Minister’s Letter Whose Church Is It Anyway? “And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22-23 NRSVA) A church put up a new noticeboard outside its building. The first Sunday after it appeared, one member stood admiring it and said, "Well, now everyone will know this is our church." An elderly lady standing nearby quietly replied, "I hope they'll know it's Christ's church." That gentle correction gets to the heart of an important question. We often talk about "our church". We love it, serve in it and care deeply about it. We have memories tied up with it and friendships that mean the world to us. There is nothing wrong with that. But there is a danger if we begin to think the church somehow belongs to us. I n Ephesians 1:22-23, Paul tells us that God "placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body." The church belongs to Christ because Christ is its head. That truth is wonderfully liberating. If the church belongs to Christ, then its future does not finally depend on us. We are not carrying the church on our shoulders. We are servants and stewards, called to be faithful, prayerful and obedient. The church rests in far safer hands than ours. It is also a humbling truth. Churches can easily become attached to personalities, traditions and preferences. We may begin to think the church exists to preserve our favourite way of doing things. Yet the church was here before us and, by God's grace, it will continue after us. We are transient caretakers of something that belongs to another. In our non-conformist tradition, we have always cherished the conviction that Christ alone is head of the church. No minister, bishop, denomination or committee can claim that place. The church must always listen afresh to its true Head and submit to his Word. The church is never ours to control; it is his to direct. And that should fill us with hope. Christ loves his church more than we ever could. He gave himself for her. He knows her weaknesses and failings, yet he has not abandoned her. The church's future depends not on our cleverness or our plans but on his faithfulness. So by all means say, "This is my church," if by that you mean, "This is the fellowship where I worship and serve." But never forget the deeper reality. Before it is ours in any sense at all, it is his. The church is Christ's church. We have the privilege of belonging to it because, first of all, we belong to him. Revd Adam