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The Church and Its Functions

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The Church and Its Functions The Church and Its Functions Introductory Theology, Volume 3 By Grace Communion International With articles written by Joseph Tkach, Paul Kroll, Michael D. Morrison, J. Michael Feazell, John Halford, and others April 2016 Minor edits June 2018 Copyright © 2016 Grace Communion International All rights reserved. Cover image: Artwork by Ken Tunell. Copyright Grace Communion International ISBN-13: 978-1532895401 ISBN-10: 1532895402 All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ CONTENTS Introduction .....................................................................................................vii Part 1: The church 1. What Is the Church? ................................................................................ 1 2. Six Functions of the Church ................................................................... 8 3. Upward, Inward and Outward in Words and Deeds ..................... 18 4. Church: Some Assembly Required ..................................................... 24 Part 2: Leadership 5. Ministry Means Service ......................................................................... 30 6. Leadership in the Church – An Examination of Eight Words ..... 39 7. Leadership in the Church ..................................................................... 51 8. Code of Ethics for GCI Elders ........................................................... 55 9. Teamwork in the Church ..................................................................... 59 10. Lay Members’ Role in the Early Church .......................................... 63 11. Working Together for the Gospel ...................................................... 69 12. The Pastor’s Calling .............................................................................. 71 13. A Challenging Role ................................................................................ 74 14. Shepherds of God’s flock..................................................................... 76 15. Giving Honor and Love to Pastors .................................................... 78 16. Developing leaders ................................................................................ 84 17. Leadership succession ........................................................................... 87 18. A New Generation of Leaders ............................................................ 90 19. The Interns .................................................................................... 92 iii GRACE COMMUNION INTERNATIONAL 20. The Power of Ministering in Pairs ....................................................... 96 21. Managing the Postmodern Church ..................................................... 98 22. Time for New Trees............................................................................ 102 23. Time for New Methods ...................................................................... 105 Part 3: The people 24. Why Don’t More People Go to Church? ....................................... 108 25. Give Me One Good Reason I Ought to Go to Church .............. 110 26. The Quest for the Ideal Church........................................................ 114 27. Turn-Key or Makeover? ..................................................................... 116 28. Why You Need the Church ............................................................... 118 29. Your Church Needs You ................................................................... 126 30. Building Unity: the Story of Euodia and Syntyche ....................... 128 Part 4: Church growth 31. Whatever Happened to Church Growth? ...................................... 132 32. What Makes a Church Grow? ........................................................... 136 33. Spiritual Gifts and Church Growth .................................................. 139 34. Church Buildings and Church Growth .......................................... 143 35. When We Fall Short ............................................................................ 147 Part 5: Small churches 36. Good Things in Small Packages........................................................ 152 37. Choose Your Future ........................................................................... 157 38. Hope for the Left Behind Church – Interview .............................. 165 39. Small Groups or Cell Groups? .......................................................... 167 40. Edification or Building Up Through Cell Groups ........................ 169 41. Cell-Based Church: Community, Nurturing, Outreach ............... 171 42. Should You Plant a Church? ............................................................. 173 Part 6: Worship 43. What Is Worship? A Survey of Scripture ....................................... 175 44. Responding to God With Worship .................................................. 194 45. John 4: True Worship ......................................................................... 200 46. Perfect Worship .................................................................................. 203 47. Worship Looks Back, Looks Forward ............................................. 204 48. Why Our Worship Style Is Changing ............................................... 208 49. Worship and Cultural Diversity ........................................................ 211 50. Thoughts About Worship .................................................................. 212 51. What Events Are Worth Celebrating? ............................................ 214 52. Is There Only One Right Way to Worship God? ......................... 216 53. Thoughts About Liturgy .................................................................... 222 iv THE CHURCH AND ITS FUNCTIONS Part 7: Money 54. Money and Worship ............................................................................ 224 55. Offerings Express Love for God ...................................................... 225 56. Poverty and Generosity ...................................................................... 226 57. Three Reasons to Give ....................................................................... 232 58. How Much Is Freedom Worth? ........................................................ 235 59. Stewardship: Our Lives Are Not Our Own ................................... 238 Part 8: Miscellany 60. Why Be Concerned About Mission? ................................................ 241 61. Looking Forward ................................................................................. 244 62. Our Mission and Vision ..................................................................... 246 63. Welcoming Visitors ............................................................................. 249 64. Church: What’s on the Menu? ........................................................... 251 65. A Conversation on a Plane Flight ..................................................... 253 66. Evangelism Through the Local Church ......................................... 255 67. The Church’s Leaky Basement .......................................................... 256 68. Getting It Back to Front .................................................................... 258 69. Who Stole My Church? ...................................................................... 260 70. Grandma’s Old Church ...................................................................... 262 Part 9: The Lord’s Supper 71. Partaking of the Promises .................................................................. 264 72. The Three-Fold Meaning of the Lord’s Supper ............................ 268 73. The Lord’s Supper Reminds Us of God’s Love ............................ 272 74. In Remembrance of What? ................................................................ 273 75. The Joy of Communion ..................................................................... 276 76. How Often Should We Participate in the Lord’s Supper? .......... 277 77. Is Eating the Lamb of God Only an Annual Event? ................... 283 78. The Name of the Lord’s Supper ....................................................... 285 79. Question & Answers About the Lord’s Supper ............................ 296 80. Your Part in the Lord’s Table............................................................ 302 81. The Bread of Heaven .......................................................................... 305 82. Footwashing: A Tradition of Service ............................................... 307 Part 10: Baptism 83. How Baptism Pictures the Gospel ................................................... 309 84. Should Believers Be Baptized? .......................................................... 314 85. Baptism: Commemorating Commitment ........................................ 317 86. Remembering Baptism ....................................................................... 320 87. Appreciating our baptism ................................................................... 321 88. Infant Baptism .................................................................................. 324 v GRACE COMMUNION INTERNATIONAL Part 11: Church history 89. Pentecost: The Birth of the Church ................................................
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