My wife and I attend a church that is some twenty-plus miles from our neighboring community.  We have been there almost twenty years.  We both serve faithfully every Sunday.  Our church is very active in its own community, and there are plenty of churches in our neighborhood that we may be useful in serving at, but, quite frankly, I feel stuck (to be honest).  Here is my question: I've heard people in the body of Christ say "You can't leave this or that church IF God has not released you yet".  Other than what Hebrews 10:25 says, is a comment like that supported biblically?

Sincerely,
Stuck

Dear Stuck,

Heb 10:25 says that you need to regularly attend a faithful congregation, but it doesn’t say anything about where that congregation needs to be.  Rom 16:1-2 gives the example of Phoebe, who used to worship in Cenchrae and then moved to Rome.  It is necessary for any congregation you attend to be well-grounded in the truth (1 Tim 3:15), but the location is simply not important.  You might read our posts “Finding A Church” and “Down With Denominationalism” to help you in your search for a congregation near you.  There is no reason you need to attend a specific congregation when another faithful one is closer.

The people at my church are quite hostile... and there are a lot of problems in the congregation.  It has come to the point where it’s hard to go, due to all the backbiting.  Is there any way to take communion at home until I can find a new church?  I do not have a car available to search at the moment.  Thanks for any help!

Sincerely,
Fed Up

Dear Fed Up,

Communion is something the church is supposed to do when it is all together (1 Cor 11:33).  Offering the Lord’s Supper is a congregational activity (1 Cor 11:20), not an individual one.  We can really appreciate your frustration and concern over the state of your congregation.  We can also understand the difficulty of your transportation problem.  If you would like, we would be happy to help you contact a faithful local congregation that could provide you transportation to services.  Our e-mail is askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

If a man is an elder in the church and his wife dies, does he still meet the qualifications since he is no longer married?

Sincerely,
A Sheep

Dear A Sheep,

This question is debated amongst faithful brethren.  It is important to not be too dogmatic on this issue one way or another.

One school of thought is that a wife’s death is similar to a child’s death.  If a man is an elder and his grown children die before him, it wouldn’t disqualify him from being an elder because he has already proven that he had raised them properly (1 Tim 3:4-5).  Some would say that an elder is still qualified because he has already proven himself to be a husband of one wife (1 Tim 3:2 – ‘husband of one wife’ literally means ‘one woman man’).

The other school of thought is that he is no longer qualified to be an elder because his wife no longer meets the qualifications laid out in 1 Tim 3:11.  In essence, an elder and his wife must both meet their qualifications in order for him to serve.  This point of view would say that once his wife dies, she no longer meets her qualifications, and therefore, he cannot serve.

As we said, it is important to not be too dogmatic on this issue, but it is also important to know why good brethren are of two minds on this topic.  Each congregation must faithfully address this issue for themselves if faced with these circumstances.

I'm a little confused about the Kingdom. Jesus said the Kingdom is "within you" but I thought the Kingdom is the Church, Christians who have been born again. What did Jesus mean when He said the Kingdom is within you? When He told us how to pray - the Lord's prayer, He said to pray for the Kingdom to come. Does that mean in our hearts or the establishment of the Church?

Sincerely,
What To Pray For

Dear What To Pray For,

The kingdom is the church.  Paul says that all Christians have already been transferred into the kingdom (Col 1:12-13).  Both John the Baptist and Jesus preached that the kingdom was coming very soon (Matt 3:1-2).  Jesus told the disciples that some of them would see the kingdom come within their lifetime (Matt 16:28).  What large organization was Jesus in charge of that started within the lifetime of Jesus’ apostles?  That would be the church!

In Lk 17:20-21, Jesus is addressing one of the common misconceptions about His kingdom.  It wouldn’t be a physical kingdom with castles, fortresses, and armies.  Jesus’ kingdom would grow within the hearts of those who followed Him.  That is because His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom… a kingdom not of this world (Jhn 18:36).  On the first day of Jesus’ kingdom/church, three thousand people entered that kingdom through baptism (Acts 2:38-41).  An entire nation cropped up overnight… without a single shot being fired.

As far as the Lord’s prayer, you are correct – He did pray that the kingdom would come… that is because it hadn’t yet.  At the time of Jesus’ prayer, He was still preaching that the kingdom was near, not here (Matt 4:17).  Today, it would be appropriate to pray that the kingdom expand, grow, be further established, etc., but it is already here.

Are you considered a member of a church just because you got baptized there?  And if so, are you always considered a member even though you do not attend that particular church any longer?  If not, could you become a member of a different church?

Sincerely,
On The Move

Dear On The Move,

Baptism makes you a member of the universal church (Acts 2:41), but you must decide what local church of believers to which you will attach yourself.  There is a difference between the universal church (which encompasses all faithful christians regardless of locale – Acts 9:31) and the local church which is compromised of all the christians in a specific community (i.e. the churches in Corinth, Thessalonica, Rome, etc.).  The word ‘church’ is used to describe local congregations (1 Cor 4:17) and the universal church (Col 1:18)… context is the only way to differentiate.  All christians are a part of the universal church (also know as Christ’s body – Rom 12:5), but we are only members of one local church at a time.  When someone moves to another part of the globe, they change congregations and join a new local church (just like Phoebe did – Rom 16:1-2).