Some Assembly Required Lectures

[Kerri]

I have been listening through the "Some Assembly Required Lectures" and also it seems like this has been brought up a few times on the radio show. I have a couple of questions.

One is that you give a lot of importance to the practices of the early church. Is your idea of the early church that it was the purest form of Christianity and that it holds the ideal for the church through all time? If so what do you think of the idea that doctrine develops and that God is bringing not only individual believers to maturity through their lives and experiences, but also the church is being brought to maturity over the course of history. Would that be proof of a need of greater complexity to the church structure over time? Would the appointing of men to ever see the feeding of the widows in Acts 6 be pointing to a need for a more complex church structure as the needs of the Body grow more complex?

Also, I think the example of the people demanding a king rather than Samuel would be answered by my church as the people demanding a secular government rather than the existing Law of Moses and the Levitical priesthood. A modern example of today would be people turning to government to pay for their food and their childrens' education rather than the family or the church if they are unable to provide it. What would be your answer to this? (Ultimately turning to man made structures rather than God ordained ones.)

Another question (sorry to be so long) doesn't the fact that God gave structure to the worship of the Israelites also mean He intends for us to have structure as well? (If you believe the church is the new Isreal. I think I heard you say that you do. )

I hope you have a chance to get to these questions. I wish I could call in but I'm a homeschooling mom and my afternoons are usually really busy. Maybe if you don't get a chance here, I'll try to call in sometime.

Thanks!