ecclesiology (church)

Robbing the Church of Her Mission

Lisa Spencer3 Comments

What is the mission of the church? I have heard this expressed in single statements, such as

  • make disciples
  • shepherd the flock of God
  • pursue justice
  • proclaim the kingdom of God

church steepleIn the same vein, identifying the mission of the church can breed some opposition against activity that is considered contrary to what the church should be doing.  I’m going to suggest that the best way to rob the Church of her mission is to isolate activities and make that about mission. In other words, when we focus on a single aspect of mission we lose focus of the bigger picture that actually includes a conglomeration of activities.

What is the Mission of the Church?

The answer to this question rests on the identity of the church. As the body of Christ, the church has a corporate identity which engages in her purpose tied to the purpose of God for her. Now much ink has been spilled over the question so my goal here is not to elevate one paradigm over the other. But mainly it is to consider the identity of mission in correspondence to the mission of God. Continue reading →

I Am My Own Church: Not What Priesthood of the Believer Means

Lisa Spencer5 Comments

princess bride-that wordI think there is some confusion running loose with respect to the concept of the priesthood of the believer. The term was coined by the Reformers to distinguish the direct access believers have to Christ vs. their access to through clergy. This of course was in repudiation to the papists who claimed that they alone provided access contrary to Hebrews 4:14. Through this direct access, we serve as ministers of the gospel (2 Corinthians 5:18) and minister to one another (Colossians 3:15-16).

Increasingly, I am encountering a definition of the concept to mean a rejection of structured leadership in the church. Because we are priests with direct access to God, we minister to each other and do not need special offices that separate clergy from the rest of Christians, aka lay people. In some cases, it has come to mean that I am my own priest and therefore don’t need leadership at all.

I’m going to suggest that this idea finds no support in scripture. First, the idea that we are disconnected from the body life of the local church is foreign to our position in Christ and his command that we operate as his body. I know that many have been hurt by the local church and finding one that is honest to Scripture can take time.

Second, if we think just gathering by itself is sufficient and reject the idea of structured leadership, consider Ephesians 4:4-16. There is one body who is to walk according to its purpose, growing up together in Christ through specific means – “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers (vs 11)” Continue reading →

The Danger of Separation of Church and State (of being the Church)

Lisa Spencer2 Comments

church steepleAnother way to explain what I mean by my little play on words, is separation of church and state of being the church is the established church vs what that has always looked like. In other words, what are we doing compared to the history of the church?  Because the reality is the church has existed long before us and carries with her a rich tradition.

Tradition. There’s a word that raises hackles in a contemporary mindset. I find this especially true in independent Protestant church affiliations that disconnect from a 2,000 year heritage.  When the Reformation happened it was never meant to disconnect the church from its heritage only to source that in the authority of Scripture as opposed to authority in unwritten revelation and to correct corrupt practices in the church. We need to take the serious what has occurred in the past 2,000 years of church history.

In his book A High View of Scripture?, Craig Allert, a conservative evangelical, notes that disconnecting from tradition tends to result in traditionalism that imposes its own standards on the church. He expounds on J. Pelikan’s distinction between tradition and traditionalism – “tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” Traditionalism forms its own tradition that can be blinded from its roots and in some cases, vastly deviate.

Defense of these essentials (of Christianty) has been emphasized at the expense of understanding their place in theological history and therefore at the expense of understanding their importance in the contemporary church. Thus, not only have certain nonessentials been given essential status, but also some foundational aspects of theology have been underemphasized or even ignored and therefore, undervalued, and this to the detriment of the body of Christ. The rich liturgical tradition of the church becomes confined to musically induced emotionalism. The importance of the community of faith for the life of the believer is reduced to crass marketing strategies and the newest ‘get spiritual quick’ scheme. The living voice of the Bible in theological history becomes lost in individual interpretation and defense of rather static propositionalism.[1]

Put another way, separation from the state of being the church results in myopic reductionism and an elevation of whatever novel concepts seem fitting for the life of the church in a contemporary context. It can also lead to arrogance in believing that we have it all figured out. Continue reading →

Watering Down the Water Hole May Leave Us Dry

Lisa SpencerLeave a comment

Well, in keeping with my ecclesiology kick of late, I’d thought I’d expand on a couple of articles related to the nature and purpose of the local assembly. In my latest post at Parchment and Pen, I questioned the need for cultural relevance to pull off what we do on Sundays. While I am not opposed to cultural relevance per se, I contend that our corporate worship gatherings should be faithful to its task, which I think Ephesians 4:11-16 is a foundational passage combined with the instruction in pastoral epistles.

The imagery I get from what our gathering should be is a watering hole. While the informal definition has been used to describe a bar where people gather for the purpose of imbibing, the technical definition is this – “A small natural depression in which water collects, especially a pool where animals come to drink.” I think that is one cool imagery! As believers, we are hungry, thirsty, wavering sheep. Our corporate gatherings should refresh and feed us. They should not wear us out, wrack us with guilt or leave us feeling insufficient in our own efforts. That is why the gospel must be the foundation for everything that is done on Sunday mornings, not just the tagline at the end of “you-need-to-do-better” sermon.

Now throughout the history of the Christian church since the days of the apostles, there has been some significant splintering in terms of church structures, including the liturgy and governance of the church. Oh and the btw, every church has liturgy. The question is what does it look like and more importantly, is it faithful to it’s purpose commanded in scripture.  Continue reading →

The Local Church: Embassy vs Service Provider

Lisa Spencer1 Comment

church steepleA couple of weeks ago in a class I’m taking at church, we talked about what the church is vs what it is not. I found the contrast of embassy vs service provider quite compelling. I think it fits with what I wrote here about the difference in defining the church by what it is vs what it does. So indulge me a bit as I reflect and expound on this contrast

When I think about how an embassy operates it makes sense to define the local church this way. An embassy is an outpost representing a particular country’s authority, citizenship and interests in a foreign context. If we define the local church as the tangible representation of God’s covenant people submitted to Christ’s authority gathered to grow up in him and demonstrating him to the world, it fits. So when we come together, it’s coming under the rubric of citizenship of a foreign land “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3:20). And Christians are ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). The local church is a slice of that country in another place.

Also, an embassy provides shelter for its citizens when troubles arise in that foreign context. While this is a need, it is more than just finding relief but in recognition of that embassy’s ability to represent the needs of its citizens based on whatever law governs that land. Christ’s church is governed by him, the constitution is the gospel and the laws are Scripture. Representatives (church leaders) must ensure that the embassy is a faithful outpost to that country’s constitution and the protection it affords to it’s citizens. Continue reading →