Renewing the Church (4)

In Part 1 and Part 2, David wondered why the Church in America is declining while churches in other parts of the world are growing rapidly. He asked whether we might have a non-Biblical definition as to what a church is, substituting an institutional definition for an organic definition of church. In part 3, David made a distinction between vision and mission, stating that the vision of Christ reigning supreme should be the driving force of a church’s mission. In this article, he will show how the purpose and practices of a local church should make its vision real in the lives of believers and introduce this vision to non-believers.

A three-fold purpose

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “purpose” as “that which a person sets out to do or obtain.” A local church’s purpose is thus to make disciples in accordance with its vision. These disciples are to be followers of the reigning King Who once walked in our midst and Who died on the cross as a propitiation for our sins.

The purpose of a local church can be summarized in the acronym “W.E.E.” which stands for “worship,” “evangelism” and “edification.” All three give the local church its marching orders for the goal of declaring the vision of the exalted Christ to the world.

Worship does this by glorifying our King and ascribing ultimate value to Him. Evangelism introduces others to our King, and edification builds the knowledge of our King and His continuing work into the body of Christ. Worship teaches us to love God with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength; evangelism and edification teach us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Making disciples

The Biblical statement of a local church’s purpose is given by Paul in Ephesians 4. In this chapter Paul develops the theme of the epistle given in Ephesians 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Paul elucidates this blessing by stating in 4:7, “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” He then states, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (4:11-12).

Christ’s gift to His church is thus those listed in 4:11, 12 who are to be equipping the saints for ministry. How many local pastors consider equipping the saints as their prime responsibility? I would suspect that many consider preaching as that. Preaching in and of itself is good, but it will not fully suffice to equip the saint. It is the saints, not the pastor, who permeate a community and transform it by being conduits of Christ’s grace in areas where the pastor will never appear. The pastor must become personally involved in the training of his or her deacons, elders, and church leaders, so that they, in turn, will train others (2 Tim. 2:2).

Disciples are to make other disciples. Until equipping the saints becomes the purpose of the pastor, he or she will not live up to the full potential of being a true blessing or gift to that local church.

Measuring progress

Note that there are certain metrics given in Ephesians 4 by which equipping can be measured: “unity of the faith” (4:13) is one metric. This involves doctrinal unity (“the knowledge of the Son of God”) as well as a communal unity (“so that it builds itself up in love”).

“Maturity” is another metric (4:13). The measuring rod for this metric is “the stature of the fullness of Christ” (4:14). How well do our parishioners measure up against the rod of “the fullness of Christ” as given in Philippians 2:4-11? Are they growing tall in stature? Or is their growth stunted?

The practices of the church

The practices of a local church differ from its purpose but are related to its purpose in two ways: (1) the practices come out of its purpose; (2) the practices enable the local church to achieve its purpose. Pastors and parishioners commonly confuse the practices of a church with its purpose. The practices are to create an environment in which equipped saints will do the W.E.E. that defines a local church’s raison d’être. Part of equipping the saints involves utilizing and including these practices in the training of the saints. T.M. Moore lists the practices of a local church under four rubrics:

Liturgical—Practices directed toward God, with others:

Toward God—praise, sacraments
With others—prayer, fellowship
Worship
Praying

Pastoral—Practices directed on behalf of God, for others:

Teaching
Visiting
Edification
Intercessory Prayer
Speaking prophetically

Diaconal—Practices directed in the name of God, unto others:

Service
Stewardship (Kenneth Boa defines stewardship as including time, talent, treasure and truth)
Visiting the sick
Hospitality
Mercy

Missional—Practices done with God, for the sake of others:

Evangelism, proclamation of the kingdom of God
Testimony

Next steps

How well is your church equipping its people? In what way can you prayerfully enable your church or your pastors to see what must be done to bring about the proper equipping of the saints in your church? In what practices has God gifted you? How do you personally practice W.E.E.? In what ways are you reaching out into your community with the vision of the resurrected Christ? Here’s a free assessment tool you can use to begin thinking about the state of your church with respect to the purpose and practices of a local church. Why not work through it with one or two of your church leaders?

For more insight to the purpose and practices of a local church, order Chuck Colson’s book, Being the Body, from our online store. Or read the article, “A House of Prayer,” by T. M. Moore.