When my family lived in North Carolina, we had friends who attended the local Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Apparently some in their congregation did not like referring to it as a "Church," so our friends would refer to it as "Church-Like Place."

One time I jokingly referred to our own evangelical church as "Church-Like Place." My UU friend was quick to point out that ours was an actual church. However, I pushed back. I noted that sometimes we didn't really function as a church. In fact, we were sometimes more of a "Church-Like Place" than an actual expression of what the Church is supposed to be.

I don't think our church was the only one with this problem. A lot of times we think that we are a Church, when in reality we are just a Church-Like Place.

What is the difference?

Church-Like Places feature a lot of the same activities as an actual Church. People gather regularly for some sort of worship service with plenty of talk ...