All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the centre of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence

- Ephesians 1:20-23 (Peterson, The Message)

A few years back, Yuval Harari wrote in the New Statesman that religion was on its way out; technology would take its place. "God is dead," he said, "it just takes a while to get rid of the body." An interesting turn of phrase - the New Testament's own image for the church is exactly that: a body. Christ's body.

Which raises an awkward question. We're fairly comfortable believing in God. We're less comfortable believing in the church - this strange, collective thing we're asked to become part of, not just admire from a distance. Ephesians puts it starkly: the church isn't peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. Christ fills it, speaks through it, acts by it.

First, though, a language problem. Google "church" and you'll get gothic spires and stained glass. But the New Testament word - ekklesia - never means a building. It means a people, an assembly, a gang. It's us.

So what did that ekklesia do? Acts 2 gives us the answer:

• They met - daily, with one heart - they wanted to be where God was.
• They devoted themselves to Jesus's teaching - ordinary people, no PhDs, just giving themselves to his words.
• They shared their lives - koinonia, real and costly sharing of like, not the ideal we secretly want. As Bonhoeffer warned, love the dream of community too much and you'll destroy the real thing.
• They broke bread - they were gathered around the meal that spoke of Jesus's love and his death and resurrection, not around any identity of class, race, or social status.

None of this is a pitch for any particular congregation or community - just look for one that tries to do the things above. But the Bible is clear: you can't claim to love God and shrug off his people. Love him, you'll love his body. Love his body, you'll want to be part of it.

Gathering, learning, sharing life, breaking bread together. That's why we tell people who get baptised that there's a thing they must do: go to church.