The Different Church Structure

“Being organized is not the problem. Focusing on the rules and rituals of a religion is the problem” (www.gotquestions.org). There needs to be a proper balance between what needs to be accomplished and how we go about achieving it. McIntosh tells us, Organizers develop the internal systems to meet the demands brought on by the church’s growth” (pg.92, 2009). In 1 Corinthians 14:33 Paul tells us, For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in

Women play a complex role in Robert Orsi’s The Madonna on 115th Street, at some points exercising power and at other points exercising less power than men. In Italian Harlem when describing a “domus,” the woman at the center is the one actually being described. A domus, according to Emmanuel LeRoy Ladurie, “constitute[s] a formidable reservoir of power and counter-power which could hold out with some degree of success against the external powers surrounding it.” Italian women in Harlem had no direct power in the outside world, but they were able to use their sphere of influence to leave their mark. The power that women in Italian Harlem have is given to them by the matriarchal society modeled by the church.

Witnessing the president of these United States, sing the spiritual hymn Amazing Grace at Mother Emanuel AME church in Charleston, SC, during the eulogy of falling spiritual warrior Rev. Clementa Pinckney in June, must have been not only surprising but also an overwhelming emotional moment for many. It seemed to stir a feeling of connectivity to the people of Charleston, the families of the victims and humanity. One can surmise many around the world watching the home going ceremony identified with the words, reason and necessity for that song at such a contentious, but celebratory moment.

He tells the church to rule among yourselves, which are then broken down into four parts. We are to be watchful so that any under our charge or that we are ministering to do don’t fall into the traps of the evil one. We are to rule amongst ourselves, in which certain people take the leadership roles in the church and guide the congregation. We as a congregation are called to lead, just as it said in Hebrews 13:17 not with pushing, or demanding, but rather commanding, not as Gods, but as leaders. Finally to live as example in all that we do ethically, morally, family, work, service to others. We can se this idea of “rule among you” in 1 Peter 5:2 when it says,

Part 1: Describe the proposed plan and how it relates to the church’s basic purpose including time lines for preparation and implementation.

The term ‘Church Architecture’ refers to the architectural buildings of the Christian churches and cathedrals, which evolved over two thousand years. The churches have witnessed varied styles of architectural buildings from the early period of the birth of Christianity till today. Some of the most significant church architectural buildings are from the church architectural designs of Byzantium, Romanesque Abbey churches, Gothic Cathedrals, and Renaissance Basilicas. Till today, the architectural building styles of the early church

Around 2,000 years ago a Jewish child was born in the city of Bethlehem named Jesus Christ. At the time, few were aware of the magnitude of this seemingly mundane event. This child born in a lowly stable, was foretold by many to be the Messiah, the son of God himself, in fulfillment of ancient scripture. Over the next few centuries the life works and teachings of this individual were recorded and spread across the globe, making up the cornerstone of Christ’s most important legacy, Christianity. It is a religion shaped entirely around Jesus’ personal philosophies and ideologies that has forever shaped the course of human history.

Missions is the core purpose of the local church. God’s plan for missions is evident throughout the entire Bible. From beginning to end, Christ makes clear his plan for the gospel to be distributed through the local church. Although every Christian has a responsibility to share the Gospel, the Great Commission was not given to the individual Christian. The Great Commission was given to the church. Understanding biblical missions is understanding God’s plan for the local church—to reproduce and spread the Gospel. God’s plan for missions can be found by closely examining the Great Commission. While the core principle of the Great Commission is found in Mark 16:15, a more structured formula can be found in Matthew 28:19-20.

Churches throughout the world teach the Good News in diverse settings. Some churches use a the pulpit to deliver their message every Sunday, while others take a more organic approach meeting outside the walls of the church in several places to deliver the message of Jesus Christ. In America, the mission of the church is set against an environment of secularism. Secular values of diversity and extreme liberty have created a culture of ‘anything goes’ that leads to ambivalence among unbelievers. The universal belief in today’s culture is that if it works for someone, it is acceptable but if it does not work for someone then it can be ignored. The

Every October in the 8th grade, we begin to study Chapter 3- The Nature of Church. This chapter includes the Four Marks of the Church. It is not an issue to explain “One” or “Apostolic,” but I seem to stumble when I explain “Holy” and “Catholic.” To provide better teaching on these two marks, I decided to explore in detail their origins, what they mean and to compare this to my current understanding of these two marks.

Before delving into the specifics of the research cited by Bishop, it is useful to look at the sources at the macro level. Compared to other chapters in The Big Sort, “Religion” uses relatively few citations. Of the twenty-four unique sources cited by Bishop, fifteen are non-academic sources (newspaper articles, interviews, etc.) and nine are academic (peer-reviewed journal articles or scholarly books). Of the academic sources, the most recent is from 2006, almost twelve years ago. While the age and paucity of Bishop’s academic sources is by no means grounds for dismissing his conclusions, it is prudent to consider whether Bishop’s claims are backed by sufficient research and still hold true a decade later.

There is a story told about a congregation in a small Catholic Church located in a mid-western state.

My church, Crestmont Alliance Church, is focused on mission and Jesus. My church is located in Aliquippa and we do a lot of mission work there. My church is one hundred years old. Crestmont has many special features. It has a kitchen, some classrooms, a nursery, a cafe, and a baptismal. In addition to Sunday worship, the church is used for weddings, VBS, committee meetings, prayer meetings, Bible studies, and birthday parties, and special events. My church is also used as a voting poll but the Pastor and the Elders do not let people advertise for the candidates. They teach our church Biblical truths so that they can make their own decisions about who to vote for. In our sanctuary we have 5 flags in the very front. The five flags are the American flag, the Christian flag, the Jordanian flag, the Dominican Republic flag and the Florida state flag. The latter three flags represent the countries and states that are in a missionary partnership with Crestmont. We have a multitude of flags along the side of my church that represent the countries the Christian Missionary Alliance partner with. We have a communion table with multiple names of Christ on it. (It was donated to the church in memory of my Grandfather.) We also have stain glass windows but they don't have a specific purpose, they just make the sanctuary more reverent. There is a large wooden cross above the baptismal which is the focal point of the sanctuary to represent that Jesus was crucified for us.

Being born in a Jewish house, I decided to visit a Church. I visited a Presbyterian church. Presbyterians is a branch of Protestant Christianity, which is part of the most populated religion in the world Christianity. The word Presbyterian comes from the Bible from the Greek word for "elder". The Presbyterian Church is governed by elders. That being the main difference from my understanding. Being governed by elders, The more experienced elders have more power as they are the main source of authority. The more experienced elders are authorized to train and ordain Church Deacons.

It all started among the young people of the church – the apostate, obstinate children of the powerless orthodoxy that prevailed in their midst for about seven years since Edwards became their pastor.8 The lives of these young people were suddenly changed as their minds began to be engulfed with a vision of God 's glory and their hearts started to long for more of the Word of God.9 This revival of religion, however, was really not new to the people of Northampton congregation. Solomon Stoddard actually reports of five periods of revival (which he called “harvests”) in his Northampton pastoral experience in 1679, 1683, 1696, 1712 and 1718.10 Just at the same time Edwards was observing and documenting this revival in Northampton, another of this kind was taking place in the Middle Colonies led by the graduates of William Tennent 's Log College while still another was then developing across the Atlantic in England under the leadership of John Wesley and George Whitfield.11 News of these spiritual activities soon began to spread to accommodate a developing spiritual interest in almost every village in the neighboring towns of Northampton resulting to some more instances of revival in the localities of New England.