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Philosophy of
Ministry
What's Different About Our
Fellowship?
Philosophy of Practice:
Church as Usual or New Testament Model?
River of Life operates differently then a lot of
churches. For the past 30 years there has been a small, but growing
movement to return the Church to its Biblical moorings. It is
important to note that
the timeless message of the
gospel never changes, however the way men have attempted to "do church,"
has. For 1500 hundred years or more the church has operated in ways
that are not at all Biblical. At the River we believe Jesus, through
the apostles, laid down a pattern in the New testament for how the church
was to be built. It is this pattern we are trying to following in building
our fellowship. Though these differences are absolutely Biblical,
most Christians, used to "church as usual," will find them challenging.
Jesus said, "I will build My Church." We believe He will do just
that if we let Him do it His way.
Philosophy of
Church: Building or People?
One key difference about River of Life is our philosophy of Church.
The Church is not an organization or a building. It is a living,
spiritual entity. The word CHURCH in the Bible always referred to the
people. Therefore our focus is on people, not the organization, the
building or the service. So often in churches today people are
pressured to serve the organization, rather then the organization serving
the people. We do not measure our success as a ministry by the
number of people we gather in one room. We measure success by the
number of people who are growing in the Lord and going outside the church
to do something for Jesus. (If your are tired of "going to church"
and what the "be the church," read Steve Highlander's challenging online booklet
Church: The Way Things
Were Meant to Be.)
Philosophy of Meetings: Jesus' Presence
More Important then Numbers!
Most churches try to get more people in to build up their services. At the
River we have gatherings to build up the people. Our focus is never on how
perfect the "service" was or how many people were there. Jesus said
whenever people gathered in HIS name, He would be there. One key
goal of gatherings at the River is that "we would see Jesus,"
moving in the midst of His Body in every
meeting. The River will never compromise the message just to get
more people to come.
Philosophy of
Ministry: Clergy or Body Ministry?
One of the biggest problems in churches today is the huge gulf that exists
between the platform and the first row of seats. The average person
in the pew expects (and is expected) to be a spectator, while a few hand
picked individuals perform their ministry each Sunday. Christianity
is not a spectator sport. Yet literally millions of Christians will
never really do anything for the Lord. Unless they "aspire to the
ministry" most Christians are told their options for service include:
helping around the church, serving as ushers, pulling nursery duty or
possibly teaching a Sunday School class. For the vast majority of
church goers, taking an active part in a Sunday morning service is
not an option. At the River we feel this model of clergy and laity
is wrong. At any gathering any person in the congregation has the
opportunity to share what's on their heart, be it a prayer request, song,
scripture verse, testimony, spiritual gift, or even bring short messages
to the congregation. The Bible makes no mention of a distinction
between professional clergy and laypeople. We do believe in
encouraging every person to find their spiritual gifts and callings and
grow in them. To that end we work at discipling and training
workers.
Philosophy of Church Government: Pastor or
Elders?
At the River we are governed by a group of Elders called by God to serve
in that capacity. Pastors are not paid professionals, but usually
couples called by God to care for the flock on a day-to-day basis, not
preach on Sundays.
Most churches are still built on systems of
government that were created hundreds of years after the New testament.
The model of a single (or senior) pastor who rules the church or a single
pastor who is controlled by a church board is not Biblical. Equally
unbiblical are churches controlled by denominations. Throughout the
New Testament you will never find a church with a single "pastor."
Paul never wrote to a "pastor" of a church, he always wrote to the
"Elders" and "deacons." Does this mean that the early church had no
pastors? Of course not. It means that they did not have a
concept of ONE pastor leading the church. In Acts 20 Paul calls for
the ELDERS of the church, calls the OVERSEERS (bishops) and charges them
the FEED (pastor) the flock of God given to their care. The same
GROUP of men were called pastors, elders and bishops. This pretty
much eliminates a hierarchal structure of government. "Elder" (respect of
age) was their status, Bishop (overseer) was their responsibility and
"Pastor" was their function. "Pastor" never referred to a church
office or paid position. (For more information on Biblical Church
Government read the online Booklet by Steve Highlander,
AUTHENTIC CHURCH
GOVERNMENT.)
Philosophy of Service: Hearers or
Doers?
Another difference at River of Life is our attitude toward our members.
Many churches expect people to attend but not really DO anything. At The
River we believe everyone is called to serve the Lord in some way.
We also believe the Bible teaches us that every believer has been given
gifts by the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 12) for the building up of the Body of
Christ. We encourage our members to participate in our gatherings and
learn to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. We also spend time
helping people find and grow in their individual callings to serve the
Lord.
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For some excellent studies on New Testament
Church we suggest the following free online resources by
Pastor Steve Highlander
Church: The Way Things Were Meant to Be
Ever get tired of "Going to
Church?" As a pastor or church leader do you find it hard to keep people
interested and active? The New testament word for Church is Ekklesia, and
it means "Called Out Ones." Church was never someplace you went, but
something that you were. The Church of Jesus Christ is called out of some
things and called into some things. This booklet points out the difference
between going to church and being the Church. A challenging message that
will have you and your Church looking at "church" in a whole different
light.
Scriptural Church Government
A crisis exists in the Church
today. Systems of Church government have crept away from Biblical
patterns and, as a result, multitudes of churches and the people who
attend them are struggling for spiritual survival. This booklet looks at
the offices and ministries revealed in the Bible and how they are to
operate. This study is specifically written for church leaders who are
looking for answers to problems in the Church today. The author asks a
pointed question of every person reading the booklet, "Are you doing what
God called you to do, where God called you to do it?" A challenging study
with some fresh insight, combined with a prophetic call to allow Jesus to
bring the Body of Christ together.
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