By Scott L: Guest Blogger
The word ‘church’ shows up 106 times in the New Testament. The first occurrence of the word is found on the lips of Jesus in Matthew 16:13-20. Though we could spend a little time on this Scripture alone, I am going to move on to something else, and maybe I will revisit this specific passage in the near future.
Some time ago I wrote about how a Christian who stands on the Gospel is to act in regards to the government. But I want to address a different aspect by asking the following to us American Christians: should Christians vote?
Churches (and what I mean by this is the local manifestation of the Universal Church but I’ll refer to them for now on as assemblies) have lost focus of the Gospel.No, I don’t mean that they don’t know what it is or that they’re preaching it or that they even support it: but it has become (to all these assemblies) the entrance into Salvation and that’s it. It becomes a talking point on how one assembly is Closer To It than the other or a banner which is waved: but it has been receded from being the very grounds on which the entire Church stands.
“The way you’re sitting: you’re still not so sure about what I’m saying….”
“Well yes. I mean at first it sounded like you were making a very narrow distinction about what a local church is. Then you basically say all churches are crippled–.”
“Well most anyway. I can’t really prove all.”
“Fine, so most. But I think you’re ignoring some things like Christ says where two or three are gathered in my name that’s a church. So even if they’re messed up, the church is made up of people. That would mean any group of Christians is still a church. Even Campus Crusades.”
“Christ is talking about the matter of discipline and yes he’s there in the matter of bringing a charge against a sinning brother or sister but eventually he also says to bring the matter before the church—which, you’re right: is people. The local manifestation of the Universal Church, I’ll use the term Assembly, is defined by the goals and work (as I said before) but the boundary markers are seen by those seven points. Of course, assemblies might be weak on one or more of the markers but that doesn’t negate the legitimacy of their gathering. So yes, I’m both narrowing the definition and broadening it”
“Whatever Yoda…but you haven’t addressed my main concern. Is campus crusade a local church? Should they have a membership roster? Collect for the poor? Discipline each other?”
I wanted to illustrate the main point from my last post: that any gathering of Christians might still be an ekklesia albeit horribly crippled. Up front I wanted to make my point clearer—I think we’ve restricted the meaning of the Local Church to center around a building or a specific service but have ignored the goal and work of the church as well as the boundary markers that define of what the church looks like. In so doing, I think we’ve effectively divorced the markers of the ekklesia and have made them stand on their own apart from it
So when we look at Revelation1:20 we see that Christ is examining the lamp stands of seven churches. How much light are they giving? Where are they falling short in performing their task? At what point do these gathering of Christians stop being churches?