The church that Christ built

I am coming to the conclusion that the Church that Christ is building is something very different from what we have been taught.

I remember studying "ministry 5 times" while in the Bible collage. At that time we were taught that these five ingredients are what make up the Church. Where apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are working together; there is church

Instead of understanding that this particular verse means that these things will exist in the Body of Christ throughout the world, we have foolishly interpreted it to mean that they must exist "under one roof." I have even seen churches announce that they have a "five-time ministry" in an effort to attract a larger congregation. There are articles and books written about whether or not these five things work in churches today. When we build a new Church, we spend a lot of time and attention making sure that all the necessary ingredients are present when the doors open. The theory is that if we have an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, a pastor, and a teacher within our congregation, we will have everything we need to "make Church." It is much like opening your own McDonalds or Jack in the Box. Once everyone is in place, it's time to do business. You need an owner, a manager, an assistant manager, a fleet of workers and you're ready to Church of Christ evangelism.

About two years ago I started to look closely at my life and the lives of the people around me. Everyone I meet has their own personal circle of friends they date. It may consist of family members, people at work, school, the internet, or your neighborhood. Every person I meet has their "inner circle". It generally consists of between 5 and 10 people. They also have other friends, but those people would not be considered friends of the "Inner Circle".

To be a friend of the "Inner Circle", there just has to be something that causes a mutual connection between the two of you. There is no recipe for it, and one can never predict when it will happen. You cannot force it, plan it, cultivate it, or even order it to take place; it literally flourishes on its own. I have found that only certain people can "jelly" together at a depth level that is not necessarily shared with others. It is almost as if they were specifically made with the other person in mind. In a kingdom known only to God Himself, these people come together like pieces of a puzzle. In fact, I think they were brought together by the Holy Spirit. Only He sees the inner structure of each individual soul and then finds another soul to connect tight and tight. It is inexplicable and cannot be manufactured or recreated by human hands in a million years.

I have an "inner circle" of about 10 people. These are people with whom I am very close. Our connection did not happen in an effort to fulfill some Christian obligation to meet and establish a relationship once a week. We all connect because we fit in. We knew it the moment we met. I have many other friends that I adore and love to spend time with. He would even die for them. They mean the world to me; however, they are not in my "inner circle".

My four-year-old daughter pulled out a 100-piece "Hello Kitty" puzzle the other day and asked me to help her put it together. The box said it was for ages 6+, so I knew it wouldn't come together without my help. As we were putting the pieces together and turning them all up, my daughter started screaming with excitement. She had found two pieces that fit perfectly. The problem was that, although they fit, they did not go. The image did not join. Looking closer at all the pieces of the puzzle, I was surprised to find that many of them were exactly the same shape. This is confusing for a four year old girl. The only thing you are thinking about is fitting the pieces together. She has two years to understand that a bigger picture is forming when all the pieces are in place.