What is Church? Part Two
Most definitions of church leave out the following:
1. It chooses its own leader and governs itself. This won’t happen when missionaries stay instead of leaving. It’s also something that doesn’t happen much in the West. Instead, strangers come from Bible colleges and other churches, appointed by denominational leaders.
2. It cares for its members and supports and finances itself. Persecutors want churches to be dependent on outside funds because they can stop them at a moment’s notice. Missionaries must not keep churches dependent on themselves. This is something that churches in North America need to consider as well. I know of churches who apply for government grants. When the time comes that we don’t have a Christian-friendly government, if we’re dependent on these funds, we could be faced with some hard choices.
3. It reproduces itself into new communities.
4. It’s defined by community and not by doctrine. In North America, we’re really caught up in doctrinal battles. What is community? The speaker proposed that community involves family—-not just men or just women but families meeting together. This is church and is a revolutionary concept in Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist cultures.
1. It chooses its own leader and governs itself. This won’t happen when missionaries stay instead of leaving. It’s also something that doesn’t happen much in the West. Instead, strangers come from Bible colleges and other churches, appointed by denominational leaders.
2. It cares for its members and supports and finances itself. Persecutors want churches to be dependent on outside funds because they can stop them at a moment’s notice. Missionaries must not keep churches dependent on themselves. This is something that churches in North America need to consider as well. I know of churches who apply for government grants. When the time comes that we don’t have a Christian-friendly government, if we’re dependent on these funds, we could be faced with some hard choices.
3. It reproduces itself into new communities.
4. It’s defined by community and not by doctrine. In North America, we’re really caught up in doctrinal battles. What is community? The speaker proposed that community involves family—-not just men or just women but families meeting together. This is church and is a revolutionary concept in Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist cultures.
posted by Magdaleine at 9:27 PM
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