Church ali | 19 Oct 2008 04:27 pm
Jeremy Pryor.
Who?
He’s a guy who has what I consider to be the closest thing to a biblical Church model in mind. And in practice, though he has only been working on it for a comparatively short time.
Check out these posts:
The Tyrannus Effect - Paul’s Neglected Strategy for City-wide Discipleship.
Restructuring the Church for Explosive Growth.
The Pastorization of Christianity - An Alternative.
How Senior Pastors are our Biggest Obstacle and our Only Hope.
Church Planting vs. Training Disciples.
How Worship Services Subvert the Christian Mission - Discipleship.
on 20 Oct 2008 at 11:46 am 1.Doug said …
Very Interesting.
on 20 Oct 2008 at 12:41 pm 2.ali said …
I agree. But have you any other thoughts or are you chewing the cud?
on 21 Oct 2008 at 9:45 am 3.Doug said …
I think there’s room for more Biblical flexibility in church structures than Mr. Pryor suggests.
I also don’t see changes in church structure as a panacea.
That said I think the role of senior pastor is an unnecessary one that should be done away with. I also think the house church captures something the institutional church just doesn’t.
Let’s say I’m interested but not yet sold on Jeremy’s ideas.
on 21 Oct 2008 at 10:44 am 4.Glenn said …
Another cud chewer here!
on 21 Oct 2008 at 2:48 pm 5.ali said …
That’s okay. It can take time to process new ideas.
As for flexibility, I think that’s okay within limits, but as I’ve said before, there are certain biblical passages that speak directly to how to do Church which are ignored by most who make that claim. I can’t help but suspect that at the bottom of it all there’s a doubting pragmatism when that is brought to the fore (not referring to you, so much, Doug, but others committed to different structures).
As for panacea’s, Church structure is not one. It’s like saying having a physical body means there is human life. It is decidedly possible to have a lifeless human body. But at the same time, there are bodies that are in better shape and condition than others, and surely the Bible would witness to the best of all church bodies!
Anyway, as I say, it’s the closest to the Biblical witness I have come across yet.