Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangelical
If the word church means 'ekklesia' or assembly, which it does. Then technically, if one does not join the assembly in their city, they have separated themselves from the church in their city.
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The Bible never says we need to "join" the church in the city. We are the church in the city. And we certainly don't need to join the LCM just because it calls itself the church in the city. That is completely specious logic.
As I said the whole LCM model is a trick designed to coerce people into considering the LCM the church in the city. The point is not to produce oneness, the point is to empower the LCM. But we all are the church in the city, just like we are all the universal church. You don't have to call yourself the universal church or join it to be it.
There is no evidence from the NT that all the Christians in a city met together, considered themselves all part of the same "practical church" or were all under the same group of leaders. It is just not specified that way.
Again this is why most everyone rejects the LCM locality model. There is no biblical foundation for it. It borne from trying to create a rigid binding model from vague non-binding verses.
You simply have no ground or right to try to hold people to it. And the ground you give to the devil in people by making them feel guilty about it you will be accountable for.