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What Is Church? And How Important Is It?

What Is Church? And How Important Is It?

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Bobby Harrington

By Bobby Harrington | Bio

Bobby Harrington is the founding and lead minister/pastor of Harpeth Christian Church (located by the Harpeth River, just outside Nashville). He has numerous degrees, including a Master of Divinity from Harding University and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the coeditor of the systematic theology book The Real Life Theology Collection. He has written or cowritten well over twenty books and over three hundred blogs. He is the cofounder and point leader of RENEW.org and Discipleship.org, national disciple making networks. He lives with his wife in the Nashville area, near his children and grandchildren.

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WHAT IS CHURCH? AND HOW IMPORTANT IS IT? 

If we could succinctly capture everything God teaches about church in Scripture, there would be three vital points of summary:

  • A Church is 1) a regular, intentional, and relational gathering of Christians, and, 2) the people who gather (locally and universally), and 3) its purpose is to help people be disciples of Jesus and make disciples of Jesus.
  • Church is a matter of following and obeying Scripture. There are many hundreds of passages in Scripture that teach us about 1) what it means to function as a church, and 2) what you must do in obedience in order to grow and help others grow within the church.
  • Church is essential to your faithfulness.

Two verses from the book of Hebrews bring everything together in a short summary. Hebrews 10:24-25 says it all:

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Yet there is a huge challenge we are facing in many places today with people dropping out of church.

When you drop out of church…

  • You disobey the direct command of God in Hebrews 10:24-25 (“…not giving up meeting together…”).
  • You break God’s heart by not seeking to follow hundreds of passages he gave you to follow in Scripture.
  • You turn your back on a fundamental foundation for your Christian life.
  • You hurt other Christians by not being there to encourage and help them to trust and follow Jesus.
  • You miss all the benefits of church and start to grow weaker and weaker in your faith, passion, and faithfulness to Jesus.
  • You influence others—especially family—to follow your path and they detach from the benefits of church and the things of Jesus, and this trajectory leads, over time, to a turning from faithfulness and even from the faith itself.

“When you drop out of church, you influences others—especially family—to follow your path.”

In this 49-page eBook, Bobby Harrington, point leader of RENEW.org and Discipleship.org, explores what the Bible teaches about what a church is and why it’s important. The chapters are as follows:

  • Chapter 1: How Important Is Church—According to Our Culture?
  • Chapter 2: A Sampling of Answers
  • Chapter 3: Erroneous Definitions of Church
  • Chapter 4: What Is a Church? The What
  • Chapter 5: What Is a Church? The Who
  • Chapter 6: Does the Particular Day Matter?
  • Chapter 7: What Are the Functions and Practices of a Church?
  • Chapter 8: What About Relationships, Order, and Leadership of a Church?
  • Chapter 9: What Is a Church? The Why
  • Chapter 10: Arriving at a Definition That Incorporates the What, Who, and Why
  • Chapter 11: How Important Is Church—According to the Bible?
  • Chapter 12: A Very Short Story

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