Subtitle: The word "church" has become to generic to hold any value.

Excerpt: The word "church" has become to generic to hold any value.

Author: Jeff Hilles

The Issue

Webster defines the word “church” as …

• A building for public and especially Christian worship
• A body or organization of religious believers

Of course, any mature Christian would immediately regurgitate the point that the “church” is not the “building” but the “believers” located inside.

The deeper issue is that so many use the term “church” as if one were discussing a homogeneous group of people with similar doctrine. The Westboro Baptist Church believes all homosexuals go to Hell and the Unitarian Universalist church up the street believes that everyone goes to Heaven. By the way … sigh … the URL for Westboro’s website is, godhatesfags.com. It reminds me in stark terms that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

What’s The Point?

The point is that the word “church,” as well as the word “Christian,” has little meaning, which is why we at BCW use the term “Biblical” in front of both terms. Adding a single word is not a total solution for the need to qualify the type of church or Christian being discussed, but when paired with a Statement of Faith (details here), it helps.

When we offer our opinion on how good or how bad the “church” is – how loving, engaging, or theologically sound it might be, it is critical to clarify what type of church we are talking about. So many have ” left the church” because they felt harmed, rejected, or unwilling to comply with the dogma expressed by its leadership. As a writer and responder to thousands of comments on how the church has been inclusive or exclusive to our readers, there is no way to offer an accurate comment without knowing what kind of church one is talking about.

Recognizing there are infinite gradations and an infinite number of variables that separates one church from another, the following are three broad categories to consider when defining the church being discussed. Of course, these criteria are presented through the lens of a Biblical Christian worldview.

1. A church presenting blatant false teachings:
   • The Mormon (LDS) Church is an example of one that purports to be Christian but whose theology is heretical. Other examples include Jehovah’s Witnesses, Prosperity Gospel, and Roman Catholicism.
2. A church offering shallow, worldly teachings:
   • This includes, with exceptions, many mainline denominations that have drifted from their traditional roots. Focused more on secular and political issues rather than spiritual ones,  it includes the United Methodist Church, American Baptist, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Presbyterian USA. These denominations typically hold to a hypothetical view of the Bible, prone to ecumenism and the social gospel.
3. A church that presents Biblical Christian teachings:
   • These are evangelical churches who believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. They see salvation as coming through God’s grace while having a heart-based faith that Christ alone is the only path to Heaven (John 14:6).

The Bottom Line

One cannot use the term “church” without clarifying it. 

One cannot be critical of the church without qualifying which type of church is being discussed. 

The Last Hard Question

Using the example of Westboro Baptist and their horrific reputation, where do they stand within the three types of churches presented above?

If one looks at their Statement of Faith (details here), it would seem they support much of the core theology of a Biblical Christian church. However, their expressed views on the subject of LGBTQ+ are so egregious and antithetical to the fundamental purpose of the Biblical Christian church, which is to disciple members and evangelize the lost, their final resting place should be under, “A church presenting blatant false teachings.”