Established in grace ~ Living in Grace ~ Growing in Grace
CHURCH IS NOT A BUILDING
Church Is Not A Building (From the RANSOMED HEART site)
09/24/2009
Church is not a building. Church is not an event that takes place on Sundays. I know, its how we think of it. “I go to First Baptist.” “We are members of St. Luke’s.” “Is it time to go to church?” Much to our surprise, that is not how the Bible uses the term. Not at all. When the Scripture talks about church, it means community. The little fellowships of the heart that are outposts of the kingdom. A shared life. They worship together, eat together, pray for one another, go on quests together. They hang out together, in each other’s homes. When Peter is sprung from prison, “he went to the house of Mary the mother of John…where many people had gathered and were praying” (Acts 12:12).
Anytime an army goes to war or an expedition takes to the field, it breaks down into little platoons and squads. And every chronicle of war or quest will tell you that the men and women who fought so bravely fought for each other. That’s where the acts of heroism and sacrifice take place, because that’s where the devotion is. You simply can’t be devoted to a mass of people; devotion takes place in small units, just like a family.
We have stopped short of being an organization; we are an organism instead, a living and spontaneous association of individuals who know one another intimately, care for each other deeply, and feel a kind of respect for one another that makes rules and bylaws unnecessary. A group is the right size, I would guess, when each member can pray for every other member, individually and by name.
This is the wisdom of Brother Andrew, who smuggled Bibles into communist countries for decades. It’s the model, frankly, of the church in nearly every country but the U.S. Now, I’m not suggesting you don’t do whatever it is you do on Sunday mornings. I’m simply helping you accept reality – that whatever else you do, you must have a small fellowship to walk with you and fight with you and bandage your wounds. This is essential.
(Waking The Dead , 192 )
09/24/2009
Church is not a building. Church is not an event that takes place on Sundays. I know, its how we think of it. “I go to First Baptist.” “We are members of St. Luke’s.” “Is it time to go to church?” Much to our surprise, that is not how the Bible uses the term. Not at all. When the Scripture talks about church, it means community. The little fellowships of the heart that are outposts of the kingdom. A shared life. They worship together, eat together, pray for one another, go on quests together. They hang out together, in each other’s homes. When Peter is sprung from prison, “he went to the house of Mary the mother of John…where many people had gathered and were praying” (Acts 12:12).
Anytime an army goes to war or an expedition takes to the field, it breaks down into little platoons and squads. And every chronicle of war or quest will tell you that the men and women who fought so bravely fought for each other. That’s where the acts of heroism and sacrifice take place, because that’s where the devotion is. You simply can’t be devoted to a mass of people; devotion takes place in small units, just like a family.
We have stopped short of being an organization; we are an organism instead, a living and spontaneous association of individuals who know one another intimately, care for each other deeply, and feel a kind of respect for one another that makes rules and bylaws unnecessary. A group is the right size, I would guess, when each member can pray for every other member, individually and by name.
This is the wisdom of Brother Andrew, who smuggled Bibles into communist countries for decades. It’s the model, frankly, of the church in nearly every country but the U.S. Now, I’m not suggesting you don’t do whatever it is you do on Sunday mornings. I’m simply helping you accept reality – that whatever else you do, you must have a small fellowship to walk with you and fight with you and bandage your wounds. This is essential.
(Waking The Dead , 192 )
Comment
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Comment by June Melanson on September 24, 2009 at 12:42pm - Frank....I sent you a private message to respond to your comment.
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Comment by Frank on September 24, 2009 at 10:56am -
Comment by Frank just now
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Hierarchy is absolutely necessary in any organisation within society, whether it is a business, the local hospital, the army or central government.
Hierarchy is the way in which information flows upward from the members to the head. It is also the way commands flow downwards from the head to the members.
However we have an omniscient God who knows all information everywhere before it ever happens. We have His commands within our hearts, we have His Spirit within us, we have the mind of Christ etc, etc etc.
WHAT "THE HELL" HAS HIERARCHY TO DO WITH THE BODY AND BRIDE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST?
Hierarchy is a substitute for hearing or listening to the voice of the Lord. With hierarchy we can keep busy doing all sorts of Christian things without ever being aware of what Christ, the Head of His own body might wish for His Body.
The Body has lost contact with the head
The real Body of Christ is an "organism".
The "organisation" we think might be "church"is a just fig leaf trying to cover up our eating of the tree of knowledge.
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