Sublime

The Church is The Assembly. This speaks of us literally and physically meeting together. Church is more than a meeting, but nevertheless meeting together is a vital part of what the Church does.

The key to the blessing, life and anointing of God operating in our lives is our relationship with the Church. For it is through the Church that God’s blessing flows. It is through the Church that God’s life dwells. It is through the Church that God’s anointing is poured out.

God’s purposes for his church are identical to his five purposes for you. Worship helps you focus on God; fellowship helps you face life’s problems; discipleship helps fortify your faith; ministry helps find your talents; evangelism helps fulfill your mission. There is nothing else on earth like the church!

Keys: Be Christ centered and devoted to Scripture. Be intentional and authentic. Be grace filled and truth telling. Avoid the “holy ghetto.”

It is only in a church that we are members of Christ and of one another, moving forward together like a well-coordinated body (1 Cor. 12:12–27). It is together that we suffer and thrive. It is together that we worship and grow and serve, according to the Word of God. That’s what your church is—ground zero for the new kind of community Christ is

Honestly, I see very little difference between Church and a Beyoncé concert. Maybe that’s the core of my theology: if it makes you feel something ineffable, if it’s bigger than you and yet deeply personal, if it sometimes involves a fog machine, it’s Church. Jesus is in there somewhere, swaying to the music, saving you a dance. What a pal.