Who is the church?

We all know the building isn’t the church.  It is the people.  Which people though?  Is it everyone who attends?  Does how often matter?  If we don’t see someone for a month, a year, two years have they quit being part of the church?  If they contribute financially or physically to the ministry of the church are they without question part of the church?  And does it really matter? 

            It probably really doesn’t matter until the church has a decision to make and then who should make it?  Why the church of course, which brings me back to the question who is really the church?

            Ultimately, I believe this to be a spiritual question.  The church are those people God has called to a particular time and place to be together in order to serve and participate in the Kingdom of God together.  The Kingdom of God is that place where God rules, where a person’s loyalty is not divided between competing priorities and interests but rather all interests are of lower priority than the interests of God.

            So I would propose that the church is made up of the people who willingly participate in the activity of the church when and where they are called and these are the people who should be making the decisions for the church.