Photo by Laurin Steffens on Unsplash
What is church for? Is there a point to what we call 'church'? Can we say what purpose of the church is? What is the church for? Is there something that only the church can do?
The Church of England's Articles of Religion has a definition of the church:
XIX. Of the Church The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same.
A church, in the eyes of the Church of England, must have three things: (i) a congregation of faithful people, where (ii) the Word of God is preached, and (iii) the sacraments (Baptism and the Lord's Supper) are ministered.
That's the minimum definition, not the total requirements; the people, the Word, and the sacraments make the church, but don't give its purpose.
Archbishop William Temple said this:
The church is the only organisation that exists primarily for the sake of those who are still outside it. William Temple (1881-1944)
The purpose of the church is to bring people into the Kingdom of God, by making disciples - more Christians:
Then Jesus came to [the disciples] and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
How does that happen?
Thinking about the renewal and growth of the church, Francis Schaeffer said, in 1974, that the church needs to hold to two orthodoxies: an orthodoxy of doctrine and an orthodoxy of community.
An orthodoxy of doctrine is straightforward enough - knowing and believing the truths about Christianity. For the Church of England, Canon A5 covers doctrine:
Of the doctrine of the Church of England
The doctrine of the Church of England is grounded in the Holy Scriptures, and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, The Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal.
As Schaeffer writes:
We, as Christians, say we believe that truth exists. We say we have truth from the Bible. And we say we can give that truth to other men in propositional, verbalized form and they may have that truth. This is exactly what the Gospel claims and this is what we claim. Francis Schaeffer
He doesn't stop there, however, and moves to the second 'orthodoxy': that of community. It's not sufficient to believe,
we must practice the content, practice the truth we say we believe. We must exhibit to our own children and to the watching world that we take truth seriously. It will not do in a relativistic age to say that we believe in truth and fail to practice that truth in places where it may be observed and where it is costly. Francis Schaeffer
What is the church for?
We need to believe the truth and practice the truth. We need to hold firm to the truths of Christianity, to proclaim the truths of Christianity, and to live out the truths of Christianity.
That combination is unique to the church, and is something only she can do. The evidence suggests that it's also attractive to those who are currently outside of her.