Vintage Church

As one of the primary purposes of this blog is to help inform the church and those who care about it, I thought I'd share with you today this definition of a local church from Mark Driscoll (and Gary Breshears), in his new book: Vintage Church.

They write . . .

Without a definition of what a church is or does, I'm unsure how we can even deem one successful. Therefore, we will establish a definition of the local church:

The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfill the great commandment and the great commission as missionaries to the world for God's glory and their joy.

This definition is summarized from Acts 2. As we study through that text, we will see eight characteristics of the true local church, which is an incarnation of the universal church.

I like it; they capture the essential elements of the church with biblical fidelity. And as they say, the first church in Acts 2 is their origin and model. Moreover, although more detailed in their description, it agrees with the definition I use for my Church’s Ministry course (articulated and explained at the bottom of the column to the right). And that’s always good.

Driscoll is posting about it on his blog, and you can read more about the book on its website. Hit the links to either for more details.

Blessings

3 John 8

Bill H.