Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

Larger than the Church

OpinionStarlette McNeill  |  September 10, 2015

McNeill Starlette ColumnBy Starlette McNeill

“If you are without a church home, then we invite you to come forward at this time.” This is the invitation that is extended in most, if not all, congregations after the delivery of the sermon. Having moved a bit as a child and now looking back retrospectively as an adult, the pairing of church and home has gained even more meaning for me.

These church homes served as a primary residence and a familiar setting no matter the city or state my family was in. They allowed me to maintain some sense of normalcy and stability, faith connection and community. I never felt alone or new in the neighborhood because the doors of the church were always open to me.

And when I say that I grew up in the church, it should be taken literally, as the pastor, Sunday school teachers, deacons, ushers and parishioners served as a kind of fictive kin who celebrated milestones, offered support, provided healthy role models and correction and created memories for which I am deeply grateful. They were interested in me beyond Bible study and Sunday morning attendance but inquired about my school schedule, graduation dates and plans for the future. These churches hosted special Sundays for children and youth, and offered sermons and school supplies for those returning to school. They provided college tours, summer camps, after-school programs and vacation Bible school. These church homes were deeply involved and committed to my life in its various facets.

So, I am a bit confused by the language of some Christians who speak of the Church as if it is a part of some passing fad. I am aware of the e-church movement and the continued advancement of digital communities. But, just because the word technology does not appear in the Bible does not somehow mean that we are living in an age that is beyond its usage.

There are also those who suggest — whether knowingly or unknowingly I can’t be sure — that there is something bigger or better than the church. I am hearing more use of catch phrases like the “kingdom of God,” the “beloved community” or the “global village.” I know that some of us have shied away from using the word religion and have traded it in for the word relationship, the latest model of discipleship. But, has the word church become a dirty word too? Is it not progressive enough? Though attached to seemingly outdated constitutions and bylaws, cluttered with hymnals and tied down with the red tape of business meetings, its foundation is the apostles and prophets and Christ is the cornerstone (Eph. 2.20). Have our smartphones convinced us that there is an app for this, that we can practice our faith better if placed in our hands and not on an agenda?

At first, our emphasis was missional. Our focus was placed on moving beyond the four walls of the church and not just taking care of our members or fighting about the color of the carpet and the curtains, the budget and the bottom line. We focused on being sent and emphasized the Great Commission.

Don’t get me wrong. This was and remains the right thing to do. But, don’t go tearing down the building and please don’t forget about those of us who want to come home. And we want to come home to a community, not a community center, to a sanctuary, not a 501(c)3 organization, a shopping mall or a gymnasium.

We also encouraged persons to leave the church, to be the church, to be the “hands and feet of Christ.” But, don’t forget that we are the Body of Christ and a body of believers. We belong to Christ and to each other (Rom. 12.5; 1 Cor. 12.27). So, there are some of us who still desire to come home to family members and not be consumers of a religious product. I don’t want the gospel of Jesus Christ to be pitched to me but practiced with me. I don’t want to simply come home for a rally in order to be sent back out to work; instead, I want to come and worship with other believers, to fellowship and share the good news in our lives.

So, I may not have the latest iPhone or be as technologically savvy as I would like to be, but I also don’t think that makes me a better Christian. I don’t know when we decided that technology determined our testimony as believers or became a suitable sanctuary for worship. I don’t know how we are to shepherd digital disciples through social media. Maybe I need an upgrade since I still carry a Bible around. I suppose it appears unnecessary and outdated these days. But, I am not one for keeping up appearances anyway.

I still like to go to church. Sure, the service is not always predictable and it will not provide the organizational guidance of a Twitter feed. The choir’s musical selections are not available on iTunes so I’ll have to listen while they sing. I may not be able to sit in the same pew or secure the same parking spot every Sunday. I can’t log in or out at my leisure. Naps don’t count. I probably won’t gain any followers or likes while I worship.

But, it’s home, and for me it is the heart of the body of Christ. I don’t think we would be able to function without it. Our phones may assist us in the illusion of appearing larger than life, but we will never be larger than the church. There’s simply no place like a church home.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)

OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
Tags:columnsCommunityFaithful LivingSpiritual FormationChurch MembershipSpiritual DisciplinesStarlette McNeill
More by
Starlette McNeill
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • How to fix anemic U.S. rural health care? Learn from Africa and look to the churches, Birx says

      News

    • Let’s reclaim the real Baptist identity

      Opinion

    • Gay Christian man says he was kicked off BWA commissions

      News

    • Faith-based immigration advocates hopeful about new bill in Congress

      News


    Curated

    • Survey: Drop in Eastern European antisemitism may be due to Zelenskyy effect

      Survey: Drop in Eastern European antisemitism may be due to Zelenskyy effect

    • Street scrolls: The beats, rhymes and spirituality of Latin hip-hop

      Street scrolls: The beats, rhymes and spirituality of Latin hip-hop

    • ‘Felt like a year’: Worshipper describes fear during gunman’s deadly attack on Pittsburgh synagogue

      ‘Felt like a year’: Worshipper describes fear during gunman’s deadly attack on Pittsburgh synagogue

    • Near the Western Wall, Jewish radicals shout at Christian Evangelicals to ‘go home’

      Near the Western Wall, Jewish radicals shout at Christian Evangelicals to ‘go home’

    Read Next:

    Focus on the Family affiliate is the unifying force behind campaign to restrict transgender rights

    AnalysisSteve Rabey

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • What I learned from Taylor Swift

      OpinionBill Wilson

    • Remembering Pulse nighclub and the power of affirmation

      OpinionMaina Mwaura

    • A primer on why Southern Baptists are fighting over women in ministry once again

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina loses president and board chair in same week

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Faith-based immigration advocates hopeful about new bill in Congress

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Coalition urges White House not to overlook Black immigrants

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Working and waiting with people and plants

      OpinionBob Newell

    • Gay Christian man says he was kicked off BWA commissions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Let’s reclaim the real Baptist identity

      OpinionJustin L. Addington

    • Southwestern trustees affirm their leadership and repudiate two trustees who raised alarms

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • How to fix anemic U.S. rural health care? Learn from Africa and look to the churches, Birx says

      NewsElizabeth Souder

    • To the mother who complained about Amanda Gorman’s poem

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • Medical professionals address myths and misconceptions about transgender kids

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Focus on the Family affiliate is the unifying force behind campaign to restrict transgender rights

      AnalysisSteve Rabey

    • Opal Lee may be the ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ but she’s not done working for justice yet

      NewsMallory Challis

    • Rising from the ashes: God’s empowering message for displaced women

      OpinionRosaly Guzman

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • How the Progressive National Baptist Convention plans to put faith into action

      OpinionDarryl Gray

    • Believe me: The struggle of Black pain

      OpinionZachary Barber

    • They’ll know we are Christians by our what?

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • U.S. Department of Education issues guidance on religious expression in schools

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • How to celebrate Pentecost without balloons, plastic doves or salsa

      OpinionJack Levison

    • Ten Commandments bill dies in Texas Legislature

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • The generational pain and hope of the Southern Baptist witch trials

      OpinionWill Raybon

    • Leader of Assemblies of God student group at Baylor arrested on child sexual abuse charges

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina loses president and board chair in same week

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Faith-based immigration advocates hopeful about new bill in Congress

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Coalition urges White House not to overlook Black immigrants

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Gay Christian man says he was kicked off BWA commissions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Southwestern trustees affirm their leadership and repudiate two trustees who raised alarms

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • How to fix anemic U.S. rural health care? Learn from Africa and look to the churches, Birx says

      NewsElizabeth Souder

    • Medical professionals address myths and misconceptions about transgender kids

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Opal Lee may be the ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ but she’s not done working for justice yet

      NewsMallory Challis

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • U.S. Department of Education issues guidance on religious expression in schools

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ten Commandments bill dies in Texas Legislature

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Leader of Assemblies of God student group at Baylor arrested on child sexual abuse charges

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • BJC and Interfaith Alliance applaud first-ever national strategy to counter antisemitism

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • New documentary series shows how churches that close can keep ministry open

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Southwestern Seminary trustees called to special meeting next Tuesday

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Transitions for the week of 5-26-23

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • 8-year-old’s death in CBP custody highlights Biden’s ‘system of death,’ immigration advocates say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Evangelical worldview ministries seek to promote ‘proper’ thoughts, beliefs and actions

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • Here’s another angle to corporate DEI work: Increased support for ‘faith friendly’ workplaces

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Amid Sudan war and elsewhere, water scarcity threatens lives

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Gap widens on American confidence in vaccines

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Seven graphs that show the state of American religious attendance today

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Tim Keller was a really nice guy, but that wasn’t enough for everyone

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • In Mozambique, informal economies are springing up around Pentecostal pilgrimages

      NewsDegracias Kalimo

    • What I learned from Taylor Swift

      OpinionBill Wilson

    • Remembering Pulse nighclub and the power of affirmation

      OpinionMaina Mwaura

    • Working and waiting with people and plants

      OpinionBob Newell

    • Let’s reclaim the real Baptist identity

      OpinionJustin L. Addington

    • To the mother who complained about Amanda Gorman’s poem

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • Rising from the ashes: God’s empowering message for displaced women

      OpinionRosaly Guzman

    • How the Progressive National Baptist Convention plans to put faith into action

      OpinionDarryl Gray

    • Believe me: The struggle of Black pain

      OpinionZachary Barber

    • They’ll know we are Christians by our what?

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • How to celebrate Pentecost without balloons, plastic doves or salsa

      OpinionJack Levison

    • The generational pain and hope of the Southern Baptist witch trials

      OpinionWill Raybon

    • Why demographic shifts haven’t yet swamped the Republican Party

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • Tina Turner kept the divine flame burning

      OpinionJustin Cox

    • Remembering Bob Seymour: Being wise as serpents and harmless as doves

      OpinionCurtis Freeman

    • Here’s why Ron DeSantis has gone to war with Disney

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Yes, Tim Scott is a Black man, but he’s still promoting Christian nationalism

      OpinionRick Pidcock

    • Why ‘affirming’ churches need to speak up

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • Five things Southern Baptists should do now to address clergy sex abuse

      OpinionChrista Brown and David Clohessy

    • Why we must be cautious about understanding what’s going on at Southwestern Seminary

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • On graduation and the priesthood of all believers

      OpinionVal Fisk

    • Here’s how to force SBC entities to be accountable to people in the pew about their finances

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • These are some of the best pastors I know

      OpinionJustin Cox

    • Worshiping guns, weaponizing God    

      OpinionScott Spreier

    • Of two minds: Iain McGilchrist and the tyranny of left hemisphere religion

      OpinionAlan Bean

    • Faith freedom for all calls for justice and reconciliation

      OpinionSabrina Dent

    • Survey: Drop in Eastern European antisemitism may be due to Zelenskyy effect

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Street scrolls: The beats, rhymes and spirituality of Latin hip-hop

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • ‘Felt like a year’: Worshipper describes fear during gunman’s deadly attack on Pittsburgh synagogue

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Near the Western Wall, Jewish radicals shout at Christian Evangelicals to ‘go home’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Playing a religious character without making faith the punchline

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Jewish settlers erect religious school in evacuated West Bank outpost after Israel repeals ban

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How the practice of Nichiren Buddhism sustained Tina Turner for 50 years

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Connecticut lawmakers absolve accused colonial-era witches, apologize for “miscarriage of justice”

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • ‘Avatar’ Franchise Expands Ideas About Spirituality Beyond A Western, Christian Lens

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Catholic Church in California grapples with more than 3,000 lawsuits, alleging child sex abuse

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Canadian Christians Launch Collective for Climate Action

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • As ‘The Marvelous Mrs Maisel’ ends, will its Jewish legacy be more than a punchline?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • US Slavic Churches Booming with Ukrainian War Refugees

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What is ‘ethical AI’ and how can companies achieve it?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Russia acknowledges Vatican peace initiative, says no steps yet for a mission to Moscow

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What we need to understand is that fascism is intersectional and erotic — ’thy rod is thy gun,’ with a hip-thrust

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Our Beloved Ones Don’t Become Angels When They Die

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Turkey’s Christian Sites: Visiting The Seven Churches From The Book Of Revelation

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Firewalkers in Greece honor Saint Constantine in mystery-shrouded, centuries-old rituals

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • In fight against ‘tyranny,’ Michigan board declares itself ‘constitutional county’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Montana acts to protect Native American priority in adopting Native children

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A new documentary takes a deep dive into the ancient and modern practice of Sabbath

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Priest killed in Mexico; 9th slain in country in past 4 years

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Fewer Christians Know Families Who Foster or Adopt

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Wikipedia disciplines editors in Holocaust distortion dispute but sidesteps debate over Polish complicity

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2023 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS