Vibrant Church : Becoming a Healthy Church in the 21st Century

6 Sessions with leader guide for each session.Vibrant Church is the 2009 Baptist Doctrine study. The following is a description from the introduction (page 7) of Vibrant Church: Vibrant Church is a study of one of the most important doctrines of the Bible and one of the most crucial topics in Christianity today: the doctrine of ecclesiology, or the study of church. The nature of a biblical, New Testament church is a discussion that devoted followers of the Lord Jesus cannot ignore. After all, Christ said in Matthew 16:18, "I will build My church and the forces of Hades will not overpower it," and Paul reminded us in Acts 20:28 that the body of believers is "the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood." Obviously, the church is important to the Lord. Therefore, it must be important to us as well. The doctrine of the church is a hot topic in our own day, especially the question of what characterizes a healthy or vibrant church. Put this question on the table, and you may get as many answers as there are participants in the debate! In this book our goal is to be rigorously biblical while at the same time being relevant and practical. We will attempt to present sound theology in a way that is easy to understand, and then we will provide some insights and suggestions for how we can be the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in a 21st-century context. Here are the titles of the six chapters. 1. Just What Is the Church Anyway? 2. Is My Church Is Acting like the Church? 3. How Does a Vibrant Church Make Decisions? 4. Does My Church Have to Practice Church Discipline? 5. How Does a Vibrant Church Carry Out Its Main Purposes? 6. What Should a Vibrant Church Look like in the 21st Century?