Context! It is all about context. Context gives clarity, understanding, and definitions so that the truest form of communication can take place. This is a lesson I have had to learn time and time again. Context has cost me money, time, effort, attention spans, and ultimately, my failure to provide context has hurt and offended people. Therefore, in light of the upcoming Easter services that will take place around the world, I have started to think about the variety of diverse people that will pour into Churches. With this in mind, and the importance that I have learned about context in the business world, I believe it is even more important to define context within the Ekklesia.
Why use the word ekklesia? Context! Church, people of God, and Christians (all terms that I could have used) are all defined differently, depending on who you ask. The use of Ekklesia…that causes people to pause. They have to think, question, and confirm that the definition that I am using is the correct way that they are interpreting me using it. I will be using the definition of Ekklesia out of its Greek definition, “assembly of called out ones.” (It is made up of two Greek works EK – Out of, and Kaleo – shall be called.” Therefore, it is understood to refer to a certain set of people who come together for a special purpose. The Bible uses this term to refer to a people called out from the rest of the world, to be for God, a witness. Context? Established!
Why is context so important for the Ekklesia? First, millions of diverse people will be pouring into our sanctuaries this weekend. Second, because the Ekklesia gets confused about its purpose/mission. Purpose? Mission? Words that need context!!! The Ekklesia’s purpose and mission are things that are flippantly thrown around within the diverse groups of Christians, who meet in churches, that complrise the Ekklesia. To gain a context for the purpose and mission of the Ekklesia, I will return to the definition of Ekklesia. “A people called out from the rest of the world, TO BE FOR God, a witness.”
Clear as mud? The purpose and mission of the Ekklesia is to be “a people called out from the rest of the world.” This is traditionally understood as the holiness, righteousness, and otherness factor. The reason that the Ekklesia is to be set apart is because they are “to be for God, a witness.” The purpose and mission is “TO BE FOR.” This means that the mission and purpose of the Ekklesia doesn’t necesiarliy have a mission or purpose. Rather they are the conduit for which God witnesses to the world. God has the mission and purpose to witness to the world, and the Ekklesia is the way in which he does it.
How is this done? God gave an example in his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus, as the “Son of God” came to establish the Kingdom of God, which ultimately culminates in the cross. Jesus walked in humble obedience. He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but realized his role as a servant. He was so obedient to God, that he ushered in God’s Kingdom, through death on the cross. This whiteness that was wholly set apart from the world, gave a testimony for God’s Kingdom, and is where the purpose and mission of the Ekklesia is found. The Ekklesia is simply an extension of the Kingdom that Jesus ushered in through his inauguration on the cross. This is the message we are to preach to the diverse people coming into our churches this weekend.
To do it…we need context.
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