Short review of book on church organization
- Title: Scriptural organization of the churches of Christ
- Author: Jim Massey
- Year: 1999
- Subject: Church organization
- No. pp.: 157
- Publisher: J.C. Choate
This book, which I finished today, was first written for congregations in India and published in that country. It was later reprinted in the US for world distribution. It has wide application and appeal. Its simple and practical style recommends it to many audiences. The 32 chapters are short and to the point.
I plan to translate it into Portuguese. I’m unaware of a similar work in the Brazilian church. Considering changes occurring in the congregations here, this book will serve as a good resource.
The author recognized that many departures from the faith begin in the organization of the church. It was so in the early church and it occurs in this area today as well.
The last chapter offers 14 suggestions on making business meetings successful. While there are other ways of conducting a congregation’s work while without elders, these are fine principles that will solve just about every problem of such meetings.
The chapter on local church independence defines the issue as being self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating. On the latter he wrote,
“This word means self-continuing. A self-propagating congregation promotes itself and spreads the Gospel which plants other churches. The Word of God is the seed of the kingdom or church (Luke 8:11). Any seed has within itself the life necessary to bring forth another plant. So also does the Bible have the necessary power to produce and promote the church. Wherever good hearts will receive the Word, congregations will spring up. A congregation needs no outside organization to enable it to grow or to plant other churches. In this way each congregation is like a banana tree. Once it is planted, it has the ability to grow without outside care. It will also soon cause new banana plants to spring up. This is the meaning of self-propagation. The Bible says that the church is the pillar or support of the truth (I Tim. 3:15). Each congregation is to support and spread the truth. This then will cause other churches to be planted. They also will support the truth in other areas. The church at Jerusalem scattered and went everywhere preaching the Word (Acts 8:4). Outside mission agencies or denominational organizations are unnecessary to the spread of the Lord’s church. Congregations of the Lord’s church are independent by being self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating” (pp. 41-42).