Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangelical
I think you're speaking from the point of view of the universal church, not the practical local church. In that sense you are right. It is like we believe that all believers are the church in the city.
But practically suppose there are 100 believers in the city who never meet each other. We cannot call that a practical local church. This idea is not practical. A local church only exists when the ekklesia is present, the assembly. If there is no assembly, there's no local church in a practical sense.
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Again, this is not a teaching of the Bible. "Practical church" is an LCM invention. And the Bible never says there has to be a "practical assembly" for the church to be present. This is not a biblical idea but a product of human reasoning.
The idea is a Lee/LCM invention which though interesting is in the end not biblical or even "practical." And it never was intended to be. The idea was invented so that the LCM could claim to be the church to the exclusion of all others.
"Practical church" is just another LCM circular argument. They define the idea in such a way so that only they qualify to fulfill it. But the Bible doesn't mention it or require it. The Bible just says assemble together. It never states that all the members in the city have to assemble together or claim allegiance to the same organization, movement, apostle or leader.
Sorry, there is just not enough Biblical backing for you to insist others conform to this idea. Continuing to do so is itself contentious and divisive.