Church is Family

"CHURCH IS FAMILY - Becoming More of Who We Are" is an in-depth New Testament study by Graeme C. Young. In the introductory section the author outlines the importance of this subject and its implications for the life and ministry of the church today. He looks at present-day thinking about the meaning of church and how that is expressed in the variety of church structures, relationships and leadership styles. He then takes his readers on a detailed examination of church relationships in the New Testament. In the section "Church is Family in the Gospels" he looks at the inter-relationships of Father, Jesus, and Jesus' followers, and also at what we can learn from the example of how Jesus talked with his Father. In "Church is Family in Acts", there is shown the clear definition of church as family in how they addressed one another and in how they lived. The leadership and decision-making in the New Testament church family is seen to not involve any hierarchical structure, but rather a wide variety of ways of reaching decisions. The terms used to describe people with particular responsibilities are examined and compared in meaning and function with the names and titles that different parts of today's church family use. In "Church is Family in the Letters" the writers are shown to be writing to fellow family members. This is seen firstly in how they describe themselves and other Christians, and in how they address the people they are writing to; secondly in what they say about their relationship with Father and Jesus; and also in the instructions they give for church family life. The purpose and practice of the various family gatherings of the church are described, with reference back to the church gatherings described in Acts. The book concludes with "Church is Family in My Experience". This section demonstrates that, although the denominational structures and organisation which are adopted by churches do not always clearly represent church as family, yet in all sorts of churches, "Church is Family" finds expression. The author shares his happy personal experiences of how what he calls "familiness" has been evident in the many varied churches and Christian groups he has been in throughout his life.