THE LOCAL CHURCH Dr. Todd Engstrom

Doctrine of the Church Local “The church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply, a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose.” ~C.S. Lewis

Discussion/Exercise  Read the Article in your notes by Donald Miller  As a group, construct a short pastoral response

Definition of the Local Church  Local Church (or the little “c” church): the church/churches that exist in a particular time and a particular location. How believers experience the church in a time and place.  We can only understand the local church effectively through the lens of how God view’s the church.

The Story of the Local Church  Complete the “Local Church in Scripture” Exercise in Your Notes  Read each Scripture, and write brief answers to the question

MC Church Plant MC Mature Church MC Preaching Community Disciple-Making Qualified Leadership Sending for New Works Network of Churches Programs for Care Resolving Doctrine and Disputes The Word of God (Acts 2:14, 42) The Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) Ministri es MC Acts 2:42Acts 5:42 Acts 6:1 Ephesians 4 1 Timothy 3, 5 PlantingGrowingMaturing/Multiplying Acts 9:31 Acts 11:29 The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)

Definition of the Local Church:  A Spirit-led community of Christ-followers, who seek to live out the implications of the gospel and God’s Word together, and share the good news of the gospel with all who would hear it.

Two-fold Nature of the Church Matthew 5:13-16 [13] “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. [14] “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Institution: Marks of a Church 1. Believers 2. Baptized 3. Regular assembling 4. Worship 5. Exhortation from the …Word of God 6. Celebrate the Lord's Supper 7. Church discipline 8. The guidance of duly appointed leaders

Organism: The Church in All of Life “We must radiate beams of faith’s light into the realm of common grace” ~Abraham Kuyper We gather as smaller communities and individuals to be salt and light in every nook and cranny of society.

Resident Aliens “As members of the institutional church, we see ourselves as cultural “aliens”, modeling a radical, alternate way of life. But as part of the organic church, we are “residents” who live in the world, creating culture and working with others through common grace to bring shalom to this world.” ~ Jim Belcher

Discussion Questions:  Do you primarily view the church as an organism or an institution? Why?  Why do you think people become so polarized on the nature of church, between organic and institutional?  What does your personal experience of church look like? Institutional or organic or both?

Functions of a Local Church 1. Obedience to the Spirit 2. Ministry to God in Worship 3. Ministry to Believers in Care 4. Ministry to the World Disciple Making through Demonstration and Declaration 5. Reproduction of Healthy Churches

Discussion Questions:  How often do you feel inadequate and unqualified to witness to others about Jesus? To lead?  Who are the believers in your life that you actively get to practice the “one another” commands of God? How are you doing?  Who are the unbelievers in your life that you are intentionally engaging with love, service and the sharing of the gospel? If there is no one, who are the unbelievers you already consistently hanging out with and how can you start intentionally engaging them with the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection?

CHURCH LEADERSHIP Kevin Peck

The Kingdom and the Church  The church is not the kingdom  The kingdom creates the church  The church witnesses to the kingdom  The church is the instrument of the kingdom  The church is the custodian of the kingdom

Discussion Question:  Talk about a place in your life where you want to see Jesus rule more fully.

Jesus Restores  Theology - We see God rightly  Our Identity - We see ourselves rightly as sons of God and heirs to His Kingdom  Our Relationship - We see people as God sees them, and ourselves as servants for their sake  Our Interaction with the world - We become stewards and blessings to the rest of creation. We engage physical needs as those who see our responsibility to steward God’s creatures and God’s creation.

Discussion Question:  What are you gifted for? How is your gift to be used by the church to extend God’s Kingdom?

Discussion Question:  If God were calling you to lead in the church, what would you need to do now to be ready?