tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-649580125509692579.post7778323485593042781..comments2011-11-14T16:17:18.020-08:00Comments on The Masculine Soul: The “Church” is a Movement not a Place............Phil Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09840516866466819275noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-649580125509692579.post-57660206813444723672011-11-14T16:17:18.020-08:002011-11-14T16:17:18.020-08:00Great post Phil... keep up the good work!Great post Phil... keep up the good work!Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11118332697138056948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-649580125509692579.post-4073095940331195222011-11-12T14:58:06.769-08:002011-11-12T14:58:06.769-08:00Hey Phil!
I share much of your frustration with t...Hey Phil!<br /><br />I share much of your frustration with the Western church as an institution. Too many churches spend too much time hiring leaders to develop and maintain formal ministry programs for every niche in their congregation: surf ministry, sports ministry, biker ministry, homeless ministry, shut-in ministry, young married ministry, etc., and too little time and energy training leaders from within the church to head up all those good things in an organic and non-formal way.<br /><br />However, I do want to point out that I think the dichotomy between the organic church and the institutional church is a false one. In other words, I think the New Testament vision of the church is both, namely, an organic instituion. Like you said, the overall vibe from the book of Acts makes it clear that the churh is organic. But just as clear is the fact that within this organic church there are formal offices of elder and deacon, as well as formal sacrements/ordinances such as communtion and baptism. There is also formal church membership above and beyond conversion, as well as formal church discipline in cases where a member's life does not match his profession.<br /><br />In other words, I think the church is both organic and institutional. It is an organically growing movement of people, who are on mission organically in their community, who formally assemble, formally submit themselves under the formal service of the deacons and the formal authority, leadership, and teaching of the elders, and who formally practice institutional ordinances such as baptism, church membership/discipline, and communion.Brandon Meltonhttp://brandonmelton.com/noreply@blogger.com