A soldier was in Nagasaki, a long way from home.

On Sunday morning he saw what looked like a church. He went inside. 

There were about twenty people there. The soldier wasn’t sure how it was going to go since he only knew one word: brother. 

But that’s the word he heard: “Brother.”

As you read through the New Testament, family language is used a lot. God is our Father. People in the church call each other “brothers and sisters.” Hebrews 13:1 says: “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.”

Of the many things that can be said on this topic, let me focus on this. Ideally, the church should be like a family. Yes, it is other things too. But you can’t get around the idea of family. 

Sometimes we fall short of this goal. Sometimes we are able to live it out. To be successful, we need to be actively involved. We will most certainly be hindered in living like brothers and sisters if we approach our role in the church haphazardly.

Family shows up for one another. When you don’t ever show up you don’t know what someone else is struggling with; you can’t offer a word of encouragement; you can’t contribute; you can’t provide guidance.

Churches in decline tend to be churches where the unique gospel of Christ and the authority of the Bible have been downplayed, where people are apathetic toward the needs of the community around them, and where people treat the body of Christ more like consumers than like Christians.

Yes, that’s a bit of an oversimplification. I’ve done a lot of reading on the subject, and perhaps you have too. But when a church community strives to be clear about the gospel, takes the Bible seriously, shows love toward those who are in need around them, and is proactive about showing up and being family, it tends to be healthier and more faithful to who Jesus has summoned them to be. 

Church-as-family doesn’t happen overnight. And it can be just as hard in smaller churches as it can in larger churches. But my point is this. Everyone is needed, including you.

In Romans 12:5 Paul writes: “…in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

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Notes:

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.