It's NOT a Place!

Created on May 16, 2025

2025   ·   in-progress   ·   in-progress-posts

Asgard is not a place. It’s a people.

  • Heimdall, Asgard theologian :)

(When mythology actually contains a bit of truth.)

Growing up I heard the word “church” abused.

Typical usages by religious people were:

  • “It’s time to go to church.” (meaning: partly an event; partly a place)
  • Someone driving by and pointing to a building, “That’s our church.” - meaning: a place/structure)
  • “What does the church teach about __?” (meaing: some sort of leadership/clergy empowered to decide official theology)

None of these align with how the word “church” is used in the Bible by Jesus and his apostles.

In fact, one of the first times I remember hearing the word “church” used correctly was by the country group, Alabama. In their song “High Cotton” they sang,

Ah, there it is!

“Just in time to gather with the church”

That’s not a place or an event or a clergy. Heimdall nailed it. The church is a people.

And not just any people. According to Jesus the church is a people who are built on very speciic foundation. Peter famously put it in words when Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?”

Peter’s answer was simple. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied that it was upon that truth that He would build His church.

NOTE: He’s building his church on what Peter said, not Peter himself. (The latter misinterpretation has caused theological confusion for years.) This was the first time any of the apostles had declared Jesus as the ‘Messiah’, the one both scripture/prophets had predicted would come for thousands of years. Peter’s reply was so significant that Jesus honored him by changing his name from Simon to Peter (aka Petra which means ‘rock’).

So, at its simplest, the word “church” is a group of people who share a belief about Jesus: That He was sent by God, as His son, to save us all. Messiah translates literally as “anointed one”. And, in the Jewish context the thing He was anointed to do was to bring salvation.

—-next up Out of that context, wanted church that focused on truth and that was alive.. mid-county, classses, stanley/internship, small groups, etc. - growth for a while - taught classes with Steve (of Liz) and others - learned a ton about scripture/truth - then stagnation both as church and me - missing community.. etc. Losing 50 people out back door per year…