“So my brother, you have been attending this Church, for
some time. Have you considered
membership,” I ask. “No, I actually find
it unnecessary,” he responds.
Continuing, he states, “When I became a Christian I became part of the
universal Body of Christ. Joining a
Church is redundant and unnecessary; besides institutional churches are just man-made
organizations.”
This viewpoint is more common than one might think. If not
held to by conviction, it is embraced by practice. An average poll suggests that 50% of Church
attendees are not Members of the local Church. I capitalize ‘M’embers in this
article because I will argue that it is a unique and essential office. It is my impression, because of several
conversations, that the view of a number of Christians is that the local,
visible, tangible, organized Church ranks significantly below desirable, as compared
to the spiritual, universal, mystical Church affirmed by the Apostles Creed[2].
There’s only one problem: we can’t hold
the mystical Church; we can’t kiss the mystical Church; we can touch the
mystical Church. It is a mystical
Bride. It’s the marriage to a numinous mate
devoid of any responsibility or accountability.
It’s a phantom partner that cannot love in real-time nor bear children[3].
The mistaken view of the universal
Church that denigrates the local, visible Church is simply a vehicle of
autonomy and self-interest wrapped in the spirit of independence and
consumerism. The clothing appears as
spirituality on steroids and it hides its abject carnality.
The Article that addresses the Church in the Statement of
Faith[4]
in my Church starts the paragraph this way: “We believe that the Local Church
is the visible, tangible expression of the Body of Christ purposed to display
the distinct qualities of a God glorifying community.” In other words, the Local Visible Church is
the “incarnation” of what is true and glorious: the universal, mystical, holy
Church of our Christ, the Lord Jesus. It
is as if everything that is principally true of the transcendent catholic
Church throughout the ages has been laser-focused and established in the local
Church. It is as if everything good and
praiseworthy of the Body of Christ extending to all nations and peoples
throughout all time and has minimized, visualized and actualized in the Local
Church.
If asked of me, “What is the greatest threat to the Church
in the coming years?” I would answer
without hesitation, the deprecation of the doctrine ecclesiology[5].
The specific threat is the treatment of
the local church as a potential retailer of spiritual goods where the best deal
attracts my patronage, yet no outlet demands my allegiance and association.
My goal in the next few articles is to provide an
alternative and superior view of the local Church; a view that is not unlike
the assertion that the Apostle Paul to the Elders of the local Church in
Ephesus. He elevated their view such as they were to see that “the Holy Spirit has made [them] overseers,
to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”[6]
[1] “So God created man in his own image, in the image of
God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27,
ESV)
[2] https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/creeds/apostles-creed
[3] This point should not be overlooked. Evangelism in the
New Testament is a corporate function given to the local church.
[4] https://cutt.ly/abhaXYX
[5] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ecclesiology
[6] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. (2016). (Ac 20:28). Wheaton, IL:
Crossway Bibles.
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