Wallace Alston wrote: “To be a member of a church… is to be an active participant in God’s unparalleled renovation of the world.”*

That’s a big statement. Perhaps you don’t think about your church in that way. Perhaps you only think about your church as a place to sing songs or chat with nice people.

But what Alston said was exactly right. If you are a member of a church that means you are a member of the body of Christ. He’s the Captain. We’re the foot-soldiers. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God uses his church to bless and renovate the world. 

We praise God, we learn his truths, we love one another, we pray for the healing of the world, we bring Christ into our communities, we share words of hope, we visit the sick, we bandage emotional wounds, we shine our light, we hand out sandwiches, we help liberate people from the demonic, we serve and volunteer, we model compassion, we spend time with the lonely, and we spread the good news. 

Jesus describes this world renovation like this: “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

We are far from perfect. In fact, one of the reasons we shy away from speaking this boldly about the church is because we are keenly aware of our own shortcomings. I appreciate that. Humility is a virtue. But don’t we also underestimate God’s power and what the Bible says about the body of Christ?

Let’s note one last thing. People who are members of the church are “active” participants in God’s unparalleled renovation of the world. Active is the opposite of passive. They don’t sit back like a couch potato. They take their role seriously. When they do, God takes their imperfect words and actions and puts them to work in ways beyond their knowing.

The church is far from perfect. But it’s God’s Plan A. And it includes you.

“To be a member of a church… is to be an active participant in God’s unparalleled renovation of the world.”

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Notes:

–New Podcast: “I have trouble understanding God’s wrath.” That was a question that was submitted at a recent Q and A Forum at Westminster Church. This episode is the answer I provided which included a discussion about the relationship between God’s wrath and his mercy. Click here, or tune in to ‘The Pulse Podcast with Matthew Ruttan’ in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, or wherever you subscribe.

–*Wallace M. Alston, Jr., The Church: Guides to the Reformed Tradition (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1984), 24.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.