What is the Church?

The intent of this blog is to engage all who care to, in a 'dialogue' about the main area of my teaching responsibility: The Church; and more specifically, the education ministries and theology thereof.

I start by asking you to think with me about my definition/description of church that I propose and build in the Church's Ministry class I teach. My definition of the essence or nature of the church:

A Glorifying, Missional, Community.

(1) Glorifying: This emphasizes the connection and relationship of the church to God--the church is for His purposes and should be about growing in worship, love, knowledge, and intimacy with Him. A church must be engaged in a vital worshipping experience with God.

(2) Missional: This emphasizes the relationship and responsibility the church is to have to the world where God has placed it; we are here to reflect God's glory before the lost, and to participate in calling those people to a relationship with Him. A church must be engaged in vital witnessing experiences with the lost.

And (3) Community: The church is called on a human level to be in relationship to 'one another.' The New Testament gives over 40 'one another' directives or responsibilities. In short, we are responsible for mutual nurture, care, and love of each other. This is the biblical concept of 'koinonia'; that is, encouraging each other in every possible way we can towards mutual and personal conformity to Christ. This is accomplished when there is authentic, or genuine, biblical koinonia (the New Testament Greek word for, fellowship). A church must be engaged in vital relational experience with each other.

What questions does this raise? If you buy this, what implications does it suggest for the church, locally and globally?