I agree that church is not the best word for this discussion. The Greek eglesia was the word used by the Jewish translators in the Septuagint for congregation. Church was a later import.

The Jewish people who first heard Jesus’ message had a long history of worship through sacrifice at the Tabernacle/Temple. They had a later tradition of gathering from the synagogue. I believe their home meetings were more like a synagogue gathering. Yet, for many years my questions about church resulted in God sending me back to the plan of the original Tabernacle. Moses was shown the original in heaven, and God planned it all. The symbolism of the materials has received much attention, but the sequence of activity from the “gate” in the curtains to the Holy of Holies gives us a pattern for interaction in relationship with God that God has never changed. Check it out.

Beyond that, churches in America are guaranteed constitutional freedom in America that has been too little valued. With the passage of legislation that provided for churches to be 501C3 charitable organizations as corporations, many churches have submitted to the state and conformed to the structure of state corporation. This structure requires a hierarchical type of government. No congregation need be a state corporation. I found “unincorporated churches” my best search term on the internet.

There is a growing move toward home fellowships as the foundation for building a larger congregation. Willow Creek Church has undergone a massive restructuring that is described in “Building a Church of Small Groups” by Bill Donahue and Russ Robison.

We are finding that God is moving us by small steps toward forming a “Free Church” that will provide spiritual oversight for a variety of ministries that may or may not themselves be incorporated.

Think outside the box of church as usual. You do not need a “church planter.” Start meeting as followers of Jesus led by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. He will meet you there!

Personally, it was in exposition of scripture that I met God and first knew him as deliverer. I believe the Spirit is at work in a variety of ways in the lives of believers. I also believe that the Spirit does not stop working if I open a commentary or study really hard. It is all about the relationship we are in with God… he is just so good and so gracious that he meets us where we are and in what we need.

Sometimes I needed to study to get past some religious roadblock from my own religious past. Everyone comes to the bible with so many pre-formed ideas. I had so much to overcome that I had to study hard.

I am sorry for any offence, my apologies to the pikes peak folks. You have good ideas and a great dream – hope you create something awesome. My prayers are with you… I connected because I dreamed there once.

I think God has given us remarkable freedom as to what the “Church” would become, in organizational terms, and each way of doing things has its benefits.

Perhaps the wording of the original post just wasn’t the most precise– it doesn’t seem you’re asking us to consider the “ideal” egalitarian church but rather one very specific kind of egalitarian church. It sounds like a lot of you feel strongly about the church as an institution, perhaps having been significantly hurt by it in the past. Even if you choose to have a “less organized” church, there are still significant bodies of Christians (including many who are egalitarian and many who are not) that remain your family in Christ. I would strongly encourage remaining interdependent allies with these other churches, though they perhaps run things with some different priorities.

I know that Liz has already commented on this (85912) and while I agree with her brief summation I would like to add that while Paul did not specifically mention it, he and the other members of the apostolic band certainly practised it, which is evident when we read recorded examples of their sermons in the New Testament, like Acts 3;12-26, where the Apostle Peter is speaking.

While Peter or Paul may not have defined their messages, or preaching opportunities as expository sermons, their very style and content categorised them as expository in that they expounded or opened up, by using Scripture to explain Scripture, God’s revealed truth. As they declared God’s word, by the power of His Holy Spirit God brought conviction and repentence into the lives of the hearers. God has similarly used other gifted men and women preachers down through the ages to bring people back into relationship with Himself.

I’m concerned that in our admirable desire to jettison all of that which seems to relate to the patriarchal traditions and ‘church per se’ as we ‘re-form’ the church we may downplay the powerful part that preaching, in the way that God intended it be used, has in the changing of people’s lives and in the formation of true christian unity and community. Powerful, God inspired preaching and teaching does something deep in the human heart that debate and dialogue cannot do. If we are persuaded of one truth, by reason and logic alone, we can be equally un-persuaded and give way to another. Whereas when an illumination of the Spirit takes place, often through the faithful and God dependent presentation of God’s word, lives are transformed by the welcoming of the indwelling power of God’s Spirit. Paul declared his confidence in preaching above other forms of persuasion on numerous occasions (see for example the whole sense of 1 Corinthians 1:18-21) and was so humbled that God should appoint him to be a preacher, Ephesians 3:7-9.

The gift list, while not comprehensive, in Ephesians 4, notably verses 11,12 speaks of God’s means of equipping the church for growth in maturity and ultimately service (verses 13-16) and its gifted people that God gives to His church. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers whose primary responsibility it is to, “… equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.” NLT

Whatever shape the church takes it must include these gifted individuals who will be used of God to achieve this glorious ideal. Some of these gifted people minister through the printed page. Perhaps some are the authors of books already referred to in this topic, but as wonderful as that may be it does not take the place (in my mind) of faithful, God inspired expository preaching.

Many of us have experienced what you are desiring and maybe have tasted of true fellowship and one-ness. It can be known within church structures or without. Every time humans try to begin something radical it is always tainted with the ‘human-ness’ or sinfulness of it all but the idealism is admirable.

I mentioned our church gatherings where we had people of all shapes, sizes, ages, abilities and eventually no gender bias. We experienced something very unique which will go with us all into eternity – we had a taste of what we believe ‘church’ should look like – not the structure but the heart.

Also, maybe it’s time for a reminder that this blog is about true biblical equality among all of God’s people and why this is so important. Any groups which majors on this will surely be pleasing to God (I think someone already said this)