Theology of the Church, Mentor's Guide, MG03

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T H E O L O G Y O F T H E C H U R C H

remarkable opportunity they have as individuals and members of assemblies to reflect, like moons, the glorious rays of the Son of God. To fulfill this mandate, they must both be aware of it, as well as embrace it. The first steps is welcoming the challenge and the opportunity of representing him before others.

One of the signs of this current age is the proliferation and growth of cults, sects, and false religions. It is important for students in the city to be able to identify, understand, and refute the doctrines and practices of false religious groups. The despair and difficulty of urban life can make people in the city especially susceptible and vulnerable to the groups which prey on the poor and the broken. In the following contacts you can see the emphasis on identifying the authentic among those who claim to belong to Christ and represent him. It is critical for the students to be highly motivated to know the various elements of the true Church, what she believes and does, in order to detect false and unconvincing portrayals of the Church in the neighborhood. Please emphasize with your students in your brief discussion here that Christian leaders must be able to create convincing arguments for and defend the historic orthodox faith against attack. Not all churches claiming to represent Christ and his Kingdom are legitimate; their role, as budding leaders, is to be able to help their congregations grow more and more into the vision that God desires, that all of us grow to full maturity in Jesus Christ (Eph. 4.9-15; 2 Pet. 3.18). In light of the widespread disunity and disarray among churches today, the unity of the Church is a central theme for us to emphasize in Christian leadership development. Like all the apostles, Paul warns early Christian congregations against the temptation of schisms, divisions, and conflicts in 1 Corinthians 1.10-30, and exhorts them to be unified in faith, mission, and fellowship. In his extended section on the body, Paul emphasizes in 1 Corinthians 12 that the Holy Spirit disperses various expressions of God’s grace among the members of the Church, but does it in order that the same level of care and love may be in operation among all the believers. In other words, there are many members in the body of Christ, but only one body exists (cf. Rom. 12.3-8). Regardless of Christians who have believed

3 Page 117 Contact

4 Page 119 Outline Point I-A