Purpose of Church meetings

The "new" church you spoke of is the better choice of the two.

 

Yeah - you don't want to waste time in one of those churches committed to reaching the lost.

 

I would agree that No. 2 is more Biblically accurate. The church is for believers. Believers are supposed to go just as it is said. Now if there is no focus on or teaching on the responsibility of the members to be reaching out to their community then that would not be correct, but just from the sounds of your post it seems as though No. 2 is doing just that.

The church is like a military base. It is for the soldiers to come in get refreshed, trained and equipped and then sent back out into the battle.

The church has strapped the pastor for far too long as the one responsible for preaching the good news. That is everyone's responsibility not just the pastor.

God's blessings to you as your seek and search after Him and His place of service for you and your family!!!

 

The truth is they are both right! Could it be that in the realm of the kingdom these are simply two differant LOCAL church's being used in the areas of their gifts? go TO THE CHURCH WHERE YOUR PASSION IS. If your gifts are more evangelistic...its obvious...if they are more suited to edification...well there you go...remember, God gifts the believer but also uses church's in differant ways...why do you think there are som many of us 'fussen' baptist around!?

J

 

I have heard this many times but not seen any Scripture to back it up. How about it?

 

Church is for worshiping God first, then to disciple, train and edify believers, then for preaching the gospel to the unsaved. Your christians should be getting trained on witnessing so it can be done outside the church as well as inside, we shouldn't have to bring people to church to see salivations.
Mexdeaf, you got scripture that says otherwise?

 

yikes...I hope we don't see salivations at our church

HOLY DROOLING BATMAN!!!!!!

J

 

I think DonnA has said it best ~~ except for the salivations part!

 

I have heard this many times but not seen any Scripture to back it up. How about it? </font>[/QUOTE]Still waiting for Scripture..... if it is indeed 'Biblically accurate', where are the verses?

 

Both!


Hebrews, chapter 10
23": Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised

"24": And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

"25": Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

[ April 29, 2006, 10:54 PM: Message edited by: Brother Bob ]

 

Scripture? Glad to oblige...

The Church GATHERS for edification, the Church SCATTERS for evangelism. The churches that do it the other way have ignored the NT pattern!

In BBob's post he had it...

 

The Church GATHERS for edification, the Church SCATTERS for evangelism. The churches that do it the other way have ignored the NT pattern!

In BBob's post he had it...

</font>[/QUOTE]Okay, I guess you can read 'scattering for evangelism' into Ephesians 4.

 

The scattering for evangelism comes more from the pattern in Acts and passages like

It seems funny to me that many churches who talk a lot about the great commission ALSO seem to focus on BRINGING THEM IN to hear the gospel. That just does not fit the Word of God.

 

I don't think we should criticize ANY method of getting the Gospel out! Go out and win them, or go out and bring them in to get saved--they still get saved! (Hmm. Sounds like a song title: "Bring Them In!")

For Scripture that it is okay to get lost folks into church and get saved there, try 1 Cor. 14:23, where Paul simply assumes lost folk will be coming to the church services.

So, mama9times, going back to the OP, I agree with J. R. Maddox that both churches are right--they just have different ways of doing things. As to which you should go to, pray earnestly and let the Holy Spirit guide you. God graciously waits for you to be totally yielded to His will, whichever church that is.

 

1 Corinthians 14:23 doesn't say, "And if you're bringing in unbelievers"; it simply says "if they come in". No one here is suggesting that they be excluded; simply that it is unbiblical to go out and bring in busloads of unsaved people Sunday after Sunday.

 

I agree that we are to go out (after all, I am a missionary), but I disagree that it is 'unbiblical' to bring folks in.

On our mission field the folks who stick are the ones who are led to Christ in church. Very FEW of those who accept the Lord on D2D ever follow through with discipleship. And it is not for a lack of trying, either.

 

But, the point is that you've gone out and you've witnessed to them, and then you've brought them into fellowship with other believers.

You have not started showing movies and having rock concerts to bring the unsaved into the church.

 

I'm with Mexdeaf here. How could it possibly be unbiblical to bring in "busloads of unsaved people Sunday after Sunday," as you say? Do you have any Scripture for this? Any at all?

Am I to believe, Hope of Glory, that you then believe it is unbiblical to tell your people, "Bring in an unsaved friend to the special services"?

As for Scripture about bringing folk in to get saved, there is the classic story of Andrew who brought his brother to Christ to get saved (John 1:40-42). There is the parable of the king's dinner in Luke 14:12-24, wherein Jesus says, "But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." I could go on.

If I get to Heaven, and Jesus says to me, "John, you blew it. I certainly didn't want you to bring people in to church to get saved. Why would you do such a thing?" I may have to say, "Well Lord, I thought you wanted folk to get saved, and I thought the Great Commission was to the church, and I couldn't find anything in Scripture against it. I guess I blew it."

 

DITTO...I'd rather have Jesus say "Martin you took the great commission way too far by going out and bringing them in"...I doubt He would ever say that...do you?

Go out into the highways and byways to invite them to the Master's Table...I think it is heresy (or pretty close to it) to say that Church is only for saved people because every 'gathering' is to be a place to edify and bless all Christians whether it is a picnic or ballgame or dinner.

I'm also confused by the use of Eph 4 to imply a difference of gather or scatter? This scripture would more likely be understood to identify different types of Churches with different gifts and focuses. That's just my 2 Yen worth...slightly less than 2 cents...