Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

The essential of the Christian life is saving Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  All flows from the head.  Yet, when it comes to walking it out, many come to the table with many of their own ideas, and notions, and feelings about how church and the Christian life can and should be.

Consider, for a moment, though, the covenant Israel had with God, before the cross.  They could not dress, eat, behave, or throw away their refuse like any other nation.  They had strict ceremonial behavior they had to adhere to, being clean or unclean, and certain offenses had to be atoned for through sacrifice, the blood of an animal, or for the worse of the crimes, they had to be either cast out of the community or destroyed entirely.  Even the land itself had to be considered, that they might not bring sin upon the land (Deuteronomy 24:4).

The Gospel works by keeping our eyes on Jesus.  Many, in this vein, reduce church to three or four meaningful principles.  Usually, they revolve around meeting together (some kind of gathering), studying the Word, having some kind of out reach (“being missional”), and discipleship.

These, of course, are several of the central themes of the church, yet, they are not all.  The deeper, and richer one studies the Word, the more and greater depth one finds.  Even in the life of the early Apostles, it was found that the church must do something new.  In the book of Acts, we read of where the widows were not being properly taken care of.  The apostles, realizing they could not leave the ministry of the Word to wait tables, appointed elders to do it, including Stephen (Acts 6).  So, the church expanded its role, to meet a need.  Thus, even the apostles saw the church grow from its essentials to the whole, even as a tree.

It doesn’t take a great pair of eyes to see that the church must, of course do things.  There will always be administrative and secretarial needs.  There will usually be some type of janitorial requirements.  And, like the apostles found, as the church grows, certain things will need to be set up, to foster God’s heart.  Such is the truth of any gathering of people.

But, beyond the mechanics, there are the spiritual aspects.  Paul talks a great deal of discipline within the church.  We are not called to judge those outside, but we are called to judge those inside, he said (1 Corinthians 5:12).  Paul also oversaw  collections of gifts for the churches to help those who were in Jerusalem.

So, the church that began small had to establish roots, and send forth branches.

Yet, the thing that causes it all to happen is faith.

No church, starting out with only three or four basic tenets in their base will long maintain it.  As the Word comes, so will faith, for faith comes by hearing.  As one learns more of the Holy Word of God, faith for what it speaks of in every aspect will come.  It is not in the doing, or the changing, it is in allowing the Word to permeate through you, to allow the personal preferences and pride to fall away, and to allow the structure to come into alignment with the purposes of God.

A raging river will form its own banks.  You do not need to re-define church any more than you need to attempt to dig a ditch in the hope that a river will come along and fill it.  Simply let the Spirit of the Lord be in control, fill yourself with the knowledge of Him, and He will come.  Be open, and He will show you where to prune dead or dying branches, and He will show you where to feed the flock, so that they can come into a more complete faith, understanding the structure and nature of the whole of the church, and not just part.

The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed.  It starts out as the smallest of seeds, but when it is full grown, it is the largest of all garden plants.  In the same way, let your faith grow, and increase, until it, and all you do resemble Him.