I want to try something here. I want to have a blog discussion. That means that all you folks out there who read my blog will have to give their opinion. My goal here is to grow in the Lord. Not just me but you too as we study this topic together. I want to see scripture to back your opinion up. I don't know if it will fly or not, but it is worth a try.
I spent almost an hour and a half today listening to a theology class about the purpose of the church. It got pretty deep and there were a number of different opinions. I want to know what yours is. What is the purpose of the church. Is there more then one purpose? If so, what is the most important purpose? The blanket answer of course is to glorify God. This is not the answer that I am looking for. Look deeper. So I ask you; what is the purpose of the church? This is the part where you have to respond!
2 comments:
Rob,
Great question. I'll take a stab at it. I'm curious to know how this measures up to the study you have been listening to.
First, we must distinguish between the universal Church and the local church.
The purpose of the universal church is to glorify God by receiving and reflecting the grace of God in Christ.
The local church fulfills this by providing structured oversight, teaching, encouragement, discipline, and fellowship for believers who are receiving and reflecting the grace of God in Christ. All of this could also be called "making disciples." The local church is essentially a gathering of disciple-making disciples. Or at least it should be.
We could also say it this way: The local church is a gathering of those who have responded in faith to the message of the Gospel, for the purpose of growing in their understanding of the Gospel, applying the truth of the Gospel to their lives, and helping others to understand and apply the Gospel. This is putting more definition on the term disciple, basically saying a disciple is one who lives according to the Gospel.
I have purposely left out any specific mention of evangelism. This is because outreach and proclamation of the Gospel are integral to EVERYTHING about a gathering of disciple-makers. How else do you find people to disciple?
I have also left out any mention of worship. This is because expressiona of worship are the natural outflow of receiving and reflecting the grace of God in Christ. Worship, in daily life activity, is the way we reflect the grace received.
Note: I did not say the church is a "gathering place." We do need a place to gather, but the place is irrelevant to the ultimate purpose. In fact, sometimes a traditional church building can be a hindrance to the disciple-making mission of the Church. The local church may gather in a barn, and that does not make it a lesser church (though it might make it a stinkier one).
Grace & peace,
Derek Ashton
Derek,
I appreciate your input! I know now that I have at least one person that reads my posts!
Your post has measured up well with what my class has been teaching. Equiping the body of Christ to serve is primarily what they are teaching.
They also brought it to a more personal level and talked about Enoch, Moses, David, and others and asked what they would say that their purpose would be and if that is relevent to the purpose of the church. Very interesting to ponder! Thanks again for your comment!
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