A Comparison of Church Purpose Statements
In a recent class I learned a model of the church's purpose that was slightly different from an explanation I learned in college. The distinctions are subtle but highlight the potential issues that arise when we try building tidy definitions.
The most recent purpose defined three roles of the church: worship, community life, and missions. Worship is our upward expression towards God. Community life is our inward building of belonging and discipleship. Missions are the outward sharing of the gospel to a lost world.
The church's purpose as I learned in school used the acronym WIFE which stood for worship, instruction, fellowship and evangelism. The acronym was especially easy to remember when remembering that the church is also called the bride of Christ.
A quick comparison between the two purposes highlights the only difference: instruction. At first glance, this may be a major discrepancy with disastrous implications. My gut reaction was one of horror at the exclusion of doctrinal teaching, but a deeper examination reveals subtle differences in the role Scripture in the church.
The church purpose model I learned in school was born out of a denominational emphasis on the preeminence of Scripture. At the time, there was a strong desire to return the Bible to prominence when most churches had turned from doctrine to philosophy. These churches developed sermons that became filled with deep doctrinal teaching and follow up sessions called Sunday School.
The danger became the elevation of instruction to the near exclusion of the other three facets. Many of these same churches would later become embroiled in "worship wars", programs run by committees and an abdication of evangelism efforts to para-church agencies.
By contrast, the current model (which does not even mention Bible teaching) assumes an overarching infusion of biblical thought. By elevating scripture to an independent standard, the desire is that biblical doctrine will inform and influence our worship, discipleship and evangelism. This actually seeks to bring a balance back to the purpose and work of the church.
But when a church fails to remain rooted on the Word of God, that overriding influence dissipates. Worship becomes a purely emotional experience. Community life becomes a supper club. Evangelism disappears into marketing. And preaching lacks conviction or meaning.
As I continued to contemplate the differences and similarities between these two models for the church's purpose, I realized that neither is right or wrong. Instead they are simply a framework for organizing the activities of the church. How we react to presence and power of God's Word forms the definitions or expressions of those purposes.
The church's purpose as I learned in school used the acronym WIFE which stood for worship, instruction, fellowship and evangelism. The acronym was especially easy to remember when remembering that the church is also called the bride of Christ.
A quick comparison between the two purposes highlights the only difference: instruction. At first glance, this may be a major discrepancy with disastrous implications. My gut reaction was one of horror at the exclusion of doctrinal teaching, but a deeper examination reveals subtle differences in the role Scripture in the church.
The church purpose model I learned in school was born out of a denominational emphasis on the preeminence of Scripture. At the time, there was a strong desire to return the Bible to prominence when most churches had turned from doctrine to philosophy. These churches developed sermons that became filled with deep doctrinal teaching and follow up sessions called Sunday School.
The danger became the elevation of instruction to the near exclusion of the other three facets. Many of these same churches would later become embroiled in "worship wars", programs run by committees and an abdication of evangelism efforts to para-church agencies.
...the desire is that biblical doctrine will inform and influence our worship, discipleship and evangelism.
But when a church fails to remain rooted on the Word of God, that overriding influence dissipates. Worship becomes a purely emotional experience. Community life becomes a supper club. Evangelism disappears into marketing. And preaching lacks conviction or meaning.
As I continued to contemplate the differences and similarities between these two models for the church's purpose, I realized that neither is right or wrong. Instead they are simply a framework for organizing the activities of the church. How we react to presence and power of God's Word forms the definitions or expressions of those purposes.
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