3 Reasons Why Your Small Group Is Not a Church - by: Matthew Emadi

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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We have found a surprising number of "Bible teachers" who diligently defend the traditional practices of their church to the point where any deviation from them by other churches constitutes a threat to Christianity.

Today's article was written by a pastor who wants to tamp down the idea that small groups are churches. He wants to keep them in their place so that his traditional church maintains the exclusive right to do church stuff like give communion and baptize people.

He doesn't make it clear for most of the article, but what he's specifically talking about is small groups that are created and overseen by his church. This is his view on how he wants his own ministry to function, yet he will insist that every small group is not a church.

Lastly, the author barely quotes Scripture. One might think a Bible teacher will teach from the Bible, but sadly, no. We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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Some Christians might value their small group more than their local church. In fact, some Christians think their small group is a church. A church is, after all, a people not a place, (The author immediately concedes his case...)

and small groups do many of the same things that churches do. (The author has surreptitiously substituted a different meaning for the word "church." From here on out, "church" is no longer a gathering of Christians, it is the organizational structure. The reader should keep track of this.)

At a small group, Christians gather to pray, read the Bible, and encourage one another to obey its commands. They might also sing together and exhort one another to participate in evangelism. Some small groups even share the Lord’s Supper together. Is there much difference between a church and a small group other than the size and location of their respective meetings, or are they basically the same thing? (This is indeed the question. The author will answer no, for what we think are vague and rather weak reasons.)

A small group is not a church. Small groups lack an essential ingredient in the recipe of a church: heaven’s authority. To put it another way, a local church is an earthly embassy of Christ’s heavenly kingdom; a small group is not. (A church [that is, an organized structure of local believers] can set up its small groups in any way it sees fit. If the author prefers that his small groups do not have the authority to do certain things, we support that choice.

But that's not what he's arguing. He's asserting that small groups inherently do not possess the attributes of "church." He's making global statements about every small group. He's making claims about your small group, not just his.)

In what follows, I will explain three reasons why your small group is not a church, (Biblical reasons, we hope.)

but keep in mind that all three reasons (not just the first) are simply clarifying and unpacking this fundamental point: churches wield heaven’s authority, small groups do not. (Oh. So there are not actually three reasons, just three aspects of one reason.

Since the author's lynchpin is "kingdom authority," we await the biblical arguments. Hint: He will not provide any.)

This addition to the Church Questions series offers a clear, compelling definition of the local church and its importance in every Christian’s life.

1. Your small group is not a church because it does not possess heaven’s authority.

A local church wields the authority of the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 16:18–19; cf. Matt. 18:15–20). (Let's actually quote one of the passages: 

Mt. 16:18-19 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

(The word "church" is 

ekklésia, the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth; collectively, all who worship and honor God and Christ in whatever place they may be...

Oh. So "kingdom authority" is granted to every instance of the gathered faithful, not just those who gather at a church building and do churchy stuff.

It seems that when the author reads the word "church" he understands it solely as an organization over which a pastor presides. We have just seen that Matthew doesn't agree.

This means the author is either ignorant or deceptive. Neither bodes well for qualifying as a Bible teacher.)

Jesus authorized local churches—two or three gathered in Christ’s name—to make binding declarations about the truth of the gospel and a person’s confession of faith in that gospel. (This is the fifth time the author has used the term "local." he will use it nine more times, yet the verse he cited above does not carry the context of the "local" church organizational structure. Nor will anything he adds later establish that there is a difference between a gathering of Christians versus a local church organizational structure.)

Churches are like earthly embassies of a heavenly kingdom. An embassy is an institution that represents the governmental authority of another country (or kingdom) on foreign soil. Local churches represent the authority Christ’s heavenly kingdom on earth; they wield heaven’s keys. (The author simply restates his faulty conclusion.)

The keys give local churches the ability to render verdicts and make official judgments. In other words, churches speak with heaven’s authority to proclaim and protect true gospel doctrine and to affirm or disaffirm someone’s citizenship in Christ’s heavenly kingdom. Put even more practically, churches oversee their doctrinal statements and define their membership. Like a judge speaking with the authority of the state, a church speaks with the authority of Christ and his kingdom: “The gospel you confess is the true gospel, and based on your gospel confession, we affirm you as a citizen of Christ’s kingdom.” (None of these statements are documented, none of them come from the quoted verses, and none of them establish the local church building as being better than Christians gathered in a living room.)

Small groups do not possess heaven’s authority. They do not wield the keys of the kingdom of heaven because they are a subset of the church, not the church itself. The small group is under the jurisdiction of its local church. (Ah, we have stumbled upon some insight. We mentioned in our introduction that the author thinks that all small groups are derived from the activities of local churches. Thus these small groups are part of the greater organizational structure of the people who oversee the church building.

This previously unstated premise makes a big difference. Because if the small group is derived from the "local church," then the author has a valid argument.

However, the author still needs to establish that a church's small groups must lack the characteristics of a organized church structure. We would think that a small group is duly established by the church leadership and included within the church's various ministries. Thus the small groups are a microcosm of the greater ministry of the church and does not lack authority at all. The small group exists under the same authority that granted it permission to exist, and still answers to that authority. 

Further, small groups are overseen by people who have been delegated their authority by the church. Those people are likely the same people who lead the group. Thus the small group possesses the authority granted to it.) 

It belongs to the embassy; it is not the embassy. Just as a subcommittee of the US Senate does not wield the power of the Senate, your small group does not wield the authority of the whole church. (Subdivisions of governmental power do not speak to the status of church authority.)

If your church decided that your small group should become a church plant, then your small group could become a church. (Sigh. This is all becoming very pedantic. Of course a ministry of the church is subject to the authority of the church. No one disagrees, sir.)

The believers in the small group would need to agree together (make a covenant) to uphold sound doctrine (statement of faith) and oversee each other’s membership in the kingdom, admitting new members and disciplining false converts. But without that kind of institutional, heavenly authority, your small group is not a church. (That is not heavenly authority, per se, it is authority that is either delegated [if it's a church plant], or it takes on itself [as an independent actor in the greater body of Christ.])

2. Your small group is not a church because it does not administer the ordinances (or at least it shouldn’t).

Jesus gave the church two ordinances: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. (Actually, neither "ordinance" is provided in the context of the authority of the church. Rather, Jesus gave Christians the command to partake of these things as part of the Kingdom:

 

Lk. 22:18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.

There is no mention in the Bible about any sort of unique authority to administer communion that is restricted to the organized church.

Same regarding baptism. Check the Bible. there is no mention of an official church ceremony, or any description of who is authorized to baptize.) 

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are like the passports of Christ’s heavenly kingdom. They mark out citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Baptism is how a church receives new believers. Baptism happens at the beginning of the Christian life because it represents an individual’s conversion—death and resurrection in Christ (Rom. 6:1–4). Like the covenant made in a marriage ceremony that binds a man and woman together as one, baptism formally identifies an individual with Christ and his church. The baptized person becomes part of the one body. (The author briefly switches his definition of church back to the general body of Christ, but only for a moment.)

Admittedly, a missionary to an unreached people group will baptize new converts independent of a local church because no local church exists yet in the unreached area. (The definition has now switched back.

Despite the author's definitions, this missionary and his first convert constitute a church.)

However, the missionary and the newly baptized disciples can agree to gather in Christ’s name to administer the ordinances and form a local church. (For some reason the author requires an official church structure, which means the missionary and his converts can't do church stuff until they decide to become a church structure. This gives them the authority to do church stuff. 

Before, they didn't have the authority. But when they gave the authority to themselves they got the authority they didn't have until they decided to have it.

Hmm.)

Under normal circumstances, however, baptism is a church act. (Bible reference, sir?)

Through baptism, the whole church, not a small group, affirms the credibility of a person’s profession of faith and welcomes him or her into the membership of the church.

Baptism is a one-time act, but the Lord’s Supper is reoccurring. If baptism is the ordinance that brings a new convert into the church, (Which definition of the church is the author now using?)

the Lord’s Supper is the ordinance that binds the whole church together as one body. “We who are many are one body,” wrote the apostle Paul, “for we all partake of the one bread (1 Cor. 10:17). The Lord’s Supper constitutes a church as a church and should only be administered when the whole church assembles (1 Cor. 11:17–18, 20, 29, 33). We celebrate the Lord’s Supper when we “come together as a church” (1 Cor. 11:18). (These are the only actual Bible quotes the author will provide.

The word for "church" again is ekklēsia. So once again the author asserts that the "church" [the official unit] has the authority, but this is only because he switches definitions as convenient.)

The Lord’s Supper gives a local church its shape and its boundaries. A church consists of the people that eat together at the Lord’s table.

If a small group celebrates the Lord’s Supper together, they have begun to function as an earthly embassy of Christ’s heavenly kingdom. They inadvertently and unlawfully commandeer the power of heaven’s keys without the proper jurisdiction to do so. (The author is again referring to a sub-unit authorized by the local church, not a small gathering of Christians generally.)

They assume the responsibility to admit or deny someone from the table, a prerogative that belongs to the whole church. An embassy can issue a passport, a group of expatriates cannot.

3. Your small group is not a church because it has not been authorized to administer church discipline. 

In Matthew 18:15–20, Jesus taught us how to care for a brother in unrepentant sin. After warning him individually, and then with two or three witnesses, we are to “tell it to the church” (Matt. 18:17). If the unrepentant brother refuses to listen to the church, then the church is to excommunicate him. (The author either doesn't understand this passage or is misrepresenting it. It is not about church discipline or church authority, it is about the process of reconciling with a brother. 

This passage specifically informs the one who is attempting reconciliation as to how to proceed. There is no instruction in the entire passage about what church should do. Since the author cannot or will not quote the Bible at this point, we shall:

Mt. 18:17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

This is the only mention of "church" [ekklésia] in the passage. The individual is provided with the remedy for his failed efforts to reconcile, including the eventual step that involves informing the ekklésia. But after that, the instruction is still directed to the individual. There are no disciplinary duties described for the ekklésia here.)

Every church has a responsibility to distinguish insiders from outsiders in order to protect the purity of their gospel witness (1 Cor. 5:1–11).

Your small group probably cares about sound doctrine. Your small group would probably correct a brother ensnared by a false teacher. But what would your small group do with a member that promoted a false gospel and refused correction? Your small group would have to take his case to the church. Your small group does not wield any mechanism to enforce its commands; it lacks the proper jurisdiction. The state wields the sword to protect its citizens; parents wield the rod to protect their children from destructive behaviors; churches, not small groups, wield the keys to protect the purity of the church. Your small group is more like the two or three witnesses in step two of the church discipline process. Your small group can admonish, warn, rebuke, encourage, and exhort, but it cannot exclude someone from the Lord’s table. It cannot revoke a passport.

Conclusion

Small groups have their benefits. They can help church members cultivate relationships and practice hospitality. But without heaven’s authority, small groups lack the structure that best fosters discipleship. Jesus has given local churches the responsibility to protect sound doctrine and promote godly living. Our participation in the life of the church under the oversight of qualified elders will best foster our spiritual growth (Eph. 4:11–16). Jesus did not promise to build small groups. He promised to build his church, and the gates of hell will not stand against it (Matt. 16:18–19).

Matthew Emadi is the author of What Is a Church?.

Matthew Emadi (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) serves as the senior pastor of Crossroads Church in Sandy, Utah. He is the author of How Can I Serve My Church? Matthew is married to Brittany and they have six children.