The Local Church

I am closing out a series on commitment to the local church. This has been a series near and dear to me, because I believe that the local church is near and dear to Jesus. He loves the church, and gave Himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25). Here are some quotes I have from that series:

Many Christian have been infected with the most virulent virus of modern American life, what sociologist Robert Bellah calls “radical individualism.” They concentrate on personal obedience to Christ as if all that matters is “Jesus and me,” but in so doing miss the point altogether. For Christianity is not a solitary belief system. Any genuine resurgence of Christianity, as history demonstrates, depends on a reawakening and renewal of that which is the essence of the faith—that is, the people of God, the new society, the body of Christ, which is made manifest in the world—the church. . . there is no such thing as Christianity apart from the church. --Chuck Colson

“Failure to cleave to a particular church is failure to obey Christ.” Chuck Colson

if the Church is going to produce the kinds of exceptional people that provide a satisfying and attractive example to a watching world then our Christian faith must be more deliberately, intentionally and inextricably communal." Tod Bolinger, from It Takes a Church"