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Today we are continuing our look at the church and trying to form a simple, coherent definition that covers the basics well without going too far into preferences and without leaving anything out that God intends for us to do or be.
I have been thinking about the idea of Minimal or Essential Ecclesiology.
Minimal:
The least viable form or the least possible to call something a church. What can you remove from your existing church and it still be a church?
Essential:
If you have nothing else you must at least have this to call it a church.
Ecclesiology: doctrine relating to the church
The goal is to consider the smallest, most adaptable, most flexible definition of the church. Why? Because we need more churches! And it is hard to begin with the finished, mature product, what can you start with? A seed that contains the DNA of the church at maturity. I believe Acts gives us a good picture of this seed that has all the characteristics of the church that will thrive in any setting.
To me that is KEY. The church is God’s people thriving and on mission in every culture and time period. What are the essentials that are consistent in a thriving church in every culture and age?
The Essential Church
What can you remove from your existing church and it still be a church?
If you have nothing else you must at least have this to call it a church.
A seed that contains the DNA of the church at maturity.
Can you separate what the church IS from what the church DOES?
If it doesn’t apply in in all ages, in all cultures and in the persecuted church then it can’t be considered ESSENTIAL.
The Church IS:
WHO:
Baptized Followers of Jesus –
Leadership – When and how much is required for a church to be a church? ie. when is a gathering of believers a church and not just a gathering of believers?
DO WHAT:
Worship
a- John 4:24
-in Spirit and Truth
b- Rom. 12:1-2
– living sacrifice
c- Phil. 2:5-8
-humility and obedience
Community/ Fellowship
a- Acts 2:42-47
b- Acts 2:41
1 Cor. 11:23-26 – baptism and communion
c- Hebrews 10:25
– assumes gathering together is normal
Mission
a- Acts 8:4
– share the gospel.
ie.
Acts 1:8
– To BE His witnesses.
b- Matthew 28:18-20
-make disciples
1-teaching
A-to obey Jesus commands. Not just knowledge.
2-baptizing
c- Ephesians 4:11-13
-Equipping the Church for ministry and edifying toward Unity and Maturity, ie. The Image of Jesus
A CHURCH is a group of Jesus’ disciples who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission.
What is this definition missing that you believe is necessary to understand the church?
There are definitely things that are only implied and not spelled out. There are definitely questions a church will need to answer for itself based on its local context and culture.
Specifically,
What do you not see in this definition? There is not much to tell HOW to do these things.
Let’s make a list.
How do you worship God? Spirit and Truth gives some guidance. Truth should lead us to look at the Bible for answers.
What does the life of a living sacrifice look like? Humility is there. What is sacrifice? Probably want to look at the OT for some insight.
How do we get together? When, where, how often, what do we do? The NT gives some idea of the big picture, Acts and Paul’s letters need to be investigated.
What is the mission of Jesus? The Gospels give His words directly, Acts gives the early churches application of them.
What is the Gospel and how do we best communicate it in our location to the people around us? Back to the NT.
How do we make disciples in our context?
What are Jesus commands?
How do we edify others? Who is responsible to do this?
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Thanks for joining me again today! How is your church doing at fulfilling it’s biblical purpose? I’d love to hear from you, write me at norman@runwithhorses.net or leave a comment on the Run With Horses Podcast facebook page. Take time today to pause and thank God for His work in your life and keep running.