Here is the guided discussion for this week, please feel free to reply-all and start a conversation about it!
1. Let’s take a look at the early church. Jesus gave us many teachings on how we are to treat each other as a community, but was not specific on the logistics.
Leaders in the early church were called a) elders (Greek: "presbuteros", a presbyter; e.g. Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5), b) bishops (Greek: "episkopos", an overseer; e.g. 1 Peter 5:1-2), c) pastors (Greek: "poimen", shepherd; e.g. Acts 20:17, 28). The exact duties of these offices are not specified and there was likely overlap and differences in nomenclature across the early church in different cities. There were also deacons (Greek: "diakonos", servant, minister; e.g 1 Timothy 3:8-13) who were appointed to help the elders. The elders needed to fulfill certain stringent qualifications (e.g. 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9). The authority of the elders of the church was limited; i.e., they are only stewards of Jesus’ flock (e.g. Acts 20:28).
Is there latitude in determining how churches are run? What do you imagine that the early church looked like?
2. Think about the ‘standard model of church’ prevalent in America today, i.e. (1) dressing up (or not) to church on Sunday for an hour(ish) to listen to a sermon and then go home for a week, (2) repeat. Compare this to the lives of early Christians (see question 1), where churches were run out of homes were very intimate (see e.g. Philemon, 2 John, or the final greetings in many of the epistles for a flavor of how this community lived). Should we go to church every Sunday?
3. What would church ideally look like to you? How does that compare to your church (your current church, childhood church, etc.)?
4. The church is a family (see the extensive use of familial metaphors by Jesus: e.g. John 14:2). We call each other brother and sister and God the Father. Do we treat each other as family? If not, what would that look like? Consider the interactions between different generations of the church. Do those interactions exist? Do we value our elders (c.f. Proverbs 16:31)?
5. Ephesians 5:29-32, Revelation 19:6-8, Revelation 21:1-14. What is the church? Revelation 1:4-11. Compare the church on Earth to the church in heaven. What is the same, what is different?
6. Read 1 Samuel 12:19-25. Israel (sinfully) asked for a king. Here God rebukes the Israelites and makes it clear (see 1 Samuel 12:25) that the people are responsible for their actions, and that the king would be punished a long with the people for their sins. How then do we live as members of a congregation? Is it only the pastor’s job or is it the responsibility of each member of the church to lie a Godly life (c.f. Hebrews 13:17)?
7. Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit (see John 14:15-21). What role does the Holy Spirit play in interacting with the church?
Tying it together:
How do the themes of being the Body of Christ, Honesty and Openness, Dealing with Conflict, Encouragement, and Forgiveness and Reconciliation relate to church?
1. Let’s take a look at the early church. Jesus gave us many teachings on how we are to treat each other as a community, but was not specific on the logistics.
Leaders in the early church were called a) elders (Greek: "presbuteros", a presbyter; e.g. Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5), b) bishops (Greek: "episkopos", an overseer; e.g. 1 Peter 5:1-2), c) pastors (Greek: "poimen", shepherd; e.g. Acts 20:17, 28). The exact duties of these offices are not specified and there was likely overlap and differences in nomenclature across the early church in different cities. There were also deacons (Greek: "diakonos", servant, minister; e.g 1 Timothy 3:8-13) who were appointed to help the elders. The elders needed to fulfill certain stringent qualifications (e.g. 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9). The authority of the elders of the church was limited; i.e., they are only stewards of Jesus’ flock (e.g. Acts 20:28).
Is there latitude in determining how churches are run? What do you imagine that the early church looked like?
2. Think about the ‘standard model of church’ prevalent in America today, i.e. (1) dressing up (or not) to church on Sunday for an hour(ish) to listen to a sermon and then go home for a week, (2) repeat. Compare this to the lives of early Christians (see question 1), where churches were run out of homes were very intimate (see e.g. Philemon, 2 John, or the final greetings in many of the epistles for a flavor of how this community lived). Should we go to church every Sunday?
3. What would church ideally look like to you? How does that compare to your church (your current church, childhood church, etc.)?
4. The church is a family (see the extensive use of familial metaphors by Jesus: e.g. John 14:2). We call each other brother and sister and God the Father. Do we treat each other as family? If not, what would that look like? Consider the interactions between different generations of the church. Do those interactions exist? Do we value our elders (c.f. Proverbs 16:31)?
5. Ephesians 5:29-32, Revelation 19:6-8, Revelation 21:1-14. What is the church? Revelation 1:4-11. Compare the church on Earth to the church in heaven. What is the same, what is different?
6. Read 1 Samuel 12:19-25. Israel (sinfully) asked for a king. Here God rebukes the Israelites and makes it clear (see 1 Samuel 12:25) that the people are responsible for their actions, and that the king would be punished a long with the people for their sins. How then do we live as members of a congregation? Is it only the pastor’s job or is it the responsibility of each member of the church to lie a Godly life (c.f. Hebrews 13:17)?
7. Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit (see John 14:15-21). What role does the Holy Spirit play in interacting with the church?
Tying it together:
How do the themes of being the Body of Christ, Honesty and Openness, Dealing with Conflict, Encouragement, and Forgiveness and Reconciliation relate to church?
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