I really enjoy Marvel movies. Ever since the first Iron Man movie came out back in 2008 with Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, I’ve been hooked. I didn’t grow up reading the comics, so I’m learning much of the backstory and characters as the Marvel Cinematic Universe unfolds. There are times during a movie when certain lines or themes are just ripe with biblical concepts. God is the best storyteller, and so often other stories imitate his ultimate story. Thor: Ragnarok contained one of those lines that jumped off the screen at me.

Thor is probably the character that I was the least familiar with, but it has been fun to learn more about him and his world. Thor and company reside in Asgard, which is one of the nine realms. From Asgard, one can travel to any of the nine realms, including Midgard (earth). In Ragnarok, the fight comes to Asgard in the form of Thor’s sister, Hela. She takes over Asgard, drawing power from the city and forcing its inhabitants to seek refuge outside the city. As the movie draws to a close, Thor and his fellow Asgardians have no choice but to leave Asgard altogether, since they cannot defeat Hela as long as Asgard remains. They end up causing Ragnarok, which is the destruction of Asgard. As the closing scenes unfold, three different characters highlight the idea that Asgard is not a place. It’s a people.

Thor’s father Odin tells him that Asgard is not a place. It never was. Asgard is wherever the people are. Thor himself mentions it to his brother Loki and the Valkyrie when he suggests that they need to cause Ragnarok and destroy Asgard. And that’s ok, because it’s not a place, it’s a people. Finally, as the people of Asgard drift away on a space barge huddled together watching the complete destruction of Asgard, the gatekeeper Heimdall reminds Thor that he has saved Asgard from extinction. He says the line again…Asgard isn’t a place. It’s a people.

I remember the first time I saw the movie and immediately thought of the comparison to the church. So many times we associate church with a building or a particular place. It seems like our identity becomes so wrapped up in that place that we can’t imagine our life or our church without that meeting space. It becomes part of who we are. The inhabitants of Asgard became so used to living in Asgard that they had forgotten that their identity wasn’t in their city, but in who they were as Asgardians. They needed reminded of this reality when their city was threatened with, and ultimately experienced, destruction. Just like they did, we also tend to wrap our identity in our location, rather than in who we are.

The church isn’t defined by a place. It’s not primarily somewhere that we go. But if you look at how we talk about it, you would think it’s primarily the gathering place. We say things like “we are going to church” or “when we were at church” or “we missed church today.” And while I don’t think we intend to say that church is the building or the place, our language over time has ingrained in our minds that church happens when we go to a certain place at a certain time. You might think this is just a difference in terminology, and you might be right. I do think that for some it is just wording. However, I have become convinced that over the course of my life, this subtle shift in wording was significant enough to shape my thoughts on who we are and what we do as the church. It’s one of the reasons I have shifted to refer to the church building as just that, the church building. So much so that my kids have just taken up naturally calling it the church building.

I recognize in my own heart the shift that happens when I see church as primarily a place that I go. The people can’t help but take a back seat. If I’m not able to be there on Sunday, did I miss church, or did I miss gathering with the people that are the church? Do I miss the rush of singing together and the emotion that comes with gathering, or do I miss knowing and being with the people who gathered to worship God? Even if I have the right answers to those questions, if I’m not careful, I am able to attend church without being invested in the lives of the other believers who are part of that church. I am able to participate in an event, rather than fully embracing life with the people.

These questions, and others, were shoved to the forefront of my mind as we experienced the shutdown in the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic. Our leadership opted to close down our worship services, which left us without any public gatherings for a little less than 3 months. Based on the recommended guidelines, we didn’t have any small group gatherings either. I was reminded in a very tangible way that even though our church regularly gathers at one particular location, the inability to gather there does not change the identity or the nature of God’s people. While Grace Bible Church is a visible, local expression of the invisible Church (all those who have trusted in Jesus for salvation), it is that visible, local expression precisely because of the people who gather, and not the gathering place itself. It’s why the wording can be such a subtle difference.

The Greek word translated “church” in the New Testament is “ekklesia” which literally means “assembly.” It is based on the root word “kaleo” which means “to call; name; or summon.” The church is made up of the ones who are called out by God to be his people. When those people gather together, they assemble as ones who have been set apart by God to be his holy representatives. The assembly doesn’t make us the church. When the called out ones assemble, that makes it a gathering of the church. When the church gathers, we reflect the reality of the people whom God has called out to be separate from the world. We are a visible representation of the invisible reality of God’s redeemed people.

Our services went to livestream-only, which I think was a good way to continue to preach the Word and give our folks at least some kind of connection point. But honestly, these services aren’t what sustained my family and I through this time. Even though we couldn’t gather together, following Jesus “together” with other believers in our local church was what helped to sustain us. We were both encouraged and challenged by the relationships that we have with others in the church. Those relationships continued, and in some cases flourished, even though we couldn’t “go to church.” Yes, it was hard not to be together, but pursuing relationships through texting, calling, and zooming (among other things) helped us realize that we were still together because of the Spirit. Because our roots ran deeper than just Sunday service interaction, we were actually able to strengthen some of those relationships. Our connection isn’t based on the Sunday service. It is based on the gospel of Jesus which binds us much deeper than just Sunday interaction. Jesus binds our very lives together.

Which is my point in writing this article.
Just like Asgard isn’t a place. It’s a people.

The church isn’t a place. It’s a people.
It is God’s people on mission together for the glory of God and the spread of the gospel.
Yes, we live in a local place and we gather locally together. But even if we can’t gather in a large group, and a pandemic closes down our worship services, or whatever else may come our way, we are still the church. Our identity is in who Jesus has called us to be. The called out ones.

And even the gates of hell will not prevail against us!