A Family Affair

Posted by Alan Knox on Sep 15, 2010 in blog links, community, fellowship | 1 comment

Elroy at “A Change Room” wrote a great post called “A (not-so-secret) Secret to Great Church Life.” In his post, Elroy reminds us that the church is a family. Here are some “family values” that he says applies to the church:

Families Genuinely Take Care of One Another.

Families Spend Time Together.

Families Grow.

Families Share Responsibility.

This is his conclusion:

The language of the New Testament treats us to the imagery of the church as a family, not a business. Don’t think the writers of the New Testament were not privy to corporation-like information. Their previous religious experiences alone would’ve been enough to arm them with business-like thinking. The state-political environment of their day was another great example of man-made super corporate structures. But instead we find locked up in their pursuit for spiritual family the value system that motivated the Triune God to create humans in the first place. According to Their eternal purpose They created a community similar to Themselves. Because we are made in the likeness and image of God, we are only truly human when we are living in community. Surely this must be significant?

Elroy is right. Those first Christians knew all about hierarchy and organization and even corporate structures. But, instead of employing that type of language, they referred to the church as family. And, yes, Elroy, I think this is very significant.