Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
My problem with the whole church-city thing is that it is almost the creation of a problem, or at least the exacerbation of one, so that a solution can be supplied. Is Christianity as broken as we have learned to believe, or are we forcing problems onto it that don't exist in the way we think, and despite all the claims otherwise, is actually changing for the better
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That is true if you look at it from the angle that the LRC looks at it. Suppose we look at it from a different angle: in the city of NY the "church" is "one". We don't need to artificially impose a oneness on it, it is one because everyone reads the same NT, it is one because everyone received the same Lord and savior, it is one because everyone believes in the same God and Father.
Now suppose someone comes along and says they are not one because:....
Well either the reason is trivial and does not undermine the oneness, or the reason is significant and demonstrates that some group has truly left the faith.
Generally speaking we can move along in our little congregation without the need to work with other congregations. But occasionally, as in the case of our memorial at the UN, you do need to work together. I read stories from UN ambassadors that said it was our memorial service that convinced them Sudan was an issue that they needed to address.
One of our messages in our first memorial service was that if you don't respond to what is happening in Sudan while it is still in Sudan, then it will come to your home and who do you ask for help then? Our second memorial was scheduled for September 15th, 2001 but was cancelled when the city was locked down after 911. Prior to the second event I wrote an article encouraging the saints saying that their sacrifice and labor was like building an altar for the Lord and that we needed to have faith that He would answer with fire from heaven.