The Church and Para-Church Ministries: Pt I

The Community of Jesus’ Disciples:

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus announced his intention to ‘church plant’. Why build another church (cf. “synagogue”) in Israel? Though Jesus never rejected the structure (note Lk.4:16) or authority of the Jewish religious establishment (see Mt.23:1-3a), he was sharply critical of its radical corruption and abuse (23:3b-36). And it is hardly coincidental that Jesus’ declaration here follows on the heels of his solemn warning to the disciples about “the powers that be” in Jerusalem (16:5-12; see also 16:1-4 and 15:1-14).

In dramatic contrast to institutional Judaism, which would ‘officially’ reject the one whom Peter has just identified as “the Son of the Living God,” at the center of this renewed assembly of Israel stands the Person and work of the remarkable Galilean rabbi. It would be his church; as he would later promise his disciples, “where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I with them,” (18:20). Isn’t that an amazing, audacious claim? But it gets better. As the congregation of God’s anointed nothing in this world or the next could overthrow it - not even death itself (16:18)! It would appear that this church of Jesus’ would have a unique relationship to and participation in the coming kingdom he announced. For, in addition to defeating the grave (and with it, him who held its power, cf. Heb.2:14; Rom.16:20), it would exercise heavenly authority to “bind” and “loose” on earth (Mt.16:19; 18:18-19).

This language of ‘loosing’ and ‘binding’ was used by the rabbis to describe their legislative and judicial pronouncements regarding what was forbidden and what was permitted. These binding decisions (presumably based on God’s revealed will in the Law and Prophets) defined one’s obligations towards both God and neighbor. In vv.15-17 we see this authority exercised in the disciplinary process executed within the church. As one commentator summarized, “the new community would exercise divinely given authority both in regulating its internal affairs and in deciding who would be admitted to and who excluded from its membership.”

It would also appear that the church’s implementation of this ‘kingdom authority’ was integral to God’s implementation of his saving purposes in the world: seeking out and protecting “these little ones” in righteousness and grace (see 18:10-14, 21-35). This is incredible, if you stop and think about it.

Similar to the promise made in 18:20 (in the context of church discipline), at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus promises: “And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.” Here the context is the so-called “Great Commission,” which Jesus issued to the young “church” of the original twelve (minus one). Jesus is with his people as they go into the world to make new disciples – from Jerusalem to the very ends of the earth, from now until the end of time. Wherever (and whenever) the church is, in other words, there is the Lord in power and in Person.

The apostles likewise understood this deep and even mysterious (Eph.3:4-6; 5:32; Col.1:27) relationship of Christ with his people. Paul, for example, taught that all believers were spiritually united to Christ as the “head,” and, consequently, to one another within the corporate “body of Christ” (e.g., 1Co.12:13; Eph.5:23; Ro.12:4-5).

The apostles again corroborate Jesus’ teachings in affirming that the church, though not to be confused with the kingdom of God, is its principal representative and agent in the world. Paul, as usual, is particularly helpful, explaining how God’s eternal purposes in salvation (e.g., Eph.1:9-10; 3:11) are fulfilled in and through “his body, which is the church” (Col.1:24; Eph.1:22-23; see 2:11-3:10; 4:1-16).

The Church and the Mission of God:

But what is the relationship of the Church and its mission to the local assembly? And just what constitutes a local assembly or church? To answer the second question first, according to the NT, a local church is a group of believers in a particular area meeting regularly together for worship (including celebrating baptism and the Lord’s Supper), instruction, and fellowship (see Acts 2:41-42), as organized within a biblical structure of authority (e.g., Acts 15:6ff.). More on that below…

As we read the Book of Acts, and glean insights from the epistles of Paul, Peter, John and others, we find that the process of discipleship was primarily accomplished through local assemblies, working in concert with other congregations and their representatives (e.g., Phil.2:25) in the formation and development of new churches. In Acts 13-14, for example, this approach is paradigmatically depicted in Luke’s narration of Paul’s ministry (see especially 13:1, 42-52, 14:21-28). For the early Christians, the Great Commission was understood as a call to plant and develop churches on the one foundation of the gospel (1Co.3:5-11; Eph.2:20-22). And of course this makes sense. In Mt.28:18-20, Jesus describes the disciple-making process in terms of baptism, marking entrance into the church, and teaching the whole council of God’s will, which is one of the primary tasks of the church as “the pillar and foundation of the truth,” (1Tim.3:15). The Christian mission and the Christian church, then, went hand in hand.

Jesus has gifted his church with leadership to guide it in fulfilling its purpose (Eph.4:11ff.) by providing general oversight and instruction (1Th.5:12-13). As evidenced in Acts 14:23 and Titus 1:5, it was the apostle’s practice to appoint mature leaders in the congregations he established. Specifically, these leaders were collectively commissioned as a “body of elders” (presbyters or overseers), no doubt patterned after the Jewish synagogue. Their individual appointment followed prayerful recognition of their gifts and calling, as those raised up by the Holy Spirit (Ac.20:28), and, almost certainly, approved by the congregation at large (cf. Ac.6:3). Later, it would seem a body of deacons assisting the elders in administrative oversight and care emerged among the churches. But whatever the details of organization were exactly, we clearly see a consistent pattern of ecclesiastical authority exemplified throughout the NT (e.g., Phil.1:1; 1Tim.3:1-13; Jas.5:14; 1Pe.5:1-4; etc.).

According to Paul a local assembly was a particular but true manifestation of the one “Church of God” (e.g., 1Co.1:2; cf. 1Tim.3:15). It is this organ, as small and imperfect as it is, that was to be God’s primary instrument in making disciples of the nations. And in the course of the last 2,000 years, this seemingly weak organ has proved remarkably effective.