Recently, our elders recognized a gap in our Statement of Faith – silence with respect to the doctrine of the church. We have come to an agreed upon statement that will be unveiled and explained at tomorrow’s Annual General Meeting. We also wish to take the next three e-bulletins and Friday Table Talks to tease out its different components, namely: foundation, governance and function, and mission.
Fundamental to the nature of the church is gathering. The New Testament Greek word ekklesia literally means “called out”. Colloquially, it quickly came to also mean assembly. What were these new assemblies called out from and to? As long as the earth has had people the earth has had assemblies. We gather because of family ties, we gather for mutual security, we gather for shared interests, etc. Is there something particular about Christian assemblies? We could point to gathering around beliefs, but many groups could say it is common beliefs that centre their gathering. Central to true Christian assembly is Jesus Christ. Those who have turned from their sin and idolatry and to Christ are called a new creation: “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17a)” Thus, being “in Christ” sets us apart from what we once were, but also places us within an ever-growing body of people who are, likewise, ‘new creatures’. The basis of such “membership” is nothing of human origin – we are members of God’s family not by blood nor the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but by the will and power of God (John 1:12,13). This is why we place such a strong emphasis upon Christian conversion when we are working through membership considerations. When we introduce new members to you, to the best of our knowledge, we are affirming this new member’s faith in Christ rather than simply a willingness to gather with us.
Finally, we believe the outworking of this professed faith in the Head of the Church, Christ, is evidenced through a commitment to a local church. More on that over the next two weeks.
Much love,
Pastor Gary