2. Church Boles Children’s Home, Quinlan, TX What does it mean? Is it what God intended?

3. What is meant by “Church Institutionalism”? Let’s break this down a bit, by “church” we refer to: the organization built by Jesus, Matt.16:18 made up of “the saved” individuals of all time, Acts 2:41 which carries out the work of God through local congregations of saints bound together by fellowship in a given locale, Acts 2:42. But this begs a related question… Church Such as

4. What “Work” are these congregations supposed to do? Let’s look to the NT to see what congregations guided by inspired revelation from God did. They: Worshipped God, Acts 2:42,47a Edified One Another, Acts 2:46 Benevolently Cared for One Another, Acts 2:43-45, and Evangelized (taught others the gospel), Acts 2:47b; But again, this prompts another related question… Church

5. “How” did these congregations accomplish this work? Let’s again look to the NT to see how these congregations accomplished these divinely-appointed works. They: Worshipped God with songs, prayers, communion, and devotion to the word themselves, Acts 2:42,47a; 1Cor.14:15; Acts 20:7a; Acts 20:7b Edified One Another themselves, Acts 2:46; Eph.4:11-16 Benevolently Cared for One Another themselves, Acts 2:43-45; 4:32ff; 6:1ff), and Evangelized (taught others the gospel) themselves, Acts 2:47b; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7; 12:24 > 8:1-4; 11:19 Church

6. OK, so what does “Institutional” mean? By definition, basically “institutional” means The upholding of institutions; and/or placing emphasis on an institution; or the highly organized. And thus, “church institutionalism” refers to Churches which organize, uphold, and emphasize institutions to accomplish the work assigned them by God. But, let’s consider these things in more practical terms… Church

7. How do churches become “Institutional”? “Become” is the right word, unless it can be shown from the NT that churches always carried out the work assigned them by organizing, upholding, and emphasizing separate “institutions.” But as we saw previously, this was not how churches operating under the control of divine revelation functioned in:  Worship- They didn’t organize, uphold, and emphasize a “third party” to worship for them, John 4:23.  Edification- They didn’t organize, uphold, and emphasize schools to educate, train, or build up their members, Acts 20:32; Eph.4:11-16.  Benevolence- They didn’t organize, uphold, and emphasize orphan’s/widow’s homes to care for their needy, Jas.1:27; 1Tim.5:3- 16; Acts 6:1-7.  Evangelism- They didn’t organize, uphold, and emphasize missionary societies to spread the gospel, Acts 8:1-4; 11:19; Phil.4:10-18. Church

8. “But aren’t these ‘Institutions’ just an expedient way to accomplish the work?” Let’s be clear: The issue is by whom and how the work is to be done- not whether it should done, Jas.1:27; e.g. So, what institutions did God organize, uphold, and emphasize to accomplish His work? These… or these… ? Church Boles Children’s Home, Quinlan, TX Saints in Local Churches

9. So, why did some Churches of Christ become “Institutional”? The intentions were good and noble- save the lost of the world, help more widows/orphans, educate young people in a ‘Christian environment,’ and train preachers. But, “who” was to do this work, and “how” it was to be accomplished has to be determined by God- not man, Phil.3:15-19. The lost are saved by local churches teaching the word to their neighbors and supporting individual preachers to preach locally and in other places, Col.1:26-27 and Phil.4:10-20; not by creating and maintaining a separate missionary institutions. Orphans and widows are to be cared for by local churches overseen by Elders and administered by Deacons, Acts 6:1-7; not by creating and maintaining separate benevolent institutions. Young people’s education is the responsibility of their parents, Eph.6:4, so it is not the church’s responsibility to build and maintain institutions such as schools, colleges, and universities. And, While there is nothing wrong with men who want to preach the gospel assisting their training with higher education, churches have no command or example from God allowing them to do so by building or contributing to institutions such as colleges and universities, cp. Heb.8:5. Church

10. Conclusions Perhaps at another time we can look more specifically at exactly when these changes in God’s purpose and plan to carry out His work originated, and how they developed. But for now, understand that God arranged for only 3 “institutions” to carry out this work: The Individual (as apart from the church), 1Tim.5:8; e.g. The Home/Family, Eph.6:4; e.g. The Local Congregation of the Church, Acts 6:1-7; e.g. But there is no command, example, or necessary inference that authorizes the organization, upholding, or emphasis of other institutions to carry out God’s appointed work. Church