A disciple or a church member, is there a difference? Yes,there is a radical difference. This may be a perspective issue for some, but for others this could be a life altering salvation issue. So we must define the differences, look at their history and origins, and understand how this changes the way that we approach the things of God.
First let me define the difference between "Church" and the Church. We know from Scripture that the Church are reconciled saints of God through Jesus Christ and refers to individual people. The word is "ekklesia" in the Greek and means a calling out of people. This was originally used by the Greeks in political arenas to describe an assembly of people for politicians to address their followers. Jesus used this word for the calling out of his people from the world to follow him. The Church would be known as a group of people that were established for his sake and purposes. The word "Church" that we use today is a word that is derived from our Catholic Roots. It is primarily the same word but has taken on different meaning. We see that a lot of what we do today in our churches have root in the Catholic System from many years ago. So in the AAC (ante annos catholicam- before the age of Catholicism) we see that the Saints or Christians were a people who were followers of Christ called out from this world and were involved in constant ministry meeting in houses, synagogues, and small places wherever they could meet. It wasn't until Constantine made his "conversion" to Chrisitianity that we begin to see Church buildings and a governmental form of structure in the Church. In fact it was Constantine who really began to establish these Church Buildings. So two questions come from this- 1. Was Constantine and this new Catholic Church really of Christ 2. Did Jesus ever intend for there to be Church Buildings.
Regarding the first question I would say no, if you study Constantine's conversion you will see that it was based on a "sign" in the sky that helped him win a battle. History shows that he also continued to worship some of the Roman gods such as Apollo. So basically a lucky symbol helped him in battle so he took on another idol into his portfolio of gods. Now the second point to this question is regardless of the genuineness of Constantine's conversion if you have the Emperor of an empire switch to a certain religion this will cause masses of people to convert based solely on the Ruler's decision. So the Catholic Church was most probably founded by pagans and its hierarchy ruled by them. So this brings us to our second question...Did Jesus ever intend for there to be Church Buildings? No, but does it matter? My point is this... No, I don't believe that it was the goal of Jesus to have Church Buildings established across the Globe, but I don't believe that it is wrong either. However, we as saints must understand how we conduct ourselves in these Church buildings is important and this brings us to being a disciple.
Being a disciple is about picking up our cross and following Christ. It is about constant ministry, love for each other, and reaching out to the lost to make more disciples. "Christians" have turned the Church into a giant religious club where people can have fun, be social, lose their guilt all in the name of a Jesus that they may not even know. With ministry comes sacrifice, with carrying ones cross this portrays agony, so where is the agony in today's churches? Where is the suffering and the struggle? So many people think that we are to have these things due to governmental persecution and since their isn't really any in America then we shouldn't expect these negative things. However, when the Bible speaks about suffering and struggle it is not speaking primarily about persecution, but the personal willingness of the individual to give up the things of this world and follow Jesus. It will be a struggle...it will cause agony.
The other potential negative effect of the Church perspective which originated under the Catholics was a lack of discipleship and accountability. The Catholic rulers had no desire for true discipleship as their churches were swarmed with the masses. They had no real passion for Discipleship because they had no real passion for Jesus. So people came and went as they wished living their lives how they wished all in the name of Jesus. Sound familiar? This sounds very similar to the current protestant churches we have today. The difference is where the Catholics established rules and regulations in order to get into heaven, the current protestant church of today has established a "Cheap Grace" form of redemption. Understand that in the AAC if you claimed to be a Christian there was great sacrifice involved. It was giving up not only the things of this world but potentially giving up the means to make any sort of living in the future. It meant potentially living in hiding or being on the run. It meant carrying your cross.
So how should we as disciples conduct ourselves in these church buildings? Well, first understand there is no such thing as a "Church Member" but a disciple who is part of the church. In our churches, however, we must be focused on a discipleship form of worship. Let the church building serve as a place for support, ministry headquarters, teaching and instruction, personal discipleship and accountability. Let it be known as a place of rest and rehabilitation for the suffering disciple to gain encouragement and exhortation from other disciples of Jesus. Let it be a place of Agape Love and a place of sacrifice. Let it be a place where we strengthen each other and plan our attack on the gates of hell. (See Blog- Ecclesia Ipsum)
So let's not dismiss the AAC Christians of the early church as simply a time in history that was a neccesity because of the culture, but let us see what they were as an example in the way we conduct ourselves.
Pauls states this after what I believe to be our primary doctrine- Philippians 3:8-15
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. Philippians 3:17
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