The board of directors exists for the purpose of financial and legal accountability and integrity. 11:6), and that the principle of faith was prevalent in the lives of all the Old Testament saints. The answers that "ecclesiological" questions obtain in the churches influence the daily life of the faithful and set the course of the search for Christian unity. A person may be part of the visible church and yet not be part of the invisible church, if his or her profession of faith is not genuine. We believe that it has always been true that “without faith it is impossible to please” God (Heb. Since Foursquare began, we’ve stayed true to our doctrine and founding statement of faith. This is clearly seen in the Creation account before the Fall (Genesis 1—2). 7 ibid., pp.374-394. [ mailing address : P.O. As Jonathan Edwards said, “the task of every generation is to discover the direction in which the Sovereign Redeemer is moving, and then to move in that direction.” The early church experienced many of these times of unexpected direction: the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Gentiles; the Spirit sent out Paul and Barnabas from Antioch for future ministry; Paul wanted to go into Asia to minister but the Holy Spirit forbade him; and so on.1. The New Testament Church; What is it and how does it work? Dr. Bill Mounce blogs on spiritual formation and on Greek at BillMounce.com. The following is what we at The Mission believe to be a biblically viable and faithful expression of church governance. For further explanation, see Wayne Grudem, Countering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2006), 153–157. There is a great need today to understand the essential nature of the church from what Scripture teaches and not firstly from the role some claim she ought to play in society. No other position in the church is necessarily restricted to men other than the office of elder.5 In Scripture we see women leading, prophesying, praying, and occupying many other roles in church leadership. Therefore, there are people on our board of directors who may not be elders and so do not have direct governing authority in the church. Secondly, we are complementarians. Though ways of doing church may change with time, cultures and contexts, our message remains anchored in God’s Word. While the church is related to the kingdom, it is not itself the kingdom. Many thinkers … DEACONSThe second office or position mentioned in the pastoral epistles is that of the deacon, which is simply translated as “servant.” The qualifications listed in Scripture for deacons don’t include any particular gifting or ability, only a standard of character and spiritual integrity. Share classes via social media, email, and more. Although we are closed on the issue of male eldership, we are open to women serving as deacons and believe there is valid claim for this position in Scripture (1 Timothy 3:11–13; Romans 16:1–2).7Though it is a disputed interpretation, we believe that women can and should serve as deacons. In his letter, the apostle affirms this when he refers to himself as a “fellow elder” (1 Peter 5:1–2). ELDERSWhile Jesus is the Chief Shepherd over the church universal, He also appoints men to oversee and care for local expression of the church. It seeks to express common convictions about the church, its nature and mission, and to identify the ecclesiological issues which continue to divide the churches today. The board of directors is not primarily responsible for the spiritual well-being and direction of the church. All things exist under the supremacy of Christ, and therefore Christ and Christ alone is the head of the church. In its early history, one of the Church's primary ecclesiological issues had to do with the status of Gentile members in what had been essentially a Jewish sect. Those who do not continue to live in God’s grace need to be brought again to repentance and faith through the Law and Gospel. We’ve been around for over 90 years. It later contended with such questions as … He is the ultimate leader. The elders are the men who lead the church as prescribed by Scripture. F. 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