I grew up with five acts of worship: praying, singing, preaching, Lord's supper, and offering. These were taught to be the defining traits of the true local church. A little searching online will quickly indicate the extent to which many Churches of Christ still promote this ecclesiology, as well as how contested it is by others. The goal here is not to deal will all the dimensions of that dispute but to look at one of these "must-do" practices a little more closely from the Arequipa context.
Part 3: From Idea to Embodiment
Part 2: God's Family
The New Testament employs a variety of metaphors to represent the church’s essence. One of the most significant is certainly family. Family is an expression of the real relational dynamic that exists among followers of Jesus. We articulated our vision over five years ago: God’s family celebrating and serving in Arequipa.
Part 1: Church in Arequipa
When we talk about ecclesiology (our understanding of the church), there are two levels to consider. The first is the abstract, presumably universal level at which we think about what the church is. The second is the practical level at which which we think about how a local church must embody that essence. One problem that has affected many churches is the assumption that the second level, that of application, is just as universal as the first. This belief leads some to the conclusion that the forms, styles, practices, and traditions of the church universal should be pretty much uniform in the church local. The expectation that the New Testament will provide those forms bolsters the assumption.