Have you ever wondered what makes a dog a dog, and not a wolf? Or what makes a bird a bird, and not a bat? Is it only a difference in naming, or is there something deeper ?

Similarly, what is the difference between a “church” and a “gathering” of people? Is it more than only names? If so, what is it about a “church” that makes it different from any other “gathering”?

This is a fascinating question, especially because of the recent success of The Sunday Assembly, an atheist church in Britain. The whole idea was done light-heartedly, as a bit of a joke, by Pippa Evans and Sanderson Jones, two comedians. But it has immediately attracted 400 non-believing “worshippers”, and over 200 non-believers worldwide want to set up their own branch. Already a Sunday Assembly opened in Australia on 21st April in Melbourne, which Sophie Timothy attended and wrote about for Eternity.

The Sunday Assembly borrows from the forms of traditional church – such as music, speeches, and even a cup of tea afterwards. The central tenet – “help often, live better and wonder more” – would fit into many mission statements of mainstream churches. The Sunday Assembly also meets the human longing for community, in the way that churches traditionally do.

So, is it possible to have a church of atheists, just as it is to have a church of believing theists?

It all comes down to how we define church. First, we could define a church by what we do at church – such as teaching, encouraging, singing, worshiping, praying, etc. Interestingly, different denominations will emphasise one of these activities over another.

But the trouble with defining church by what we do is that it’s hard to see how a church for Christian believers is different from any other gathering with similar activities. When I played rugby, my local team would also gather for teaching, encouragement and singing!

Second, we could define church by its content. Thus, although the atheist church has the same activities as the Christian church, the content is different. The Christian church is unique in that the content of its gathering, singing, and teaching revolves around the Gospel message that Jesus Christ is the risen Lord and Saviour.

But the problem with defining church by its content is that just because the Gospel is present doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s a church. For example, I could stand on a platform at my local shopping mall and yell out the Gospel, but that doesn’t mean that the people gathered around me are a church.

Finally, I think the best way to define church is by its personal relationship to Jesus Christ. Basically, the church is Jesus Christ’s. Here are a few quick bullet points:

1. Jesus builds his church
“On this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matt 16:18)

2. Christ loved, died and purified his church
“Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph 5:25-27)

3. Everyone in the church is related to Christ, and only to each other through Christ
“you are the body of Christ” (1 Cor 12:27)

That is, we define church, not by what we do in the gathering, but by what God has done to create the church. God has called, saved and sanctified those in his church – for example, “to the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 1:2),

To define church by what we do is to confuse effect with cause. The cause of church is its relationship with Jesus Christ. The effect of this relationship might be to sing, encourage, teach, etc.

It also confuses doing with being. The essence of a church is its being – that is, its relationship with Jesus. But we should never make the essence of church what we do – otherwise, not only does it allow other gatherings to be defined as church, but it also means that people with disabilities, diseases or other circumstances, could not be counted as those in the church.

As an illustration, I belong to the Chan family. Hopefully this means Jackie Chan is a near relative. But how do we define the Chan family? Is it something we do? In the end, we are defined by our relationship with some original guy called Chan.

It’s the same with church. It can’t be defined by activities that we do. Neither can it be defined by the content of what is taught. In the end, church is church because its members have had Jesus love them, die for them and wash them.

Photos: (Top) Sophie Timothy, (Lower) http://www.flickr.com/photos/whiparound/5437688673/lightbox/