What’s the Point of Church?

What is the purpose of the church?  I  mean really?  I find myself asking this question a lot lately.  I honestly don’t know what the church should like.  Based off scripture there wasn’t any such thing as church, at least in a good sense.  The rabbis of the day who worked in the temple a.k.a “ministry” were leading the people astray.

Church looks and sounds nice, and it may even make us look distinguished showing up in our frilly dresses, jeans and sports coats, but does it matter?

Even in Acts when the “church” started it wasn’t church, there wasn’t someone preaching with people sitting in pews.  It was just people getting together and sharing stories of what Jesus did.  People ate together, prayed together, worked together, and all pitched in to help those in need.

Now I know there are some great qualities in church, but I often wonder what would happen if we took the 82 + billion dollars that churches take in each year, and built wells, provided replenish-able food sources, and then went and turned the buildings into shelters, foster homes, and work training facilities.

I would have to argue that I think the impact and effect that would have would far surpass church services that only attract Christians to begin with.

I don’t know if church is the answer to all things turning around, I wonder if it acts as a hindrance in keeping people from truly serving in the way it needs to.

Church was made into an idol at one point in history, and Jesus shook all of that false theology. Has it gotten to that point again?  We read about how Jesus cleared out the money changers in the temple and we shake our head wondering how people could have stooped that low.  But are we any different?  I mean really?

I don’t have the answers but am simply asking some hard questions.