HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE ‘IDEAL’ LOCAL CHURCH’?                       

All Christians understand that the ‘Church’ is not a building or just a set of doctrinal beliefs; but how would you describe the ideal church that you would want to attend?

Definition of Church:

1.     A group of Christians who are learning how to live by the indwelling life of Jesus Christ, and who are expressing that life together.

2.    A community that regularity meets for worship, prayer, fellowship, mutual edification and mutual care.

3.    God has chosen to make his Son knowable, touchable, visible and locatable on planet earth through only one vessel- the ekklesia. Jesus Christ has distributed Himself in His body so that He might be expressed. The church, therefore is God’s designated instrument for the expression of His Son, and it is the very heartbeat of God’s ultimate passion.

 

The Kingdom of God= The manifestation of God’s ruling presence.

 

The local church should be focused on producing a culture for miracles.  (where we value gifts, personal worth etc.)  Note: Christian Culture is like a greenhouse- a controlled environment.

Why? So seeds you want to grow, will grow quickly and easily. (seeds=valuable truths)

 

SPIRTUAL BLUEPRINT/EXPECTATION FOR LOCAL CHURCH ENVIRONMENT:

a.      Vibrant love for Jesus

b.     Passionate desire to worship Him- in spirit and truth.

c.      A community that is founded on Biblical oversight.

d.     Having a  commitment to Five-Fold leadership- in the equipping of the saints.

e.     Leadership role modeling and teaching of basic Biblical principals

f.       Desire to establish/live in community

g.     Pursuing spiritual gifts- to edify the body

h.     Declaring  & Demonstrating the Kingdom of God

i.       Creative outreaches to reach the lost

j.       Support for apostolic foreign missions

LEAVING THE LOCAL CHURCH? …

1.     Most people who leave the institutional church do so because they are looking for Christ-centered face to face community, where every member participates and Jesus Christ is being deeply known, loved and expressed.

2.     Some Christians are not leaving church because they have lost faith . They are leaving the church to preserve their faith.

3.     The DNA of the church is marked by the very traits that we find in the triune God- mutual love, mutual fellowship, mutual dependence, mutual submission, mutual ministry and face to face community.

FOUNDATIONAL CHRISITIAN INSIGHT: To believe the Father’s magnificent obsession, is to provide a ‘bride’ for His Son.

HEAD OF THE CHURCH:

When Jesus read from Isaiah 53, the atmosphere changed, they heard from God for the first time ( in 400 years) - and they became aware of another (spiritual) world. The Kingdom of God had become available and  visited them in the person of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus- head of the Church.  Colossians 1:18

Note: Lots of people know about Jesus; but don’t know Him in Spirit and Truth.

God the Father wants a bride for God the Son

God the Son wants a house for God the Father

God the Father wants a body for God the Son

And God the Son wants a family for God the Father-

And the Spirit desires this with each other- and makes it happen.

 

Note; Beside my original thoughts, some concepts/teachings are adapted from Frank Viola, Bill Johnson and Vernice Smith.