Part of being human in this fallen world is to have questions. Big, unanswerable, deep-seated questions that wake you up in the middle of the night: Who am I? Is there a God? Why is there evil in this world? What is my purpose in life? Why is my church structured the way it is?
OK, so maybe not that last one. In fact, can you remember the last time you seriously thought about church structure? Out of all the topics that could have been addressed in a church-wide ABF curriculum, how did church structure make it to the top of the list?
That is the question we want to answer this Sunday. And trust me, there is an answer! Church structure is vitally important to you – not just for your doctrine, but for your practical, rubber-meets-road, nitty-gritty, everyday life. Have a hard time swallowing that? Come this Sunday. We’ll spend some time looking at three reasons why we’re even talking about church structure, followed by a look at why Kossuth needs to change, and then ending with an overview of the change process that’s taking place.
For the next 10 weeks, you’re entering into church structure school. In school, there are textbooks, and this class is no exception. Our main textbook will be the Bible, and our supplemental reading will be 40 Questions About Elders & Deacons by Benjamin L. Merkle. If you’d like to be reading the same book that the teachers are, then by all means, pick it up. If you are content with hearing from us only, then don’t!
Your prep-work for this week:
- Read through the church constitution. You don’t need to take notes, but it’d be good to familiarize yourself with our current church structure. Pay special attention to the sections on the pastor and the advisory council.
- Do a quick search to find what the New Testament has to say about church structure. One easy way would be to use biblegateway.com and try a string of search words: “leader”, “elder”, “deacon”, etc.
- Think of any questions you might have about church government. Bring them to class.
- Pray for the teachers, pray for those working on the church structure committee, and pray that God would make you more like Christ through this study.
