Back to Ekklesia

Say the word 'church' and what comes to mind? For Christians hopefully not a building ... but the mentality might not be not far off. Rather than physical stones or bricks there may be building blocks in the form of activities or ministries that people assume must be in place. Often that range may be extensive, even if the church is small in number, perhaps resulting in an anxiety that unless this or that is in place then this is not really church.

Such a mindset is detached from the New Testament use of the Greek word 'ekklesia', which at its most basic simply means a group of people called together. There is no special requirement for any particular ministry or activity, other than being called together by the Spirit to live as Christ's followers presumably as some form of community.

That definition can apply to a group of any size - starting with a mere handful. Their legitimate anxiety need only be 'are we living for Christ as the Spirit would have us do?', rather than 'do we have ministry X, Y or Z?'. Presumably the Spirit will call them to do things that they can achieve (at least with the Spirit's supernatural help!), and it will be tailored for the people involved, rather than a cloned blueprint of a.n.other church.

We need to re-calibrate our mindsets back to ekklesia, and be both formed and led by the Spirit as He will ... not by our preconceived expectations.