Lessons From the EastSample

Three Expressions

In Acts and the New Testament letters, we see three distinct expressions of the church: the cell, the congregation, and the universal church. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he explains that the role of leaders is to help people (reread Eph. 4:13-16). How does this kind of growth happen? Not by sitting side by side in a worship service, but in the give and take of dynamic relationships where people love one another, forgive one another, accept one another, rebuke one another, and encourage one another. This can only happen at the level of cells of about four to a dozen people.

The congregation is the expression of the body of Christ where cells gather for teaching, training, direction, and vision. Together, they strategically engage the city and, as light and salt, penetrate each domain of influence in the community. Cells are often comprised of people with similar backgrounds, but congregations are made up of very diverse cells. For instance, Joshua Vjay Kumar faces the challenge of reaching people in all the castes in his state in India. He says that if he created a church only for the upper castes, those in the lower castes wouldn’t come, and if he planted a church primarily for the lower castes, people in the upper castes would stay away. To resolve this seemingly intractable problem, he has created cells designed for each caste, and then the cells come together as a very diverse, unified congregation. With this strategy, his network has baptized more than 20,000 people of all castes in their communities. If God can use Joshua to create a diverse but unified congregation among the hard lines of the caste system in India, I believe God can do it anywhere . . . even in our city.

The global church, the “universal church,” is the body of Christ around the world in many different expressions, but with a single purpose of bringing glory to God. When we love and serve with humility, we learn from one another. But when we believe we are superior or inferior, we miss the blessing of being a strong, united body. Sadly, the global church isn’t even on the radar for most American church leaders. If they mention “the universal church” at all, the hearers are often left with a vague concept of all denominations sharing some kind of mystical union. They don’t have a genuine grasp of the robust power, creative wisdom, and vibrant spiritual life exhibited in congregations all over the world—power, wisdom, and life that could inspire and direct the American church.