul writes in Ephesians 5:25 that Christ gave himself up for her, the people, not a building, and not the programs of the church. Peter tells the local church: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9) The local church is a special place, distinct from any organization in the whole world. In the OT, Israel consisted of God’s people. But now through Christ, it is the church that is God’s people, and it is through the means of the local church that this is manifested. What this means is that though God’s people are sinful, they are washed by the blood of the Lamb. They are deemed so special by God that He gave His Son for these people and so therefore, we must as well remember how special the church and its people are. Thus, if you have found Sunday to be anything but special, before you are quick to point out what is wrong on Sunday, please search your own heart. Do you look forward to worshipping with the people of God on Sunday? Do you feel as though you can miss worshipping with God’s people on Sunday without your absence making any difference on yourself or on God’s people?

Finally, the local church is the Bride of Christ. I can think of no greater endearing image of the church than the church as a bride. Once again, we see the bride of Christ in Ephesians 5. Most of us when we reflect on this text, think about what Paul says about marital roles. But we must not fail to realize that this text also uplifts the church as the bride of Christ:

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish… This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

And then John sees the glory of the church as the Bride of Christ in Revelation:

Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure. (Rev 17:6-8)

What did it take for the bride to be made ready? Paul writes in Eph 5:27: “So that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Jesus has done everything He could possibly do, that is give His own life for the church, so that the church might be presented to Himself in splendor. I have had the privilege of officiating some weddings. I can tell you that at a wedding, each time that door opens and the bride to be steps into the room, the groom simply stares at her. He gazes at her with eyes of wonder, awe, joy, as if to say, “She is the most beautiful person in the world.” But you know what? Jesus, as the groom far outshines anything that an ordinary groom would feel. The grooms that I know do not wake up at 7 in the morning, rush over to his bride’s house, does her hair, puts on her makeup, fixes her dress, and then runs back to the church to watch her come in. Also, I am quite sure that brides on their wedding day, when they wake up in the morning, even without makeup and hair done, do not look miserable. I am sure that makeup only accentuates the beauty that the groom has already seen. But we see in verse 27 that Jesus does exactly this! He presents His bride, the church, TO HIMSELF in splendor without spot or wrinkle. Jesus does all the work to present His Bride spotless.

The church apart from Christ, Wellspring apart from Christ, deserves only judgment. Our fasting, our worship, our good deeds do not mean a thing without Jesus coming in to our lives and to this church and giving Himself up for us because of the sad reality that our good works are always mixed with selfish motives. Thus, we are only the true church because we are saved by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul tells us that there isn’t even one blemish, one mole, on this Bride because of Jesus. The skin is perfectly pure without a hint of a blemish. In Christ, one day this church that trust in Him will be presented to Himself in this way.

As a point of application then, I’d like to ask you in light of our Savior’s great love for the church, for this church, where does the church fit in your thinking right now? Mark Mullery asks,

Is your love for the church growing? Or does your view of the church make you excited? Do you think of the church, your church, as the bride of Christ, chosen and cleansed by Him?

He adds:

We live in a crazy upside down world. People will move across the country for a job or for a school. But if you do that for a church, people will think your insane. Or if you pass up an opportunity for advancement, explaining that you want to remain so that you can be a part of your church, people assume that you’re a part of a cult.

I know however that some of you are here today because you have done exactly this. You have defined your life in the same way Jesus thinks of His church. You understood that Jesus’ great love for the local church was expressed in exactly this way.

Mark Mullery continues,

Some have moved from one place to another simply because of a sense of call in serving and participating in a local church…But I’ll tell you something greater. Once there was someone who moved from heaven to earth because of the church. From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy Bride. When you are gripped and affected and stirred for the church, you are simply reflecting the passion for His holy Bride.

You and I, this local church and so many that mean on Sunday’s is this precious Bride.

It is far too easy to think of the church, this church, as a fulfillment of Christian duty. But I hope that after today, you have seen how much more it is than merely being religious on Sunday. You have chosen to give up sporting events, shopping at the Sunday sale at the mall, sunbathing at the beach, golfing, traveling to exotic places, at 1:30 pm. What a pity it is to give up such great things simply to meet for a religious club. I’d rather do everything else I just listed than be a part of a religious ethics and morality club. But I would rather give up everything else that this world can offer me on Sunday, than give up my time to be at the dearest place on earth, to meet with the dearest people on earth, to meet our Savior and Lord who gave Himself up for the church.

Conclusion

I love the church. I love Sundays. I love Homegroup. I love the people in this church. I love the church not because the people are great. I love the church not because Wellspring is such a great church. I love the church because this church is the Bride of Christ. He gave His life for this church, as flawed, ugly, spotted, and selfish as this church can be. He still gave His life for this church. And for this reason, I will proudly call Wellspring a church, the Body of Christ, the Heart Tenderizer, the Family in Christ, the People of God, and the Bride of Christ.