The church consists of two branches. Call it the local church and the mobile church. Call it the diocese and the monastery. Call it the Antioch Church and the Apostle Paul’s traveling missionary band. But know that no matter what you call it, both branches are necessary for the church to fulfill its calling. Such is the thesis Sam Metcalf defends, embroiders, and illustrates throughout Beyond the Local Church: How Apostolic Movements Can Change the World (IVP Books, 2015).
Beirn and Murray, Well Sent: Reimagining the Church’s Missionary-Sending Process, by Steve Beirn with George Murray (CLC Publications, 2015), clearly distinguish mission agency and church as two separate entities. Is Metcalf correct in arguing that the local church and the mobile church are actually co-equal expressions of the body of Christ?...