I think to fully understand why we need the church we also have to understand what the church is supposed to be, and how it is supposed to function. If I were to put all of this information in one blog post, it would be way too long and you would get as lost reading it as I would writing it. I have come up with eleven different answers to the question at hand. I will be publishing these answers over the days ahead. You can click on the titles below to see the answers that have already been published and subscribe if you want to be notified as the rest of the answers are published.
1. The global Church is represented locally by local churches.
2. Ekklesia
3. Sheep need Shepherds
4. The Salty Bride
5. Bread, Blood, and Water
6. The preaching of the word
7. Accountability and Discipline
8. History and Progress
9. The need for reformation
10. All the "one anothers"
11. Fellowship
What reasons can you think of for why Christians need a local church? Why do you or do you not attend church?
Hey, Wayne -
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to read a bit more of this. I'll confess I've seen some of these articles. I read a certain article that argued that the church of Acts looked a lot more like his friends meeting in a home, and while they didn't "sit right" with me, I couldn't really articulate why, as long as someone was meeting faithfully with a body of believers, they would have to be part of a local, organized church. The wrestle between Biblical and traditional.
But I believe you'll hit the nail on the head with these series. Especially your "sheep need a shepherd." Yes. There are things we can only get from an organized body that are impossible, or at least unlikely, from an informal group of friends meeting up on a Saturday night.
Can't wait to read more.