some initial thoughts on the local church

God seems to work in themes in my life. I'll be stuck on one topic for months, learning about it, talking about it, learning more, and repeating the cycle. It always seems to come up, no matter the situation. Last year the focus was guy-girl relationships. Sometimes it gets to the point where I am so over the topic I can't even see straight. But God doesn't let it go, so obviously I have more to learn. Recently, the topic has been the local church. There is a whole lot about the local church I have learned that I hope to share here in the coming weeks, but I want to start out with some thoughts that materialized out of an ongoing conversation within my fraternity. Essentially, the conversation revolves around campus ministries & churches. Usually, one person uses the terms interchangeably, and the other lovingly corrects them, saying something like "a campus ministry is not the same as the local church." Another person usually asks "they seem to be pretty similar, what's the difference?" Then a conversation ensues about whether our churches are really different from our campus ministries & sometimes why church is important at all. What is so fascinating to me is that believers in the American church know so little about the institution which God has created to be a vital piece in our growth & development - the local church. Then again, our churches don't talk about why the local church is important--at least the churches I was in growing up never did--so should we expect anything different?

I believe God has designed the local church to be the centerpiece of our sanctification & spiritual growth. I believe the local church is the hope of the world, & God desires every believer to be a fully committed, fully functioning member of a local body--the local church. In the coming posts, I hope to show you biblical evidence for this conviction. But for now, I want to share this recent conversation I had with some of the brothers in my fraternity.

We are in the process of electing new officers for the coming year. In our facebook group, brothers have been asking questions of the candidates. One of the questions was:

"Being an officer is a position where you are pouring a lot out. Where are you getting poured into? Outside of BYX, are you involved in Bible studies, Church, Wesley etc... Without being poured into by the Lord, it is impossible to fulfill a leadership role properly."

Two people (including me) piggybacked off of this question and asked:

"What local church are you a part of here in Athens?" and "Are you a member of your church, and if not, why?"

These questions sparked a bit of debate, raising the extremely important question: Why does it matter for an officer of a fraternity to be a member of a local church? Better yet, why is it important for anyone to be in the local church?

I spent some time thinking and praying about it, and responded with the following. My prayer is that is helps to clarify the issue at hand and challenge my generation to think about God's design & purpose for the local church. As I said, I expect to flesh this out more in the coming weeks, but I'll let this conversation serve as a starting point.

I'll take a shot at the answer if you don't mind. I think we all agree that the Bible teaches that community is absolutely essential to our growth as men of God. That's one of the primary reasons BYX exists. It is through community that we are sharpened and pushed closer to being like Jesus. But BYX is not the only place that this community should happen. In fact, I believe the Bible teaches that our primary place of community needs to be the local church. God has designed and implemented a few structures in the world that we are supposed to submit to: the family, government, work, and the local church. In these institutions, there are leaders who are given charge and authority over our lives. Each one looks a little bit different, but ultimately, we are to submit to their authority as submitting to God. In fact, Paul teaches in Romans 12 that in submitting to the governing authorities, we are indeed submitting to God Himself. We also see that obedience to parents is seen as obedience to God. Sorry for the digression, but I think it is important to understand God's design for our lives so we can truly understand the importance of the local church. Of all of these institutions, the local church is uniquely place to be one of the main channels for the authority of God through Scripture to be imparted on my life. We believe that Jesus is the head of the church, church leadership submits to Jesus and follows Him, and then, from that place of submission, leads the church. The issue, however, which we see rampant in the American Church, is that people are not committed and fully given to a local church or its leadership. Church in America (and Europe as well) has become more of a social club, a place you show up on Sunday to get some encouragement. I believe this is not as it should be. Biblically, the local church is supposed to be a place of community, of encouragement, teaching, and most importantly, submission. At first, submission seems a little counterintuitive, but I have become convinced that it is absolutely necessary to our growth and development, and the life of the local church. The way I respond to what the leadership says is completely based on my position before them: if I am fully given to the church, allowing them to have authority over my life, even when they say things that I don't necessarily agree with (or even like), if they are biblical, and done with humility and love, I will accept the teaching and realize that I need to change. However, if I simply show up at a church from time to time (or even every week), when the teacher says something I don't agree with, I will completely disregard it, and might, ultimately, leave the church because I don't don't like that they are telling me I am wrong. If the purpose of following after Jesus is to be more like Him, then I have to recognize that who I am right now is not completely right--that I am wrong in many areas of my life and need to change. So there has to be some figure of authority to help me discern those areas. I believe God has designed the leadership of a church to be one of those primary voices. Their job is to call me to the truth of who Jesus is and to change to be like Him. So, now that I have run down the trail, I think I can finally address the question you are asking, after looking at one quick piece of church history. In looking at the early church, I don't think they had "church members". That concept has come in the past few centuries, but not without biblical foundation or reason. I think that the idea behind church membership is so that families and individuals can commit themselves to the life and mission of the local church and agree to sit under the authority of the leadership. Now, in reality, church membership has become much more like country club membership. But I don't think that validates us throwing out its worth. I think what Collin was trying to get at is this: God has designed the local church to be an integral part of a believers growth. We all need to be committed and fully engaged in a local church here in Athens that will love us, encourage us, challenge us, teach us, and call us to look more like Jesus. This needs to be the case for every believer. Every BYX brother. And definitely every officer. Ultimately, we lead by being led. Primarily by Jesus, but also by godly men who are following after Him. So, I think it matters immensely that a BYX officer be a member of a local church here in Athens. Not because church membership qualifies anyone to be an officer, but because fully engaging in a local church is what God has called us all to do--for our benefit and growth. I pray that each of the brother of BYX is able to find a church he can commit to, submit to, and give his time, energy, and life for. I hope this helps. I would love to talk more to anyone who has questions about the local church and its importance in God's plan for the world. May God make us men who are made in His very own image, after His very own heart. May we be more like Jesus in all we say and do. May grace and peace and love be the definition of our lives.