...the interconnectedness of people who are related to God.
I just love that thought!
Why are we so stuck in church as that thing some of us do on sundays?
Maybe - just maybe - we should let God define who and what His people are, for a change...
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Maybe just Maybe God defined who his people were through defining "Church". Through the definations and instruction to the early church, and through models there of.
Maybe the problem is that we only do part of what Church is / was meant to be? Maybe it is due to our human tendencies (Lord create a Blog spell check ;) ) that we turn what is meant as freedom in God's sight into a potentially religious entity that is sometimes labeled as "Church".
Tis just a side thought.
Ian.
I suppose that last sentence would have been better expressed if I said something like "... we should rethink how God defined church in the first place" although I like the way the initial one sounded - and we need to presume that it means the same thing - as I don't see God changing His mind on this definition.
yes...
maybe yes and...
and what Ian said...
really been wrestling with Acts 2:42 for last few years and how different the church looks today - in fact Cam if you get this in time and are free sat from 10 to 12am at seattle century city meeting with a bunch of okes to discuss this church thing - would be great if you could make it
b
Got some interesting listening material on "The Doctrine of the Church" - Michael Eaton, if you are interested. Give me a shout if you want and I can get it to you!
The Church ... Wow ... What I do know is that Jesus is in love with His Church and will do what it takes to bring the Church (His bride) into the "form" and fullness He has always intended. We are all human and make LOADS of mistakes, but He has grace for that and loves us enough not to leave us unchanged!
Love Marc
Ok - so I think this is just a fantastic post. What exactly IS the Church?? Us, the people, bodies, spirits .... however you want to view US. And what did the first followers of Jesus do? They visited one another, they shared EVERYTHING with one another, and they worshiped God - plain and simple. Why do we make things so complicated?
It seems that the biblical description of the local church would be a tight-knit group of believers who met and fellowshipped regularly. The reason for this seems to be routed in relationship and love for each other coupled with a hunger to know God more. I find that by it's very nature, this community life cannot be a preordained religious act with lording over authoritarians, but is rather an extension of what was in their hearts. It was a natural outworking. Something that brought life, not death. I know I might be reading a bit into things here, but then again, I don't see us getting to how we currently define church at the moment without REALLY REALLY reading into the biblical narrative of the early church.
I don't think that we can reach the current definition of 'Church' by reading the Bible and studying the early Church, as my understanding is that the two are completely separate. One is God-led, and love-inspired, while the other is bureaucratic and legalistic (consider England, where people previously divorced are NOT allowed to marry, and you are only considered 'married' if you marry in the Church of England denomination). I'd say that what we generally see in the world today is largely a result of our sinful natures and our desire to be in control, rather than handing the control over to our Father and asking Him to lead and guide us.
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