When you join a local assembly, what is expected from the pastor and the church to know if it is the church that Christ built?  I heard one particular preacher say that it is “his church”, but I thought that no man built the church, only Christ.

Sincerely,
Ownership Issues

Dear Ownership Issues,

A local church is part of Christ’s church if it teaches what Christ taught and attempts to act as Christ would have it act.  The church is supposed to stand by and stand for the truth (1 Tim 3:15).  Here are several basic truths that every faithful congregation should get right:

1. The church should properly teach what it takes to become a christian – read “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” to learn what the Bible says about salvation.
2. The church should properly worship God.  There are five things that God has asked us to do to worship Him: pray (1 Thess 5:17), sing (Col 3:16), publicly dwell upon His Word (1 Tim 4:13), take the Lord’s Supper on Sunday (Acts 20:7), and take up a collection for the Lord’s work (1 Cor 16:1-2).  Any church that does more, or less, than these things as a part of their worship… isn’t Christ’s church.
3. The church should have a proper structure.  Every church that belongs to Christ is independent – they are only subservient to God.  Each church is led by its own elders (Acts 14:23); any congregation that has a headquarters in some other city or is given rules and laws by some governing body other than themselves is not led by Christ.

Those three areas are the most basic components to a faithful congregation.  If a church is doing these things, you are most likely in a congregation that properly serves Christ.

How do we know that the kingdom has been fulfilled?  I have found many verses talking about the kingdom being set up, but where does it say it has been fulfilled?

Sincerely,
Royal Subject?

Dear Royal Subject,

There are several verses that tell us that the kingdom is already here.  The first verses to look at are Matt 16:28, Mk 9:1, and Lk 9:27.  In those verses Jesus makes it clear that the kingdom would come within the lifetime of those He was preaching to.  Considering it has been 2,000 years since Jesus preached… the kingdom is here.

Another verse to look at is Col 1:13 where Paul says that christians are already in the kingdom.  Since Paul said that we are already in the kingdom, the kingdom must already be here and complete.

The reason for this is because the kingdom is the church.  Jesus said that His kingdom wouldn’t be a physical kingdom (Jhn 18:36), but it would be a kingdom that reigned within the hearts of people (Lk 17:20-21).  As we already mentioned, this kingdom is made up of christians.  What group of people was created within one generation of Jesus’ preaching and contains christians?  That would be the church!  The church is the spiritual kingdom for which Jesus gave His blood.  We become citizens of this kingdom when we are born again through baptism (Acts 8:12, Jhn 3:5).

We have a pastor for the last three years that will not communicate with me.  In three years, he has not had a conversation that has lasted six minutes.  Outside of our normal deacon meetings, he simply ignores speaking to me unless I speak to him.  I have had several members over the course of a year and half ask me why our pastor is frowning, not friendly, and downright rude.  Beyond this, his hospital visitation is superb, and his sermons and preparation are very good.  But he appears to be fed up with people in general.  He has been a pastor for twenty-seven years and is now sixty-one-years-old.  He gives behind the scenes and conducts himself professionally.  What can I do to get this pastor acting like he wants to be here or at least get him to speak to his senior deacon?  He has done nothing biblically incorrect.  I am not wanting him to leave, just to improve our relationship and others’.  Thank you for your consideration in responding to this question.

Sincerely,
On The Outs

Dear On The Outs,

Have you considered that the problem is rooted in the fact that having only one pastor is outside of the Bible pattern?  Pastors (also known as elders and bishops - Tit 1:5-7, Php 1:1) are the overseers of the church and should never be left to serve by themselves.  The Bible never gives examples of lone pastors; there is always a plurality (Acts 14:23).  1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9 give the qualities a man must have in order to serve as a pastor.  We recommend you read "Elders" to see more scriptures on the topic.

We often have people write into the site with problems similar to yours.  We have found that the common thread is that when a man serves as a pastor and has that kind of authority without the checks and balances of other pastors – inevitably, there are problems.  Sometimes he becomes power hungry, sometimes he becomes lazy, sometimes he simply becomes indifferent... no matter what, the root cause is the same.  We would recommend your church adopt the Bible pattern of multiple pastors to lead the flock.  The closer we adhere to the Bible’s model for the church, the fewer problems we have.

I have not been a christian for very long, in fact a little over four years, and I wasn't baptized until almost three years ago (I was thirty-one).  I grew up in an (you could say) agnostic family; we didn't bother God, and He didn't bother us.  Needless to say, I have many questions.  My problem is that I am having a hard time finding a church where I can ask questions, really deep questions about meanings and inferences and the like.  I go to these Bible study groups, and I find myself being the only one who wants to do actual Bible study and have deep philosophical discussions.  Everyone else wants to talk superficially and then eat some cake.  They all seem to feel safer pretending that their life is all roses because God is with us.  I mean to say I KNOW God is with us, but life is not always roses; and what's so bad about asking difficult questions?  What's so sacrilegious about being angry with God at times?  You can be angry and love/respect/fear Him, and I'm sure He knows this.  I am convinced He does; there is story after story of Him being angry with His people but loving them the whole time.  (See what I mean, these are the type of things I want to discuss, and it is so hard to find a group of people to do this with.)  So I often find myself studying alone, but "it is not good for a man (or woman in my case) to be alone".  Could you suggest some sound websites or discussion forums that I might engage in, so I could at least be part of a virtual community of 'laymen' that want to ask sincere, difficult, intelligent questions?  Or am I just being a jerk?

Sincerely,
Curiously Alone

Dear Curiously Alone,

We here at AYP firmly believe that there is a Bible answer for every question.  God tells mankind that we should feel comfortable to “come and reason” with Him (Isa 1:18).  God is not a God of confusion (1 Cor 14:33), and the Bible contains everything that pertains to life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3).  Unfortunately, most modern churches have turned their backs on God’s teachings and embraced a more emotion-based religion.  Most people want to have their ears tickled with smooth sayings and easy words (2 Tim 4:3)… but there is so much more to serving God than just feeling good.  If all we ever do is talk about what we want to hear, we will miss out on what we need to hear.

We say all that so that you realize you are not crazy.  In your journey for truth, you are finding that not everyone is as interested in truth as they are in feeling good – not all churches are equal.  Jesus even said that many will cry, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by Thy name, and by Thy name cast out demons, and by Thy name do many mighty works?” (Matt 7:22), and His answer will be, “I never knew you.” (Matt 7:23)  Being religious is not the same as being faithful.  Faith comes by God’s Word (Rom 10:17).

We often help people find faithful congregations in their hometowns because where they are isn’t working.  We especially believe that to be the case for you.  Your questions deserve answers – and any church worth its salt should teach the truth (1 Tim 3:15).  The Lord’s church isn’t fancy, but it is full of faithful God-fearing people who are seeking the truth (Lk 11:9-10).  We recommend you read some of our other articles in the New Testament Church category (especially the posts entitled “Finding The Church” and “Preacher Interrogation”).  See for yourself whether our articles match up with the Scriptures, and if they do, consider letting us help you find a congregation in your area that behaves like your Bible teaches.

Is it okay for elders to get paid for being an elder? What about a deacon? Should they get paid?

Sincerely,
Legal Laborer?

Dear Legal Laborer,

Yes, an elder can be paid, especially if he is active in preaching in teaching.  1 Tim 5:17-18 says that an elder is doing a work that is worthy of financial support.  However, the same is never said of a deacon.