What is the boundary of the Local Church?

[aron]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

Which church?

Your ideas about the church are only ideological because there is no practical local church called "the church" in which a person may go to to air their disputes in the situation of denominations today..

Practical? The Grand Poohbah installs admittedly "unspiritual" son as head of his publishing house, saying it's his private business an he can do what he wants. Complaints from various parties fall on deaf ears. The "two or three" are void in this system.

The Local Church is a guanxi network. It is a Christian personality cult, dominated by the oriental culture

[ZNPaaneah]

In Post #84 Evangelical raises a question that is fundamental to these three chapters in Matthew: "Which church?"

The implication based on the context is that he sees multiple churches, denominations, free groups, non denominational, and in his logic there can only be "one true church".

We need to examine this. When we looked at the seven churches in Revelation (this is the Lord's continuation from Matt 16-18). In every single case the Lord treats them as a "church" though Laodicea has been condemned and he is calling for those still there to leave. You might think that Ephesus sin of "leaving their first love" would condemn them, a warning was issued, but they are still a legitimate church. You might think that Balaam would disqualify one, or Jezebel, or stained robes. But in every case the Lord is speaking to them and working with them.

Imagine how arrogant it is that you think your one little gimmick with your name somehow disqualifies all other christian assemblies from having the Lord's ear. This is what it means to "despise" them. Once again, Matt 18 warns us not to despise these little brothers because they do have the ear of God the Father in heaven.

There is no verse in the NT that provides a solid basis for Evangelical's claim to the "city church with no name" being the only one that Matt 18 is talking about. What is abundantly clear and spelled out in Black and White is that Matt 18 is referring to any and all gatherings in the name of Jesus, even if it is as small as two or three. How blind do you have to be to argue that Matt 18 cannot be referring to meetings of 2 or 3 (even though the Lord makes it crystal clear that He is talking about that) because there was a meeting in Acts that had more than 3?!

This is why I tune out whenever Evangelical says "it is logical".

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah

The implication based on the context is that he sees multiple churches, denominations, free groups, non denominational, and in his logic there can only be "one true church".

This is why I tune out whenever Evangelical says "it is logical".

Reminds me of Hodgson's classic piece "The Logical Song."

Perhaps another theme song for ex-LCers, especially those who got sent to the FTTA! Quite appropriate!

[aron]

The Local Church is a guanxi network, a Christian personality cult that reflects and expresses the culture that gave it root and nourishment. The Bible is of interest, even intense interest, inasmuch as it's useful to the maintenance & propagation of the network; otherwise it's ignored or even dismissed as "fallen" and "mixed sentiments" and "natural concepts".

The reason they don't see their own fallen natural concepts is because seeing would be detrimental to the network. "I'm proud to be an ostrich with my head stuck on the sand" is how one current leader once put it. That's how he got where he is today. If he saw, he'd be put out.

Why join such a network? Well, for one it gives the immediate impression of power. The network is sold as the great success, and all you have to do is join & that success becomes by association your own. Just ignore the man behind the curtain. And ignore the cries of the abused. And ignore those who apparently "couldn't make it". And ignore scripture that doesn't line up with the master plan. And ignore. . .

The gospel is Jesus Christ. The testimony of the church is the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is our life, our focus, our aim. The rest is, at best, a distraction. At worst it becomes a stumbling, an invitation to a kind of deliberate, self-conscious myopia, where the network is all. There may be word-games, with "church" versus "ministry initiatives", but in the LC it always comes back to the network and one's relative standing therein. And the testimony of Jesus is suborned. As awareness says; I got my hat & t-shirt; paid the price for joining it.

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by aron

Practical? The Grand Poohbah installs admittedly "unspiritual" son as head of his publishing house, saying it's his private business an he can do what he wants. Complaints from various parties fall on deaf ears. The "two or three" are void in this system.

The Local Church is a guanxi network. It is a Christian personality cult, dominated by the oriental culture

Why is it they can sideswipe every spiritual requirement for those serving in His church by claiming to be a work, or a ministry, or only a publisher, etc.