NATURE OF THE  CHURCH

1. The nature of the church - biblical terms
    -The  English word 'church' is derived from the Greek 'kyriakon' the Lord's house, a church building. In the New testament
     the word 'church' comes from the Greek 'ekklesia' a public assembly. (Acts 19:32,39,41) The Old Testament Hebrew
     word  'qahal' designated the assemble of God's people. (Deut. 10:4; 23:2-3; 31:30) The LXX  translates 'qahal' as both
     'ekklesia' and synagogue' . The New Testament word 'ekklesia' i s both the local church (Matt. 18:17; Acts 15:41) and the
     universal church (Matt. 16:18; Acts 20:28)
    -The are other terms used to describe the church in Scripture; The salt of the Earth, branches of the vine, the elect, the bride
      of Christ, exiles, the body of Christ, ambassadors, a chosen race, the holy temple, priesthood, etc. According to Paul
      Minear in his book The Images of Christ there are 95 different and distinct images for the church.
    -The Church is mentioned in Scripture as a household gathering of Believers  (Acts 2:46-47), as all Believers gathered
      locally (Acts 8:1; 13:1) and as all believers everywhere (Matt. 16:16-19; John 10:14-16). The local church of
      contemporary society is really a larger version of the ancient house church.
    -But most  importantly, the church is not a building or a meeting place, it is PEOPLE, believers in and followers of Jesus
     Christ.

2. Historical perspectives on the church
    -The historical perspective on the church is really a study of the development of the 'organized' church which is a reference to
      the Roman Catholic institution. The 'true' church some would say was always the persecuted minority who truly believed
      that Jesus was the Christ and who fought the institutionalization  of the church.
    -As the organized and institutionalized church developed, there came a point when it was viewed as the 'visible' church in
     one form. This was brought on by the idea of apostolic succession (bishops linked by a direct connection to the apostles)
     and sacramentalism (the dispensing of grace by the church through the sacraments and this is necessary for salvation).
     Orthodox meant the catholic church. It was said that there is no salvation outside the (catholic) church.
    -In 1054 two competing claims arose between the catholic church in the East and in the West. Both claimed apostolic
     succession and both wanted to be the 'one' church. The split left the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic church
     separated forever.
    -In the 1500's we see the beginnings of the next and greatest schism in the church, the Protestant reformation. The reformers
      saw the church as catholic but not in the visible, organizational, institutional sense. They held that wherever the Gospel was
      preached and faith was present, there was the church, regardless of the external structure.  In 1534 Henry VIII of England
      split from the pope to form the church of England.
    -The 1700's saw people like Whitefield , Edwards, and the Wesley brothers bring revival to both England and America.
      The revival brought about a return of personal walk and relationship of holiness before God. This time also saw the forming
      of American Denominationalism with the Bill of Rights in 1791 and the separation of church and state. Since there was no
      official state church, all were welcome to have religious freedom and a renewed emphasis on evangelism began as a result.

3. The relationship of the church to the kingdom.
    -The kingdom of God is the redemptive reign of God dynamically active to establish his rule among men and that this
      kingdom, which will appear as an apocalyptic act at the end of this age, has already come into human history in the person
      and mission of Jesus to overcome evil, to deliver men from it's power and to bring them into the blessings of God's reign.
      The vehicle for this is the church of God in the world.
    -The church is a body made up of individual believers and it should be doing what it's individual members are doing.
      The church is to be the base for kingdom living and the training ground to learn how to live with the kingdom in mind.
      The church is to display the present reality of kingdom life and fellowship. It is to be both a witness of Christ's salvation and
      an agent of God's justice to all people.

APOSTOLICITY
4. Role of the Gospel in creating the church
    -Since the church is the gathering together of believers in Christ, they must have heard about him to have believed, therefore
      the proclamation of the Gospel (the truth about Christ) is essential for creating the church. Jesus spoke of building a new
      community in Matt. 16:18 and Mark 14:58 and he did just that through his life, death and resurrection.
5. Gospel defined
    -According to Koivisto, the Gospel has three components; the objective, the subjective and the structural and it is important
      to keep all three in proper balance. First is the objective element, the core facts relating to the Gospel. God sent his son into
      the world, to die as an atonement for sin. God raised him from the dead, so that anyone who places faith in him, receives
      the free gift of salvation. Next is the subjective element of the Gospel. This is the individuals personal response to God's
      work of faith.  The message expects a decision and the subjective element is that decision by man. Finally the structural
      element of the Gospel. This is to be found in the apostolic basis of authority, the Holy Scriptures. Scripture is the basis on
      which we can say we are saved.
6. Meaning of believing, confessing and proclaiming the Gospel.
    -Believing is faith.  Faith is not just an intellectual assent or the affirmation of the facts. Faith has it's primary basis in trust or
     confidence in the promise of Jesus Christ. It involves a right belief about God, it  rests on and trusts in the divine work of
     God through Christ, it is also a supernatural gift from God, without which we can not believe.
    -Confessing the Gospel is acknowledging the work of God in the life of the believer .
    -Proclaiming the Gospel is telling others of what God can do in your life as he has done in my own life. It is telling others of
      the 'objective' element of the Gospel as well as the 'subjective' personal element of your  own salvation experience.
7. Meaning of apostolicity and apostolic succession
    -Apostolicity is what the church believes, confesses and proclaims on the basis of the witness and testimony of the apostles.
    -Apostolic succession was claimed by the catholic church as a counter claim to the Gnostic idea of secret tradition handed
      down to them from the apostles. Catholic apostolic succession pointed to each bishop as a true successor to the apostle
      who had founded the see and therefore to the truth that apostle taught. The bishop as an authoritative figure preserved the
      apostolic tradition and was a guardian of the apostolic Scriptures. I don't believe the catholic version of apostolic
      succession being in the individual but I support the succession of the truth of scripture to God's church through godly men
      separated to him.
8. Place of preaching in the church
    -In the New Testament a preacher is one who has an inner call from God (spiritual gift) and an external call from the church
     (ordination) set apart to proclaim the Gospel. He is to speak as a personal witness to God's revelation, interpreting it,
      explaining it and applying it to the needs of the people.  Preaching throughout church history has had it's popular and not so
      popular times  with it's highest point coming at the time of the Protestant reformation and the supremacy of God's Word in
      the worship service. I personally believe that preaching is not to be the 'high point' of the service. I believe that worship and
      praise is to have equal weight in the worship service with the preaching of the Word.
9. Place of Scripture in the church
    -The church is still based on apostolicity and apostolicity is based on the Word of God. Therefore, the church is the place
      where Scripture is recognized  as the foundation of our common faith and practice. We are to be careful how we interpret
      Scripture and it should be in accordance with our tradition as well as in the community of other believers and traditions.
      Since no one church has the 'only true and right' interpretation of Scripture, our joint exegesis will help enlarge our
      understanding. Scripture is to be read as a part of every worship service for worship without Scripture is not complete.

UNITY
10. Meaning of unity
     -The New Testament speaks of relational unity based on being in the one body of Christ. It does  not speak of uniformity.
       From the very beginning the church has been diverse. The NT does not display a uniform type of worship, structure or
       even theology. Unity in the NT is based on a common  indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Believer
11. Meaning of fellowship, body life, diaconia
     -Fellowship is our relationship with one another in the body of Christ. We are a family who has history, connectedness  and
      a common starting point. This fellowship is not limited to only those who attend our local church, not only to those in our
      denomination   but is to be experienced by all who claim the name of Jesus Christ in faith.
     -Body life is how the body of Christ, believers, actually relate to one another and to Christ. It is a lifestyle of obedience to
      the one another's in Scripture and to the commands of God, to our responsibilities as members of a covenant relationship
      with God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. It is Acts 2:42-47 life.
     -Diaconia is a Greek word meaning service, to minister and to wait on tables. I believe the idea here is to be servants of
      others. I  believe this is still what it should mean today. Deacons (male or female) are servants who wait on others in the
       body. I don't believe that there are necessarily a 'spiritual' authority in Scripture.  Spiritual authority seems to be limited to
       Elders.
12. Nature of Spiritual gifts and their relation to oneness
     -According to Eph. 4:11-16 all spiritual gifts are given for the good of the BODY not the individual. We also see that the
       Holy Spirit gives theses gifts according to his good pleasure so there is no human merit involved. With this in mind, the gifts
       can not be seen as making one any better than anyone else for the body needs all the gifts of all the people to properly
        function.
13. Church government and role of local church leadership
       -First  of all it is to be understood that Christ is the head of the church and authority comes from him and is based in him.
        Second, all leadership is to be modeled after the leadership of Jesus Christ himself and that is servant leadership.
        Leaders in the church are to view themselves as servants to the body, not lording it over  them as  the Gentiles do.
        Closely  related to this is the biblical truth of mutual accountability. As the leaders are accountable for what they do and
        who they are before the congregation of the local church, so the church is accountable for how it lives and acts before
        leadership. this part is usually forgotten in most churches today. Finally, the bible seems to show a diversity of government
        styles from congregational rule to elder rule . Personally I see a combination of the two as being best. There needs to be a
        check and balance  system to hinder corruption and abuses.
      -I see a two fold leadership structure for the church.
                 -Elders: Include but are not limited to the pastoral staff. This is the spiritual leadership board of the church and is the
                   place for vision setting and giving. It is also where teaching and discipline is to be centered. Men  who fit the
                   requirements of 1 Tim. 3. Only men can serve on the elder board as there are only men mentioned as elders in the
                   NT as well as the OT.

                -Deacons: Can be men or women in the church who fit the requirements in 1 Tim. 3. Women deacons main
                 responsibility is to serve and minister to women in the church. This is also a spiritual board whose authority is given
                 to it by the elders. the main function of  the deacon board is to oversee the working of the ministries . They are not
                 to be involved  in discipline matters.
14. Authority to teach
     -Scripture seems to show that  there are those who are chosen and recognized as having godly  character and being filled
       with the Holy Spirit and these are to be set apart for the teaching of the Word. With this setting apart I believe comes the
       authority to teach. The local church and primarily the pastor or elder board has the main responsibility of seeing the
       spiritual giftedness of an individual and  then set them apart for teaching.
     -Men and women can teach provided they are seems as being gifted. Women can teach men if she is understood to be
       under the authority of the pastor or elder board.
15. Role of women
     -There is no way this can be dealt with in a few sentences, sorry George. But I will say that I believe that my personal study
       of this topic has shown me that women can fulfill all roles in the church with the exception of Elder or shepherd/pastor.
       I do believe that in those other positions women gain their authority  positions over men by being in submission to the
       authority of the ruling elder or shepherd/pastor of the local church. She can not have any authority apart from the male
       headship.
16. Denominationalism and ecumenism
     -I uphold Denominationalism because of the association of rich tradition. Denominations allow for the diversity the Bible
       seems to promote as long as no denomination believes it to be the 'one true' church who is doing  'church' the right way at
       the exclusion of all others. Denominations allow us to band together with those who are like beliefs and conscience.
     -I also uphold a more free association with other denominations outside our own. I will strive in my personal ministry to
      promote true 'catholicity' and oneness in the body between true believers in Jesus Christ. Ecumenism for the sake of making
      all uniform is wrong. But when seen as a bridge to enlarging our understanding of the truth as a way of spreading the Gospel
      and as a way of fellowshipping with the body of Christ, I am a supporter.

HOLINESS
17. Meaning of holiness
     -First of all only God is holy, morally righteous. man can only be made holy by God. In the OT it was through keeping His
       commandments and laws. In the NT it is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In this relationship, we become
       or are made holy positionally before God and as we life for Jesus day to day we strive to become practically holy.
     -Holiness is to be consecrated unto the Lord, to be distinctive, separate and different than the world. It is having a singular
      desire to be like Christ. It involves both submission and obedience to the will of God in your life. It is more an attitude
      which is revealed in action rather than just a behavioral trait.
18. Worship
    -Worship is the acknowledgment of God's supreme worth. It is an active response to God.  It is a meeting between God and
       his people. IN this meeting God becomes present to His people who respond with praise and thanksgiving. thus the
       worshipper is brought into personal contact with the one who gives meaning and purpose to life. From this encounter the
       worshipper receives strength and courage to live with hope in a fallen world. Sunday worship is the culmination of a weeks
       worth of personal worship by the individual Believers in the fellowship.
     -Worship is not preparation for the sermon. It is not to take second place to the preaching of the Word in the service but is
       to be equally honored.
     -Worship is to be in the venacular, whatever that means for today's society and for your local assembly. It should be broad
       enough and varied enough so that all in the service will be  encouraged to come into the presence of God.
19. Baptism
     -Baptism is necessary for the Believer but does not in any way affect  or contribute to salvation. It is necessary because it is
       both a command (Matt 28:19) and an example of Christ himself (Mark 1:9). It is a visual sign of one's acceptance of Jesus'
       death, burial and resurrection as being their own. It is a symbol of an inward washing away of sin by the blood of Jesus on
       calvary. There is no special grace nor special presence of Jesus at the observance of this ordinance. Unbaptized Believers
       will go to heaven they will just get there dry.
20. Lord's Supper
     -The Lord's Supper, like Baptism is an ordinance of the church. It also is in no way contributes to the salvation of an
       individual. There is no special presence of Jesus in the observation of this ordinance. However, like Baptism it is a
       necessary observance. It represents the breaking of the body of Jesus on the cross of Calvary and his shedding of his own
       blood for the remission of our sins.
     -Communion, is both a memorial service remembering Jesus' finished work on Calvary and a celebration of his victory over
       death which gives us hope for our own eventual victory over the curse of the fall, death. We are commanded to observe
       communion (1 Cor. 11:26) and as such it is to be done with love and concern for each other and Christ dies for each of
       us.
21. Membership
     -Church membership does not seem to be a NT idea. All who professed Jesus as the Christ and who were publicly
       baptized were said to be in the Church of God. Therefore, I don't believe that there should be any more requirement for
       membership than that which the Bible sets up for membership into the Kingdom of God...salvation and baptism.
     -However, with the development of a plurality of denominations it seems necessary to have some boundaries for who can
      be called a 'member' or active part of any particular fellowship. Since different people have different consciouses
      concerning interpretation of Scripture and since I believe there is room for a diversity of interpretative positions on much of
      Scripture, it would seem logical that you would want to unite with those of like mind. To me this is one of the reasons for
      membership. The other would be to have those who are attending and participating in this fellowship to regularly and
      systematically support the fellowship financially.
22. Accountability and discipline
     -Heb. 13:17 tells us to obey and be submissive to those who rule over you and Eph. 5:21 says that we are to be submissive
       to one another. Therefore accountability in the NT is mutual and not only to be directed to leadership. Basically,
       accountable is making one or holding one responsible for their actions especially when the action doesn't match the
       profession of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
     -Church discipline is necessary when a brother or sister is straying from the Lord and the leadership as well as the fellowship
       individually has the responsibility to restore this individual.  Discipling may mean pointing out sin, seeking repentance and
       restitution where necessary and reconciliation, then restoration to the fellowship. (Matt. 18 and 1 Cor. 5)
23. Prayer
     -Prayer is to be the basis for all we do in the church. 1 Thess. 5:18, Eph. 6:18 tells us to pray always and for all things. The
       fellowship can not survive without an active and healthy prayer life. Prayer is our connection with the source of our power
       to be witnesses for Jesus Christ to  all the world. Prayer is two way and we need to learn to listen for how God speaks to
       us...in His Word, through the counsel of godly men and women and through the still small voice in our hearts while in times
       of solitude and silence before Him.
24. Spiritual Warfare
     -Eph. 6:10-18 tells us that Believers are to depend on spiritual resources for spiritual warfare. We have the spiritual
      resource of God's strength in vs. 10; the spiritual resource of the full armor of God in vss. 11-17 and the spiritual resource
      of prayer in vs. 18. We are fighting not against flesh and bones but against the diabolical army of Satan himself who will use
      all his cunning and schemes to try to lure the Believer from a trusting faith and committed walk with the Lord. The battle is
      real and we need to realize that Satan's army has real power and real strength, but in Christ we can defeat his influence in
      our lives.
25. Worship as lifestyle
     -Worship is not to be a Sunday only experience. We worship God not only for what He has done for us but for who He is.
      Our daily walk and fellowship/worship with the Lord is what gives us the spiritual armor necessary for spiritual warfare.
      Our daily personal worship is what contributes to  corporate worship. Without the individual , daily, lifestyle worship of it's
      people, a fellowship will not experience full and meaningful corporate worship.
     -Worship as a lifestyle involves practicing the presence of God on a daily basis as described by Brother Lawrence. It is
      encountering God in the daily, routine activities of life. It is prayer, singing, study of the Word, and ministry/service for Him
      in your every day activities.
26. Kingdom values, law-keeping, relationship with culture, suffering
     -The church is to display in the present reality  of the Kingdom the life and fellowship of the future expected Kingdom. The
       church is to be both a witness of Christ's salvation (evangelism) and an agent of God's justice (social concern) to all
       people. to do this we must become a community of peace. A peaceable community where people are being reconciled to
       one another. We must cross the lines of race, culture, gender and even religious Denominationalism to reconcile all people
       to Christ.
     -We must be willing to go where the people are. We must be willing to open our doors of our churches and teach the
       faithfully the Word of God to all who enter. We need to venture out of our church doors to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus
       Christ and His Kingdom to all who will hear, meeting them where they are, to all nationalities and cultures, to all economic
       and socially diverse people. We need to be willing to minister to and be an advocate for the physical, emotional and social
       needs of the poor, powerless and hurting in our communities. We need to be in relationship with those in our communities
       and develop a deep compassion for them. -We must be willing to live Matt. 5-7 now and not expect that to be how it is in
       the future kingdom only.
27. Growth and means of grace
     -Individual spiritual growth comes from association  and committed relationship within the community of Believers.
       Individual growth involves  being personally discipled and participation in an accountability system. It involves a healthy
       and consistent prayer life. It involves study of His Word. It also involves service...ministering to others. It involves regular
       and meaningful personal as well as corporate worship.
     -Means of grace is a tough one. I do  not hold that there is anything that man can do which is a means to grace. God is the
       only one who can give grace. However, he has given to His people the steward position and they can be administers of
       grace through their service to the Lord and to others. I do not believe that the ordinances of the church (Baptism and the
       Lord's Supper) are means of grace but are symbols of grace already received.

CATHOLICITY
28. Meaning of the mission of the church
     -The mission of the church is clearly seen in the Great Commission given by Jesus Christ in Matt. 28:19 as well as in
       Eph. 4:11-16. The church is to make disciples of Christ. Men and women who love the Lord and who seek to follow after
       His example. The mission of the church is to be the physical representation of Jesus Christ on the earth to a fallen world.
       They are to be a holy priesthood and worshipping community whose lifeblood is a personal relationship with it's creator,
        Jesus Christ.
29. Meaning of catholicity
     -Catholicity means one, universal, as well as orthodox. It means having a common identity of origin, Lordship and purpose.
30. Biblical teaching of evangelism
     -Although there is a spiritual gift of evangelism (Eph. 4:11) not all have this gift (see the word 'some' Eph. 4:11).
       Timothy seems not to have had this gift but Paul reminded him to do the work of the evangelist (2 Tim. 4:5). this principal,
       I believe, is the same for all.
     -Evangelism is not saving or winning souls, it is making disciples. Matt. 28:19-20.
        -Acts 2:41-47
            -vs. 41: They received the Word; they were baptized and were added to the church
            -vs. 42: They were instructed by the church
            -vs. 42-46: They continued in fellowship in the church.
            -vs. 47: They reached out into the community.
      -Luke 24:45-49
           -vs. 45-47a: The Evangelistic Message
           -vs. 47b: The Evangelistic Mandate
           -vs. 48: The Evangelistic Method
           -vs. 49: The Evangelistic Means
     -Evangelism is most effective as a lifestyle and not a program. All believers are to be agents of Christ for evangelism.
      This is not to be restricted to the pastor of to the outreach committee.
31. Biblical basis of mission
     -Missions is evangelism on a much broader scale. Jesus stated that he came to give his life a ransom for many
       (Mark 10:45). Jesus is the prophet whose message must be heralded in all the world. (Mark 13:10). There is a universality
        in Christ's teaching. (Matt. 5:13-16; 6:10; 21:43; Luke 13:29) Also note the progression in Acts 1:8.
32. Contextualization
     -We are to be salt in the earth and a light in the community. Therefore, we must be in the community and relevant to the
       community. Our churches should reflect the cultural diversity seen in our community. We are to be like Paul and become
       all things to all men so that we might win some. However this does not mean compromising Biblical standards of behavior.
33. Cultural transformation
     -Cultural transformation is to be two way. We as a church are to conform to the culture is as much as it will make us
       relevant but not opposed to Scriptural truth and standards. We are also as mentioned earlier to be salt in a tasteless work.
       Both preservation but as a transforming factor to move people from godlessness to an encounter with the personal God,
       through Jesus Christ.
34. Church growth
     -I am opposed to being a numbers man. I do not believe that church growth is dependent entirely on what we do as a
      church. A church can do all the 'right' things prescribed by the church growth experts, and still not grow. This is because it
      is God who gives the increase (Acts 2:41-47) However, I do believe there are things that the church can do to foster an
      atmosphere where growth can happen given God's blessing.  I agree that being 'user friendly' to an extent is profitable and
       helpful.
35. Church revival
     -Again, revival is the work of the Holy Spirit and is not something that can be predicted or made to happen just because
      you use all the 'right' steps. However, I do believe a church fellowship can be brought into an atmosphere where revival can
      take place with the blessing of God. Needed are an attitude of  sinfulness, repentance, prayer, fasting , holiness, personal
      and corporate excitement in worship, and a display of the Biblical 'one anothers'. With these in a church, revival is ripe.