tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987271399653590272.post5748990787119557096..comments2023-10-29T19:03:11.547-04:00Comments on A Pilgrim's Progress: "...appoint elders in every town..."Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306854704766653209noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987271399653590272.post-36707553307138102222012-07-22T04:49:08.624-04:002012-07-22T04:49:08.624-04:00Drewe,
I'll give mega-churches credit for bei...Drewe,<br /><br />I'll give mega-churches credit for being consistent. They always go for whatever is most pragmatic for growth regardless of whether or not it has any biblical support whatsoever.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07306854704766653209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987271399653590272.post-61356514860629333752012-07-22T04:44:35.191-04:002012-07-22T04:44:35.191-04:00Another interesting thought - your reading of this...Another interesting thought - your reading of this verse does not work well with 'multi site' mega churches with video broadcasting (all other issues aside)....Drewehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12506752511439509824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987271399653590272.post-38222154428493184072012-07-20T20:56:07.313-04:002012-07-20T20:56:07.313-04:00David,
As the church spread and the Christian pop...David,<br /><br />As the church spread and the Christian populations in cities rose, my guess is that it would have been impossible for all of them to gather together (at least on a regular basis). As this occurred, it makes sense that smaller groups would form within the larger church in the city. People tend to gather with those they know. Within this framework, elders could generally serve those they knew best. Any group that gathers regularly needs elders as a part of it.<br /><br />One key in all this is boundaries. If the church in a city is viewed as the church there, then the elders would serve any Christian they know in that capacity. If the boundaries are drawn tighter, as if often the case today, then the elders function only within that tighter body.<br /><br />If the definition is correct, then hopefully the functioning can be as well.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07306854704766653209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987271399653590272.post-2984016374051194812012-07-20T20:44:25.674-04:002012-07-20T20:44:25.674-04:00Marshall,
I agree that it leaves some room for wh...Marshall,<br /><br />I agree that it leaves some room for what you are suggesting. It makes sense that the elders would serve various groups of folks as opposed to only one.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07306854704766653209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987271399653590272.post-90966667131378272162012-07-20T18:14:43.518-04:002012-07-20T18:14:43.518-04:00Eric,
Watchman Nee and Witness Lee made a big dea...Eric,<br /><br />Watchman Nee and Witness Lee made a big deal about the idea of only one church in each city. From my perspective, they went overboard on it and this led them to extremism, which, in some cases, proved unhealthy. I wrote a paper about this which has been published online. You can access it here:<br /><br />http://loveeachstone.blogspot.com/2011/10/ecclesiology-of-watchman-nee.html<br /><br />On another note, recently I read a book by a German theologian/historian named Peter Lampe called "Christians in Rome in the First Two Centuries: From Paul to Valentinus." His thesis, which he convincingly backs up, is that the church in Rome during the first two centuries met in different house churches, each with their own elders (or generally, one elder per house church), and that the Christians in Rome considered themselves collectively to be "the church in Rome," but only in a very loose-knit way, with no centralized administration or supervision. I think his thesis is quite compatible with what you are suggesting here.David Rogershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11701934251748260267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987271399653590272.post-48560280301615439212012-07-20T14:50:41.071-04:002012-07-20T14:50:41.071-04:00This is a point of helpful understanding for the p...This is a point of helpful understanding for the present times, and as you write, "speaks volumes about both the definition of church and the unity of the church".<br />The prepositional phrase <i>kata polin</i> or "according to city" or "in every town" seems to leave some room for a elder/older shepherd (or overseer) to visit house-to-house in his city as the Spirit may show for need?Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03504426822748951069noreply@blogger.com