The question has been floating around lately: What is the purest form of the New Testament church? What should the church look like and function like if it is to follow after a New Testament pattern? Well...I have a thought! What if the church were to focus on discipleship. I'm not talking about "Let's get together and discuss the game!" type of discipleship. I'm talking about "Let's get together and discuss the Word, proclaim Truth, enlighten minds, reach the needs, a tongues a fire, down and dirty type of discussion." When you look at the early church they started out with 12 guys who followed around the King of the world for 3 years. After 3 years He said, "You guys start doing what I've been doing."
I think the purest form of the New Testament church is a church that is intentional with discipleship--getting into peoples lives and proclaiming the Word. Sure, we need to meet together for cooperate worship, and I believe you see plenty of evidence in Scripture for the church meeting as one, and that it is extremely important; but we cannot forget the close, personal, intimate benefit that comes from a one-on-one relationship with a spiritual mentor.
Just a Thought,
Skolex
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7 comments:
Amen brother. I was in India recently, teaching on discipleship to some church planters. I said this, "Jesus never told us to plant churches. He told us to make disciples of all nations. If we make disciples, churches will happen, naturally."
I'm with you. Let's seek Jesus and church will just happen.
EG
Give me that old time religion!
I miss doing the extensive Bible studies like Experiencing God...good times, good times....bit more intimate than Sunday School
hey! that's kinda like what I was tellin you about seeking God and your prayers would be answered. When you seek after God you begin to take on the same desires as Him, therefor He will answer your prayers because they are His own desires. He's just waiting for you to pray them...if that makes any sense...I'm on cough syrup right now and I may just be confusing the heck out of you! anyway! how it relates to this is what EG(whoever that is) said...when you start makin disciples the churches will naturally happen! just a long a drawn out thought!
- Melissa aka Mel or Tink or Lissy or Bunny : )
I think the real argument here is whether or not our current church activities are making us, as Christ’s ambassadors of love, sacrifice opportunities to love our God and our neighbors. I believe that if these traditions were broken, the result wouldn’t be an overflow of service and sacrifice into the community, nor a surge in Biblical knowledge and discipline, but another opportunity for Satan use whatever methods he knows we as individuals are easiest to succumb to in order to scatter Christ’s foothold in whichever community is in question.
The next question is what activities, or schedule thereof, will maximize our individual knowledge gain and service rendered over time which starts to take us into a business mind set which, for some odd reason, is frowned upon by the church. (I personally believe we’re in business for the Lord and that God has given us “talents”, if you will, for us to multiply and that He’s promised that he will take our talents away and give them to another more profitable person. And I’m not just talking about money.) Matthew 25:14-30
I rant a lot so I better cut it off here. Basically, do I believe we are wasting our time with church activities, no. Do I believe we could be more effective with the time we’re given, yes. Do I know what to do with that time to be more effective, no.
I leave that last one for you guys who get paid to study and worship Christ all day =)
I personally stay away from the business mindset in the church, because many times businesses look only at the numbers. If the numbers are not good, the business is not successful. I personally believe God is not as interested in the quantity, as much as, the quality.
Now, saying we are in the business of the Lord's work is fine, but I have seen ministers only interested in numbers. Their churches were extremely wide, but have no depth. My philosophy of ministry is different. I will blog about it one day.
However, there are some business practices that would benefit the church.
Check out what the Vineyard Churches are doing. I don't know if they have the best idea, but it is different from what most of us are doing and more personal.
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