Lately, my wife and I having been discussing the purpose of church. We've noticed that in the last 20 years there have been traditional churches, progressive churches, seeker churches, small group churches, megachurches, house churches, emergent churches---and the list goes on and on. There are some that say the purpose of the church is "making disciples." Others say the purpose of the church is "to save the lost and mature the saved." Still others attest that the purpose of church is five-fold, including fellowship, teaching, outreach, service and worship. I think all of these are fine, and it's obvious that there are many different options regarding why the church exists.

The most interesting questions for us lately relate to whether the church exists for church people or for unchurched people. The obvious, post-modern answer is both. That's a neat answer, but it's also an easy way around having to answer the tough question.

Just the other day, my wife offered a rather simple but very thoughtful explaination to this dilema. She said, "I think church is for church people, and church people are for the world." I think she may be on to something. I wonder what this definition would look like on a Sunday morning or a Wednesday night. I wonder what it would look like during a week of school or work. What does it mean to do church for church people? How do church people exist for the world? These things need to be explored.