Pastors, Church Workers, and Trends (CC) Part Rant/Part Questions

[bolt.]

I believe the Church in Christ has *always* been united in Him, and still is. I don't think the idea that various gatherings of Christians might organize themselves in a variety of ways in any way interferes with our essential unity in our Saviour. There are also lots of other things that will not and can not break our unity, because our unity *is* Christ.

 

Christians in the first century show signs of a variety of self-structuring impulses, each of which is distinct, and each of which seems just fine to the apostles who write instructions appropriate to keeping any one of those structures good and godly. For interest's sake, the three structure I see hints of are, synagogue-like, collegium-like, and pseudo-familial. All of them are structures very much in keeping with the cultural preferences of the day.

[JenniferB]

In my opinion, What is prescriptive on this topic is in the Bible alone,

 

Based on this statement above, I think that kebg11 might have been right. We might be headed into "talking in circles" territory, and I would like to avoid that if possible. :D

 

However, in another effort for understanding and possible future agreement, I would really like to know your thoughts on the post I made earlier, linked here.

 

I would like to rephrase my last sentence in the post linked above and pose it as a question. Aren't the other decisions made in those councils, such as the prescriptions on how to govern the church, just as Holy Spirit guided as the decisions to establish the Holy Scriptures?

[milovany]

I believe the Church in Christ has *always* been united in Him, and still is. I don't think the idea that various gatherings of Christians might organize themselves in a variety of ways in any way interferes with our essential unity in our Saviour. There are also lots of other things that will not and can not break our unity, because our unity *is* Christ.

 

Yes, I think I realized this would be your opinion. I'm glad if that works for you and draws you further in to communion with Christ. It didn't make sense or work for me, if I'm honest; I do not think it's the fullness of the faith that the Scriptures speak of. There seems to be too much division/dichotomy in that belief system. We can easily say with our words that there's unity in Christ, but really, truthfully, there isn't really -- not when you have foundational beliefs that are diametrically opposed to the beliefs of others. Not when you can't choose a church by just attending the one that's nearest you, because the church is the church is the church, but you instead have to find one whose doctrine lines up with your beliefs, even if that means driving across town or to another city. You know? They absolutely did not have this in the early church.

 

Christians in the first century show signs of a variety of self-structuring impulses, each of which is distinct, and each of which seems just fine to the apostles who write instructions appropriate to keeping any one of those structures good and godly. For interest's sake, the three structure I see hints of are, synagogue-like, collegium-like, and pseudo-familial. All of them are structures very much in keeping with the cultural preferences of the day.

I know that you can discern, in your study of the words on the page, three different types of church government. But you're taking a text that was written by the early church fathers and interpreting it your way, quite a few years down the road. Somehow, the early church didn't get three different ways for the church to be set up from the Holy Spirit because the church was unified for quite a long time in the way I long for. It's just not true or honest that the church was set up different ways. Somehow, through the church's development by the Holy Spirit, all that is seen in Scripture exists within the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church.

 

This is where we might be stuck, I don't know.

Edited September 25, 2012 by milovaný