You can just about hear these two songwriters vocalizing their thoughts, and see in your mind’s eye the scene in which “The Church” was sung. Chris Brown and Mack Brock were part of the Elevation Church in Charlotte in 2010 (see the seal of Charlotte, NC here), and so their objective was to motivate the crowd that was before them. Was it a reaction like what some others experienced when a church was moved to action by potent words two millennia earlier? That event at which Peter and others witnessed the birth of the Christian church was unlike any event since then, and yet Chris and Mack must have felt that another fire needed to begin in Charlotte. What would one say to a crowd that needed or desired a spark? What would draw more seekers to a church, like a magnet drawing metal to itself, or a feast of exquisite food that wafts an irresistible odor among the hungry? That’s what Chris and Mack and the rest of their Elevation Worship friends were trying to prompt, a recognition by those who are on the outside that The Church has something they want, something they need.
Chris and Mack offer no special insights into what prompted ‘The Church’, but their own lyrics and the album on which the song was premiered offer some food for thought. For the Honor was the name attached to the album that included the song about the church that the two songwriters were contemplating, so they must have thought that one way to esteem God was to be the kind of church that points to Him, to be who He intended His body to be. The early church of the 1st Century A.D. had that mission in front of itself too, so how’d it respond? It’s not really a mystery today, if one just looks at what Luke recorded for us: Acts 2:42-47 spells it out. Listening to preaching and teaching, praying and eating together, and giving to those in need from their own resources – those were the responses of those few thousand inaugural church members. Chris and Mack could not have missed what is written in black and white, and so they emphasized some key things that stood out to them, things that relate to the world of the 21st Century as clearly as they did to people of the 1st Century A.D. They note that the world is ‘desperate’ today, as indeed it was centuries ago as well. Peter’s sermon convicted his hearers, and they knew they were in great need spiritually; just read Acts 2:37 -- When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” The church today still offers a solution (which begins by getting into Christ through baptism -- Acts 2:38), and that is what Chris and Mack illustrate with lyrics that include words like ‘hope’, ‘love’, ‘compassion’ and ‘mercy’ to a people that are seeking and ‘waiting for change’. And so, the church is called to ‘rise’ and get out in the ‘streets’ with this news. ‘Shine’ His love light, they coax. The church, His people, and what He offers is ‘real’, and still ‘alive’ and ‘active’.
So, just be what you sing, Chris and Mack and the rest of Elevation Worship were saying in ‘The Church’. And, the church today still takes it cues from what the church looked like so long ago. It shouldn’t really be that difficult to promote, should it? And yet, from what we read of Luke’s history, there wasn’t always a welcome mat laid out for the spreaders of the good news. The apostles did not flinch, even when arrests, beatings, scorn, and eventually martyrdom became part of their experience. They found, as honestly as we oftentimes do today, that there are doubters, and even hostile opponents that might resort to violence. There’s nothing to be done about those types of people, except to keep being the church; and, there are others who might not say so at first, but they can be touched, maybe with repeated attempts by you and me. The Spirit will move in people’s hearts, if they are willing. You and I are the ones throwing the seed around and giving it some water – as Paul and Apollos did (1 Corinthians 3:6) – but only our Sovereign can make the seed grow into belief and devotion. Chris and Mack have reminded us what the seed-spreading and watering looks like. If you’ve not seen that, it’s probably not too far away from your front door.
Read about the musical group here: Elevation Worship - Wikipedia
See information about the seal of Charlotte here: File:New seal of Charlotte, North Carolina.svg - Wikimedia Commons…This file is in the public domain because official item legally exempt from copyright in its country of origin.
