“Church” is a most polarising word. Millions of people think it means a building – and don’t want to go. Others know the church is about people not a place and they used to go, but got hurt. I have been there. At free+healed, we want to serve the church, because the Bible tells us that the church is central to God’s plan to overcome the powers of darkness and establish his kingdom.
What is church?
The Bible speaks of the church as a Body and as a Bride.
A Bride means that Christ has fallen in love with his church and his love affair has been going on throughout church history. This humbles me and means that whenever I notice something about the church, past or present that I don’t like, I need to remember that I am talking about the One that Christ loves deeply. The Bible says Christ is the Bridegroom who is planning a marriage feast for his bride (Rev 19:9). Only those who honour the bride and the bridegroom will be welcome for that feast. (Matt 25:1-12)
A Body means order, diversity & unity and balance.
- Order: spirit-led leadership, right submission to Christ and one another (1 Pet 5:5)
- Diversity & unity: members have unique gifts and functions, given for the common good (1 Cor 12) .
- Balance: Our bodies are designed for physical and biological equilibrium and so the church is balanced in faith and works (James 2:17), in sound teaching (Titus 1:19) and in humility and confidence (Rom 12:3).
So we are committed to honouring, loving and serving the local and international expressions of the Church in accordance with our calling and gifts. We motivate people to find their place and fulfill the function that God has prepared for them.
