Finding Home
If you are shopping for a new church to join, the first test is to find your favorite denomination, usually. Further tests are preaching style, music style, dress code and level of friendliness/welcome.
Some theologians have managed to discern that looking for a position in ekklesia is very different. Not really grasping how different the socio-governmental word ekklesia is from the James the 1st mistranslation into the English word church, they seemed to think they had to come up with a new word to describe relationships from which spiritual work could be produced. “Ministry” became a popular way to describe serving Jesus outside the confines of a church.
An example of a ministry is Campus Crusade for Christ, now called Cru. Primarily so that churches’ funds could be defended, Cru has been called a “para-church organization.” “Beside” the church. That would be to keep it clear that tithes belong to churches, and scraps belong to ministries and para-church organizations. A second line was drawn based on the work issue. Cru was a work, not a church. It was for evangelism and discipleship.
A more honest perspective might be that the church is a paramour, a “side lover,” and ekklesia is the “bride.” Jesus loves all His people enough to be tortured to death to give them life, and to leave the earth to give them His Spirit so that they can be gathered into relationships that can produce works that He has laid out ahead of them. Those who are born again are being built into His bride. She is being equipped to work with Him. Every believer, not just the church’s clerics.
But God, who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. By grace you are saved! He also raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavens, in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation—created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.
(Ephesians 2:4-10 HCSB ©®)
He didn’t save us by works, but He did save us for works, and has laid them out ahead of us in life.