Models of the church?
Community based model of church
Relationship is the key to success. Each member is encouraged to have a shared vision of a multiplicity of competing visions as each member grows to love and accommodate the burdens and understandings of the other. Difference is embraced and encouraged and the pastor/leader/leaders/elders (male & female) is (are) a member(s) of the body and not the head. All ‘visions’/ ‘ministries’callings'’ are openly taught from the scriptures and each minister has to engage with the other at the coalface of real life and from a biblical basis.
Since ‘community’ is not a program based but a relational based model of Christianity to leave you have to break relationship- there is no other way out- (laying on of hands or a coffin ( CP Schmitt)).
Program based model of church
Most ‘churches’ have such a low level of committment to real relational concepts and there is a continuous flow of people coming and going and no one really considers this as wrong-as long as the church keeps moving on ( relationships are elsewhere) . In this model the church is a gathering to enhance the vision or goals of the Pastors/Leaders and not the goals and visions of the various members ( there are of course some wonderful pastors/ leaders / men & women of God out there and I am not AGAINST them personally).
You can not look at a church from the outside and make a judgement on its ’spiritual status but you can look at what it believes and teaches and lives out in the lives of the members. I am totally against character assination as I have been shot at a good few times BUT we must engage our MINDS and our hearts when discussing what leaders teach. They have become the new untoucables. I however do not enjoy untouchable status as my fellow members are always engaged in deconstructing everything I do and it is always pointed out to me often in an UGLY way. Words like …….( fill in the blanks time) are often used to my face by my friends. They really don’t realise thta that in itself is a wondeful sign of a community church - the leaders are JUST like the rest of the pew warmers
However in in a world of NT scholarship and genuine advancements in our understanding of the scriptures can we live in a program based church and be committed to the teachings of the NT?
To live in relationship with our Jesus roots we must have a biblical mandate for what we do. Someone somewhere has to say STOP and encourage real relationships where covenant committment is accepted as the norm for relationship. ( Check out Frank Viola’s books on Pagan Christianity & NT Wright Simply Christian.)
Our goal is to never ‘by choice’ break fellowship- we have to answer to God for how we live our lives.
It hurts when people break relationship even for the best of reasons but that is what being human is all about- it involves the pains of real life where we love and are loved.
We all let people down all the time I personally have been hauled over the coals on many occasions for not sticking with people. I remember when we stopped visiting T?????? and handed the group there over to others to oversee- they never forgave us and we lost some wonderful friendships in the mess that followed. The same happened when we eventually moved from Cobh to Cork- having explained for months that we would be leaving and that we would no longer be leading the group there- we were castigated as deserters by some who could not understand that we were not their leaders BUT we had always taught that we were there only for a season- our loyalty was always to our community in Cork-. People get hurt due to faulty church attachements and faulty dependencies just as easy as when we do things wrong.
I have given my life to being in your face abouth biblical relational ideals and I do not intend to dum it down now
I do hope and pray that the community model of church will be adopted sooner rather than later. Time effort and money -look at your life over the past year and see where you put these and KNOW yourself.
Where your treasure is there is your heart also….
But in conclusion people usually go where their friends are……..
further reading here
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