The Longing
Stuff that didn't quite make it into The Briefing
More on the meaning of ‘church’
Tony Payne / November 2003
In my essay in Briefing #302 (‘The gathering: thinking afresh about church’), there were a number of issues that I didn't have the space to address adequately. To stimulate further thought on these issues, here are some further cogitations about the meaning of ‘church’, and other related questions.
(These comments may not make much sense if you have not read the main article. It's available online.)
Does ‘church’ only ever mean ‘gathering’?
As I briefly outlined in a footnote to the essay, the basic meaning of the Greek word ekklesia,