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Category Archives: Ecclesiology
Assembly 2.0: Part 11.4: Frequency; Setting
Frequency Remember: the early church had but one congregation per city, and that congregation typically met in multiple houses under a single eldership. Many Christians, both Jews and Gentiles, also attended synagogue, because the synagogue would have had a complete … Continue reading
Posted in Assembly 2.0, Communion, Uncategorized
43 Comments
Assembly 2.0: Part 11.3: The Love Feast
The agapē Going back to Acts 2, we see that the early church gathered to eat together — to “break bread.” In fact, the NT is filled with references to this common meal, which we overlook because it’s not part … Continue reading
Posted in Assembly 2.0, Communion, Uncategorized
11 Comments
Church 2.0: Part 10.11A: Congregational Autonomy, Part 5A (May We Condone Error?)
Larry asked, The question then arises, when we understand that the organization with which we are associating is upholding teachings that we can prove are not supported by scripture, are we not also supporting the same if we support the … Continue reading
Church 2.0: Part 10.20: Deacons, Part 5 (Female deacons)
Female deacons I am not very interested in the question of whether women may wear the deacon title, because I’d rather not bother with the title. Granting “deacon” as an honorific title only gets in the way of humble, servant-hearted volunteer … Continue reading
Church 2.0: Part 10.19: Deacons, Part 4 (A better understanding)
Defining the office: better hermeneutic I remember receiving a call from a candidate for a ministerial position at my church. He asked why we didn’t have the deacons listed on our website. I asked why he cared. He explained that … Continue reading
Church 2.0: Part 10.18: Deacons, Part 3 (The traditional view of deacons)
Later church history In the early church, we find further support for deacons being teachers. The Didache (100-125 AD) says that deacons “are to be honored, “for they too carry out the ministry of prophets and teachers” (Did. 15.1). Later … Continue reading
Church 2.0: Part 10.17: Deacons, Part 2 (Re-translating Acts 6:1-6)
Deacon as church office/re-translating Acts 6:1-6 So what does mean with regard to the office of deacon? Well, we should not think of them so much as servants but as representatives, agents, or even attendants. That is, they serve at … Continue reading
Church 2.0: Part 10.16: Deacons, Part 1 (Redefining “Deacon”)
John N. Collins and the meaning of diakonos A couple of years ago, in a comment, Mike Cope referred me to Diakonia: Re-Interpreting the Ancient Sources (1990) ($38.95 at Amazon) by John N. Collins. In this book, Collins comprehensively surveys secular and … Continue reading
Church 2.0: Part 10.15: Vision-casting, Part 2
I have a few more thoughts on this subject to share. First, remember that God equips certain members of the church as pilots — people equipped to navigate the church between the rocks and shoals. We assume that these people are … Continue reading
Church 2.0: Part 10.14: Vision-casting, Part 1
(Prov. 29:18 KJV) Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. This verse is in the running for most-misused Bible passage of the 21st Century, and even though there’s a lot … Continue reading
