"What is the Church?": Scripture, Tradition, Reason/Experience

Our penultimate topic for our summer of Public Theology is "What is the Church?"  Here are some of our answers:

Scripture
The Bride of Christ
the Body of Christ
held all things in common
"love one another"
exposed to false teachings, and true teachings
Holy Spirit guides them
Resolving differences internally (Mt 18:15-19)
United in belief in the Christ
A fellowship
A family
Baptism gained new meaning
Wrestled with what you need to do/be to "be church" (Acts)
Peter is the rock on which the church is built
Mission: evangelize, baptize, guard the truth, teach, discipline
Mission: preach the good news--Christ is risen from the dead
Go, baptize, tell
Care for the least of these (Mt 25:31-46)
Wherever 2-3 are gathered, I am there (Mt 18:20)

Tradition
emphasizes organizational structure, hierarchy
meet regularly for worship
often refers to a building rather than to a group of people
Christ is the foundation of the Church
mission is to heal and preach (hymn)
mission is to spread the kingdom (hymn)
mission is to save people from life of sin
it's where you go to get baptized, married, and buried
a place to go to celebrate life's events with the community
gathering to worship around life events
the breaking of the bread
is Church really about the hierarchy or the group?
defines and supports music, art, poetry
gives us tools to enjoy beauty
is about liturgy
offers a chance to experience God
the apostolic succession

Reason/Experience
a supportive community
an exclusive community?
where I learn to pray
there's moral guidance at church
it's the only place I know where we talk together about God, the Bible, and the history of the church
fellowship
points out your sins (in the general Confession of Sins)
I understand the idea of the Cloud of Witnesses
the physical space becomes holy because we gather here again and again for worship
the Eucharist for me is about renewal and strength
being in (this) church forces us to wrestle with questions of science and faith
we celebrate important passages in life with this community
a place we can come to help others
a group organized to serve the least of these
a group organized to strengthen us
it's where true joy is found
where true sorrow can be shared and passed through
helps me organize life

Why am I at church today?
spiritual food
peace
see friends
strength and renewal
thank people who have helped me
pray
something is missing without it
the Eucharist
I want family and neighbors to know I do this, that it's important
witness to the value of church
to encourage me in selflessness, humility, generosity, and mercy
it's loving
I'm always accepted
I can focus on God's forgiveness
to praise the Lord
because I want THIS place to be alive in THIS building on THIS campus
to share
to recognize the "you in me and I in you"