Close Your Church for Good. Chap. 3, Sec 3. Since I had already posted the intro to chapter 3 on July 18 (it was chapter 2 at the time) , I decided I better post something new. So here is my working definition for church.
What is the bare bones basic understanding of church? What did Jesus try to teach His disciples about what He was forming them to be? What did Paul and the other writers of the New Testament try to impress upon the readers of their letters? What is common to nearly every spiritual renewal movement in history?
In this book, church is being defined as the people of God who follow Jesus into the world. To arrive at this simple understanding of the church, it is necessary to unpack and unwind some of the complex misunderstandings that have been constructed around the church.
Here is something I wrote in a comment previously, which applies here…
If you like reading technical stuff about the church, read the entry on “ekklesia” in the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. For me, it was jaw-dropping. It did not change what I was thinking about the definition of church, but only confirmed it, proving (at least to me) that I was on the right track.
The entry can be found in Volume 3, page 501. It is found under the entry for “kaleo” meaning “to call.” This should give you a hint at where my Chapter 3 (and my definition for “church”) is headed.
“To arrive at this simple understanding of the church, it is necessary to unpack and unwind some of the complex misunderstandings that have been constructed around the church.” Fully coherent with my own experience.
Jeremy, just left a comment for you on my blog about your question. I think I see where you’re going with this and I get it. Agreeing with you wholeheartedly!