"Parachurch" organizations

[Guest]

Is it possible to be a non-member of Christ's church but yet be a member of the parachurch?

livingink

[Guest]

I think so, in the same way it's possible to be a member of an earthly 'church' institution, and yet not belong to Christ's true body.

[_Rick_C]

You folks are making it sound sound like we should do away with local-churches (the buildings) and maybe, what?, use mobile homes?

Drive them to campus for Campus Crusade for Christ,
then downtown to Feed the Poor,
then to the park so the rock band can change into their rock band costumes,
put printing presses and computers in them for a mobile Bible-society,
deliver the Bibles worldwide,
on to the town square for the revival preaching,
let some recovering alcoholics and abused people live in it, a mobile-halfway house,
run a used clothes & used stuff shop out of it;
the mobile homes must be able to fly so we can give disaster relief,
have Christian tv & radio capabilities also, get all this done (and much MUCH more),
then drive back and park in the local neighborhood on Sundays....
so the poor little old lady down the street can come to church?

Confusing.

[Guest]

No, from experience mobile homes are pretty tough to get wheelchairs into and then have room to move around the folks congregated there to study the Bible. While toes may not get stepped on it is a real possibility that they'll get rolled on. But, I do have an old barn that we're refurbishing. Seems to have worked well for the Amish.

Looking back through the posts, the difference seems to center around the concept of "a" church vs. "the" church. "A" church generally is equated with the "local" church. We've discussed that on several other threads and you'll have to decide for yourself whether there is scriptural backing for something called the local church. Like Michele, when I got out of the local church, "the" church became alive.

livingink

[Guest]

You folks are making it sound sound like we should do away with local-churches (the buildings) and maybe, what?, use mobile homes?

Drive them to campus for Campus Crusade for Christ,
then downtown to Feed the Poor,
then to the park so the rock band can change into their rock band costumes,
put printing presses and computers in them for a mobile Bible-society,
deliver the Bibles worldwide,
on to the town square for the revival preaching,
let some recovering alcoholics and abused people live in it, a mobile-halfway house,
run a used clothes & used stuff shop out of it;
the mobile homes must be able to fly so we can give disaster relief,
have Christian tv & radio capabilities also, get all this done (and much MUCH more),
then drive back and park in the local neighborhood on Sundays....
so the poor little old lady down the street can come to church?

Confusing.

Rick, I don't see where anyone here has called for the doing away with church buildings and local assemblies. Perhaps you could help me follow your logic?

You've posted a facetious little story about a mobile parachurch thing, which was, I guess, supposed to make a point. (I think I'm missing the point.) Let's say something like this was actually feasible:

I would suppose while they are driving from place to place, they would encourage each other in their various ministries. At each stop, perhaps, they might gather for prayer before encountering the people they are preparing to minister to. After each stop, what if they gather to praise God for his blessings? Would they STILL not be considered a part of the body of Christ - His church? Why not?

[Guest]

Like Michele, when I got out of the local church, "the" church became alive.

livingink

It's a strange thing, is it not?

[_Rick_C]

Looking back through the posts, the difference seems to center around the concept of "a" church vs. "the" church. "A" church generally is equated with the "local" church. We've discussed that on several other threads and you'll have to decide for yourself whether there is scriptural backing for something called the local church. Like Michele, when I got out of the local church, "the" church became alive.

First, this is from Wikipedia:
Parachurch organizations are vehicles by which Christians work collaboratively both outside of and across their denominations to engage with the world in social welfare and evangelism.

These bodies can be businesses, non-profit corporations, or private associations. They generally operate without sponsorship of any particular church or association of churches, while attempting to avoid encroaching on roles traditionally belonging to churches alone. They offer centralized efficiency of mission and operation to accomplish specialized ministry tasks that independent churches without denominational or associational strength are not able to accomplish on a larger national or international scale.

Parachurch organisations perform a number of roles, including:
* evangelistic crusade associations (patterned after the Billy Graham Association)
* evangelistic and discipleship ministries (such as The Navigators, Campus Crusade for Christ)
* music and print publishers, radio and television stations, film studios, online ministries
* study centers and institutes, schools, colleges and universities
* political and social activist groups
* welfare and social services, including homeless shelters, child care, and domestic violence, disaster relief programs, and food pantries and clothing closets, and emergency aid centers (such as the City Missions)
* self-help groups
* Bible study groups
_______________________________________________

Rick, I don't see where anyone here has called for the doing away with church buildings and local assemblies. Perhaps you could help me follow your logic?

People have questioned "whether or not local-churches have scriptural backing" (they're being called into question to see if they're "biblically-correct")....

It seems the difference might lie in peoples' understanding of the meaning of 'church' - not the way we probably understand it, but rather as an institutional organisation with an official name, laws, by-laws, etc. & possibly needing to comply with government regulations - and probably also being required to pay a yearly administration fee to the denomination's head office.
Practices can become traditions unthinkingly followed, without being necessarily biblical.

We understand what The Universal "Church" of Christ is.
We also know Paul wrote, Romans (NIV) 16:3Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. 4They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5Greet also the church that meets at their house.

I've done some studying on house-churches in Corinth. They were usually held in larger homes of the well-to-do and often, the very-well-to-do. I know some people think because they did this we should also meet in homes, not in a local-church; that this is "biblical." I'm not saying it isn't biblical but don't think they met in homes because it was a command or a precedent set for future churches. They did it out of necessity more than anything.

Priscilla and Aquilla had staff. They needed cooks, janitors, dishwashers, servers, the whole crew. And if we had their "list of things-to-do" it would probably look like what an organization, institution, or a small-business would do.

Since churches started being built, we've had them. Personally, I don't feel meeting in homes or in a cathedral makes any difference. The Bible doesn't tell us anything other than to make sure to meet someplace. I don't think Priscilla and Aquilla were being "too institutional" any more than a local-church of today is, unless it's clear they aren't following biblical guidelines; Paul wrote about abuses and gross errors in Corinth along these lines in 1 Corinthians. I don't think Priscilla and Aquila were "more biblical than local-churches." In fact, the church that met at their house was a local-church!

What meets the needs, do what you need to do, imo. Anyways....

I thought you guys might like this (check it out, funny in a way):
Dan Kimball's blog: Reality Church?
I've visited a couple house-church meetings. But I never really went through the stages described here: Quitting the "local-church", going to a "house-church" for a while, then back to the "local-church". I have had a similar experience with a denomination, however. Except when I left, I never went back....

[Guest]

Rick said (or, Wikipedia said):

Parachurch organizations are vehicles by which Christians work collaboratively both outside of and across their denominations to engage with the world in social welfare and evangelism.

Wow, this sounds very much like the duty of the church (people). Taking care of orphans and widows... preaching the gospel.... teaching people to obey Jesus.

The "local church" is for the use of spiritual gifts for the edifying of one another. This can be done in any type of gathering of Christians, thus a church meeting, or meeting of the church.

No one is saying that there is no local church or that the local church should be done away with. We're just trying to define what the local church is and is not.

Rick said:

Since churches started being built...

I think this is the point, Rick. The church cannot be "built" with human hands. It is only "built" by the Lord and it is built by adding people. The church that met in houses as referred to by Paul is the assembly of PEOPLE who were meeting at the house.



I think the reason many people are against the idea of the large buildings as meeting places is because they (the larger buildings) seem to inhibit the full expression of Jesus' body in ministry to one another.

[_Rick_C]

Since churches started being built...
Then commented:
I think this is the point, Rick. The church cannot be "built" with human hands. It is only "built" by the Lord and it is built by adding people. The church that met in houses as referred to by Paul is the assembly of PEOPLE who were meeting at the house.

I was referring to the kinds of churches that people build with bricks, etc. "Buildings" is what I meant. Jesus retired from the construction biznis a long time ago, right? sorry,

I think the reason many people are against the idea of the large buildings as meeting places is because they (the larger buildings) seem to inhibit the full expression of Jesus' body in ministry to one another.

I've had my neck hugged just as hard & loving in big, giant churches as at the Bible study at my neighbor's apartment. I've seen the Holy Spirit move just as awesomely with 3,000 people present as with two people in a prayer meeting.

What "size" the meeting is (how many folks are there, big building or small), or what a person prefers and/or is called to: Go there: God put them there for you!

The place we meet at doesn't have all that much to do with ministry, imo. People met at Priscilla & Aquila's place...then left to do the work of the ministry after the meetings. It's that same thing everywhere and ever since, no matter how big, small, or what kind of building it is, imo.

Hmmm...thanks. I've been thinking about going to a smaller church ("building").

Wow, this sounds very much like the duty of the church (people). Taking care of orphans and widows... preaching the gospel.... teaching people to obey Jesus.

The "local church" is for the use of spiritual gifts for the edifying of one another. This can be done in any type of gathering of Christians, thus a church meeting, or meeting of the church.

Parachurch and local-church do the work of the ministry, and have been placed where God wants them in the Body of Christ. I agree that the local-body is "made" for people to meet at regularly (it's not an individual parachurch thing, like for college students, or Billy Graham's Headquarters, etc., lol). Parachurch and local-church are not opposed to one another; they just have different placings and callings, imo.

I don't see any problem, to be honest about it. Thanks.

[Guest]

I see the local church as a microcosm of THE CHURCH ---- the whole CHURCH that Christ instituted. If it is anything other than that, then give it a different name from "the local church". Call it " a parachurch organization", "a home fellowship", " a Baptist church", "a Methodist church", "a Presbyterian church", "a Lutheran church", "a Pentecostal church", etc., etc. But don't call it "the local church" unless it is a local expression of THE CHURCH.