Congregationalism

Congregationalism is the idea of "church activities" and has been around for years. We see more and more emphasis placed on "congregational programs" and "congregational goals" all with the point of meeting the challenges facing the church. Much of these ideas come from enlarged church budgets and yet many of the congregational projects undertaken do not reflect the interest of the individual members. Many are thrust into various projects, and asked to contribute money for them, yet they had no voice in the "project" to start with. Sadly, plain New Testament teaching about the work of individual Christians is being ignored as we strive to meet our "church goals."

This may shock many but the New Testament does not place the work of the Lord on a congregational basis. Yes, there were times when a congregation acted in an emergency or could support a widow when there was no one else to care for her (I Timothy 5:3-16) but by in large the emphasis is placed on the individual. It is interesting to note that in Paul's discussion about churches supporting widows mentioned above that there is much individual responsibility to meet before a church could even consider her. If she is younger, SHE needs to care for herself, or seek help from the MEMBERS of her family. Only when she has obtained a certain age and NO ONE else should the church step in. GO ahead-- read the text again. It certainly does not sound like a "church program" needed to be set up. Nor does it sound like a goal of supporting "50' widows or orphan homes per year was in order.

Another clear example is found in Acts 11:29-30 as it records the first "program" for aid of the Judean brethren caught in a famine. "Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren living in Judea, and did so and sent it to the elders by the hands of barnabas and Saul." There was no "church drive" to enlarge the congregational budget so they could meet their quota. Individuals determined what they could do to help and then they did what they determined. Needless to say one could search long and hard and not find a finance committee or church budget outlined in this text. Simply put, a need was presented to them and the individual saints at Antioch responded to meet the need.

Certainly our interest in church growth and development has caused us to put too much emphasis on "challenge budgets" and financial drives. No person is going to go to heaven because the church budget was met or the church excelled in benevolence. We don't ride the coattails of the church to heaven. We go because we EACH did the Lord's work.