I am currently disturbed about the Conservative Holiness Movement and specifically the Bible Methodist Connection (of which I am a part - www.biblemethodist.org) in this specific area:
1. Ecclesiology
Over the last 2-3 years, a nagging distubance in this area has become growing certainty that we do not take biblical ecclesiology seriously.
> What is the nature of the Church?
> What is a local church?
> Who leads a local church?
> What is an elder, and what are his biblical qualifications? (Yes, I did intend to put "his" there...)
> What does an elder look like in the local church?
> Is there any biblical precendent for a single elder in a local church?
I'm not saying I've got it all down, here. I'm struggling to integrate this thinking into my own work here in OKC. It will probably take 5 years to fully integrate all that I am learning into what I'm actually doing.
Subcategory: Church planting.
I feel that we have planted churches that we have set up for failure (at worst) or anemia (at best) by ignoring the biblical practices of planters...
* what kind of preparations did they make?
* what kind of team did they assemble?
* what kind of strategy did they use to launch?
etc.
I believe that prayer that Jesus will "build His church" is limited in its effectiveness at best if we do not know what it is, how it should be started & led, and whether or not it should prevail... and what that looks like.
Blessings,
Darrell
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