Question and Response part 4

This is the fourth response I am sharing to the four questions I sent out to several different people. Take some time to read the response, thinking about why you agree or disagree. Come with an open mind, allowing the responses to stretch you, especially if you disagree, and make sure to weigh everything against the Word of God.

  1. What is the purpose/role of the local church within the universal Church (the Body of Christ)?

"To get people involved and in particularly close communion with other believers, and ultimately, it does not matter who they are, so long as they experience and encourage spiritual growth."

 2. What role (good or bad) do denominations play within the universal Church?

"I believe their role is a neutral one - neither good nor bad, but their purpose is in a sense to organize and separate believers into places where they will (hopefully) be most used for the purpose of Christ. (basically where their spiritual gifts will be most utilized)"

 3. What authority does the local church have within the universal Church?

"The local church should have an authority over its members, and the global church should also have some authority, but ultimately, the local church is where we should submit to first."

4. Given the many different ideas, doctrines, beliefs, etc. that separate local churches, how do we encourage unity within the Body of Christ?  

"We recognize, that while denominations and sects and buildings separate us into where we (again, hopefully) will be most utilized for Christ, the elect are completely unified by the GOSPEL! If their sense of unity is bound by anything else, it will eventually fall. If their sense of unity is based solely on one defining interpretation of an aspect of scripture, it is probably not the gospel. If it is over "like-mindedness" that really entails everyone behaving, dressing, and carrying themselves in the same way, it is definitely not the gospel. Unity within both the local church and the global church HAS to be founded on the gospel of Christ!"