What is the structure of the assembly?

[aron]

Originally Posted by Peter Debelak

If one starts with reading all these versus in the NT about elders and deacons, and prophesying etc..., one might say, as many do, the burden is on those who say you don't have to be "under" a spiritual "office" in a recognizable and definable assembly...

The key push of this sort of thread, I think, is that most Christians - within and without the LC - take it as a given that you should be within a recognizable congregation which, again by assumption, there are recognized "offices of authority."

Most christians I meet ask what church I go to. It is taken as a given that one should find some defined assembling point, with a building and a website and a pastor. I understand that, and I also love fellowship. But beyond acknowledging the Lord Jesus Christ to one another, I find myself asking, "Brothers, what should we do?" -- like the question to Peter in Acts 2:37. What wineskin will hold such precious wine?

As I watch the wineskin that emerges in the NT, I myself have deepening misgivings. The calls to repentance in Revelations 2 and 3 seem to me to be fully in line with the preceding "building" that I observe. But if you ask me for an alternative wineskin, I can only say, "I dunno. Love one another?" Too vague, perhaps... what do we do when the piano player plays too loudly? Who watches the watchers... who oversees the overseers? It's difficult to idealize in such complex situations.

But I enjoy asking such difficult questions. For me, it's part of the journey. Thank you all for bearing with me. Peace.