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What purpose, driving factors, or goals do we see in many churches today, and how does this compare with the goals or purpose of the Church of the New Testament?
I mean this not to demean or degrade the churches of our land, but rather to do an in-depth study of the Church that Jesus established 2000 years ago.
Let's dig into the Word and see how much scripture we can come up with along with our comments!
I am the last to try and pass judgement on any church, all I can say is that for me, I dont feel comfortable in a church thats main focus isnt 1. worshipping God 2. not afraid to get the carpets and hands dirty with people in need (especially children) ...
In Acts there are many descriptions of how the Church presented and carried itself.
The Acts Ch. 11 (short description)
One example was when prophets from Jerusalem came to Antioch (the place where Christian was first used). One of the Prophets Agabus said that by the Spirit he learned that great dearth would come upon all the world, which came about during Claudius Caesar.
The Disciples and every man according to his ability sent relief to all those that lived in Judea.
So one purpose to me is pulling our (God's) resources together to lighten the worldly burdens, so that the Spiritual pursuits can be possible for all.
I believe the main purpose of the church is to point people to Jesus
I agree, I also think that IF the way to do that is by offering services: soup kitchens, emergency housing for the homeless, low cost child care for low income parents, after school programs, etc., then so be it, and if that means having a gymnasium to keep youth off the street then go for it. There is a faction within the government who says these services are the providence of the church; that it isn't the government's job to do them. I will be very disappointed if I hear people say that it isn't the church's job either. And if it isn't the churches job to help the needy, where do these people turn?
I have not read the thread that you reference in your OP and I am sure that I am off track as to the depth of what you are looking for, but your question did make me think about something that I observed and gave great thought to when I attended Mass this weekend...
There is a middle-aged woman at my church, she is somewhat mentally challenged. I do not know her personally, but you can tell from her body language that there are some handicaps. (I apologize for my "political incorrectness", I just don't know how else to describe her.) I watched her more closesly this weekend, I don't know why, but she was there and I noticed...
Just in case there is someone who hasn't gathered it already, or doesn't know me, I am Catholic...there are a lot of 'rituals' that we perform during our service. A lot of kneeling, standing, praising, blessing, etc., etc. For many parishoners, it seems mundane. They have done it all their lives and they could probably do it even if the priest was not there. (I hope that this never becomes the case for me or my children.) But this woman, she was there for a purpose and I felt honored to be there with her... She would sway with the music, and when it was time to stand...she was the first one up. There was no embarrassment that perhaps noone else was standing yet. She seemed to be honored to be there...as we all should be. There was a presence about her. She stood proudly in the front row and she worshipped.
I think, no matter what your denomination, that's what church is about. It is about worshipping. It is not about "what did I get out of the service today"? It is about "what did I give at the service today"?
I don't have my bible on hand, but some things come to mind
1. The preaching of the gospel and the word of God
2. Helping the needy and bearing one another's burdens
3. Glorifying God in our hearts in the process
It's simple and I'd say just about everything else the church should be doing could fall under one of these categories.
The purpose of the church is to praise and worship God..
The purpose of the church is edify each other...
The purpose of the church is to share your gifts of the Holy Spirit with
each other...
The purpose of the church is to take care of the needs of the
widows, orphans and the needy among you...
The purpose of the church is to bring others to Christ so they may be a
part of the church..
The purpose of the church is to remain unified with Christ as the only
leader and head, and the members working in harmony as one with no
divisions among them..
The purpose of the church is to allow others to see the light and love of
Christ through your actions, deeds and words.
I think the purpose is to build up the body of believers, the body of Christ. We worship God and hear His Word. And then they need to go out to the world and preach salvation through Christ and use their gifts to help others.
Sometimes I think of the church as a hospital where the saints come in wounded and tired from the world and they get patched up, energized by the World and ready to go out and face the world again.
My dad is on the board of a seminary and he says that it's a shame that many established old churches get focused inward and they just die after awhile. The church need to focus outside of itself, continue to grow with new believers, send missionaries out into the world and build up the saints through knowledge and praise.
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