Imagine, if you will, a world unlike anything you have ever known or experienced. A world without Sunday morning gatherings, without the echo of hymns and sanctuaries, without pulpits, pews, or the sounds of a preacher's voice calling souls to redemption. A world where no deacons serve, and no pastors shepherd, and no congregation unites in prayer. In this reality, the church as we know it never was. It is not history nor memory, it is nothing more than a figment of imagination. You are about to step beyond the veil into a dimension where faith has no fellowship, where the body has no unity, and where hope walks alone. Welcome to For the Love of the Church, Season 3. This season, we're going to be talking about something really fascinating. So I'm not a big movie guy. I don't watch a ton of movies. But one of the traditions, if you will, of each year is listening or watching the movie It's a Wonderful Life. And the movie has always intrigued me, even though I've seen it like, I don't know, like 5,000 times and probably watch it every Christmas season. It's a fascinating movie from the standpoint of it presents the life of George Bailey in a world where he didn't actually exist. And he gets a chance, obviously, most of our viewers are gonna, listeners are gonna know this, but there may be people out in the rest of the world who don't even know the concept of It's a Wonderful Life movie. But it's basically where George Bailey, this fictitional guy, obviously a movie character, he gets to see what his life would be like if he didn't exist. And he had had the accident, obviously, when he was a real little child. And so it's all kind of gone off the concept that he actually didn't survive that accident and when he was sledding. And so now here's the reality of all that the world would be like if George Bailey didn't exist. obviously takes him through an interesting journey. And so, that's what we're gonna look at this season. It's an interesting, hypothetical, theoretical concept of what would be the reality if the local church didn't exist. And we're conceding up front that this is all hypothetical, we're conceding up front that this is all theoretical, so bear with us, think with us, allow this season to be something that really makes you think, That's what we're really trying to go for, is to make you think about what are the realities if the local church didn't exist. So that's what we're going to be talking about this season. Yeah, I guess my hope as well is, yeah, I hope it creates a lot of questions that you go, oh, why does our church do this? Because I think what's going to happen is, I think as people listen, they're going to go, Oh, yeah, no, that's the importance of the local church, but my church does things as if the local church doesn't exist. Yeah. So, I think it's going to create a lot of good thought experiments, a lot of thought, create a lot of questions. Yeah, yeah. Move us in a direction to see the importance of the church. Yeah, and sometimes when you think about something like this, I mean, it's super hard for us to even imagine the local church not existing because all of life as a believer typically revolves around the local church. It's something we're so familiar with. But I think one of the things that we're hoping is that in this kind of interesting hypothetical deconstruction, if you will, of like, okay, so what all is going on if the church doesn't exist? What are the realities? And then putting it back together to say, wow, look at the reality of the local church, why it's so important, why we need to be involved, why we should value it more, why we should love it more. I mean, that's the whole point of our podcast, For the Love of the Church, is to help you fall back in love. with a local church and what God has intended for that. So we're hoping that this season will do that, that it just allows us to kind of think hypothetically for a minute, and then once we kind of wake up, so to speak, from this dream, it's like, oh no, but the local church does exist. Look at what we're missing out on when we don't think about it in its rightful context and rightful way. Yeah, and so I guess it's kind of helpful then that we kind of define the local church again. I know we did that in Season 1. We did that, but just as a refresher, so what is the local church? Yeah, so the local church, if you remember from Season 1, is an assembly of believers in a geographic location. It's a place where many of the Many of the believers that are gathered together can live out and play out and function in a way that we fulfill the aspects of scripture, of our giftings, and you have polity, you have leadership, you have a structure of governance, if you will, pastors, deacons, congregation. And so it's a local assembly as opposed to the universal church, which is the large gathering, the collective gathering of believers that will someday be obviously assembled in heaven and will worship Christ forever. The local church is an individual expression of that larger assembly, but it's in a geographic location. It's a local context. Yeah, and it's kind of interesting, just the word church, right? It comes from the German kirche. Ooh, look at you, pulling out some German. That's my roots. I know, me too. So, and that comes from the Greek word kurios, right? Which means the Lord. So the church is really, the English word has that idea of we represent the Lord. So the local assembly is a picture of the greater reality, the heavenly reality, that we're all one body representing Christ. We're part of the body of Christ. And so, yeah, the local church is vitally important. I would not be here if it was not for the local church. I mean, it's the ground that produces discipleship. Or at least it should be, right? Right. And I think a lot of believers, I would say this, they take for granted the local church. And it's just something you do. It's something that, it just becomes habitual, if you will. I mean, I grew up in, I grew up in church, I was saved when I was four. I don't ever remember not going to church, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, the whole nine yards. And I know it's easy, even in ministry, it's easy for me to just take it for granted. Like, yeah, we just know this is what we do. And we kind of get lulled into a mundane ritualism routine. And I think in large part, the local church has lost its full impact that Christ intended. And so part of our purpose for this season is to say, well, let's actually imagine a world, like we heard earlier, that this doesn't exist. And then let's think about all those realities and then let's wake up from that dream, so to speak, and realize it does exist and let's be much more engaged, much more intentional in that process. So last night, Dave, we played a game. There's rules to the game. So we're going to go through this thought game, right, of there is no church. So what are some of the ground rules? What are some of the places that we're not going to go? Because we're saying the local church doesn't exist. What does exist in this hypothetical world? Yeah, so we would have identified probably at least five things that are unaffected by this hypothetical scenario. So even if the local church didn't exist, these five things, there may be others, but these five things we're going to highlight still exist. They have to exist. They exist outside of the local church. And the first one is the gospel. So the gospel does not change. The gospel reality is not impacted from the standpoint of the truth and the story and the message of the gospel. So that is unchanged in this hypothetical scenario. So the gospel still exists, and people still get saved, and we can trust in the gospel. The second thing that doesn't change is preaching. So I can still preach the gospel. Preaching is not exclusive to the local church. So I can stand. I personally don't like street corner preachers necessarily because I think they are actually a problem, detriment to the cause of Christ sometimes. But the reality is, if the local church didn't exist, I could still stand on the street corner and I could preach. I could preach and proclaim. And so those two things are things that don't change, that are unaffected by that. A third thing that isn't affected by the local church is evangelism. So if I'm a believer and the local church doesn't exist, and in this hypothetical scenario, we're thinking about the local church not existing, evangelism can still exist. I can still share the gospel. I can still tell people about Jesus Christ. I can still witness to people. And so evangelism is unaffected by this. Now, obviously, as we go through this season, I think we're gonna see some ways that the reality of our, message and the reality of how we communicate and the reality of maybe the large impact may be changed, but evangelism itself is not changed. So I can preach, the gospel's still the same, and I can evangelize, and those are three things that don't change. And then there's a fourth thing that doesn't change or that is unaffected, and that is discipleship. So like I can still, so if I'm an individual believer, I can still make disciples. I can still teach people and help people to understand the things of God. I can instruct them in the things of God. I mean, this is Matthew 28, going to all the world, preach the gospel, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you. And so I can still disciple people. There can still be people that I disciple, I do individual studies, I can do a group Bible study, I can do a lot of different things in that discipleship. So discipleship doesn't go away. And then the fourth thing that doesn't go away is the future gathering of believers for eternity. So the universal church, doesn't cease to exist. The universal church, if you will, is still there. The corporate collective body of believers is still there and we're still looking forward to our time when we are gathered around the throne of Christ to worship him for all of eternity from every tribe, every tongue, every nation. So That doesn't change. And so those five things, as we go through this season, those five things are a constant. Now, as we look at this, there might be some nuances and some differences and some alterations of these things, like how we know them. But the reality is the gospel doesn't change, our preaching doesn't change, the evangelism process doesn't change, discipleship doesn't change, and the future gathering of believers doesn't change. At the outset of this, we want to say these are the five areas, the five things that don't change. They're unaffected. However, there's a whole lot of other stuff that's going to be impacted in this hypothetical scenario. Yeah, so we're not talking about the process of preaching or the gospel. For us, it's just the local church is not there. So we're trying to imagine a world where you have believers without a local church and how that functions. Yeah, there'll be preaching. Yeah, the gospel's still there. There's probably a lot of theological underpinnings that are probably still in place. But I think as we go through this and this thought experiment, I think we'll begin to see how even not having a local church, how that drastically changes evangelism, how that drastically changes discipleship. What does a disciple look like? as you said, preaching, yeah, street corner preaching, that's gonna be different, right? That'll be different. So, yeah, no local church, no assembly, no pastors, none of that stuff. No formal governing process, no formal thought of church life like we know it. Yeah, no associations. Right, no fellowships. You might have a fellowship of, You know, there might be an independent fellowship of individuals type of thing, but even that would be weird. You'd say, well, why would we do that? Right. Yeah, it would be a loose association. We probably still would have Christian bookstores because... Yeah, you could still buy books. You could still write books. Would we still get those little breath mints, the Testaments? Oh, yes, the Testaments. It's the only thing that has God's word that leaves a bad taste in your mouth. That's right. Yeah, those things were nasty. Welcome to the world of Mirage Incorporated. Founded in 1895, we have built our reputation on turning the impossible into the possible, seeing what isn't there, dreaming within dreams, and adding unparalleled value to ideas. From our headquarters in Paris, Texas, we invite you to imagine the extraordinary with us. You may have heard of us before. We were instrumental in the creation of the hypothetical question. Can you even fathom a world without hypothetical questions? Or, perhaps more aptly, would you even want to? 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Visit us online, like us on Facebook, and explore the endless possibilities of businesses, services, and innovations that only Mirage Incorporated can offer. Mirage Incorporated. Making the impossible possible since 1895. Well, and hopefully, as those of you that have tracked with us through Season 1, which just kind of defined the church and why we should fall in love with the church, and then Season 2, we looked at church killers, and hopefully you have enjoyed Season 2 and even the rise and fall of Jeff. listened to that and engaged with that. But then season three is really, again, we're trying to make you think and ponder a hypothetical reality. And so, yeah, we're looking forward to this season and looking forward to what conversations come of this. And it'd be great if there's some way for people to interact. You could shot us a note, shoot us a note as you think about this and process through this. Yeah, email us and message us. And I imagine this will be difficult for probably some of our listeners, right? Because it's very hypothetical. So, I imagine that just that aspect of thinking through this, they might disagree with some of our conclusions. Right. Okay, that's fine. But I also think, as I was thinking through this series, some people just have a broken philosophy of ministry and a broken view of church. And so, there's going to be a lot of things that we're going to say, and you're going to say, yeah, I still go to church, there still is a local church, and that is still a reality. Hopefully, we'll point out the inconsistency of that, right? So, there's going to be scenarios that we're going to raise that you're going to say, I just saw that. Like, that played out last Sunday. This played out last Sunday. don't want to get too much into the weeds and talk about the series before we talk about the series, but one of the areas I was thinking was evangelism. So, there's a lot of local churches where they've adopted a philosophy of ministry where the local gathering on a Sunday is about the evangelizing of non-believers, where we would say biblically, no, the local assembly is for believers and edification, training them, equipping them to go out and then share the gospel. So, When we think about some of these things, some of you go, oh, well, how is anybody supposed to hear the gospel? We're supposed to bring them to church to hear the gospel on Sunday. Yeah, some of this thought stuff you're gonna hear, and you're just gonna go, oh, that's difficult, because I see that. And hopefully, we'll challenge you to think about the local church correctly, but then also to see, man, we want you to really fall in love with this, the bride of Christ. Yeah, she's a special lady. Yeah, and I think, yeah, exactly. And I think as we walk through this, so one of the things that we're gonna talk about. Sorry, I've been meaning to do that for a minute. One of the things that we're going to talk about is exactly this reality of our philosophy of ministry. How does this, kind of thinking about it hypothetically, how does it actually impact our philosophy of ministry? So what's the purpose of the gathering of the local church? So when we put this back together, and we wake up from our dream at the end of this, I mean, we all know this is a hypothetical scenario, but when we quote-unquote wake up from this dream, how is this gonna impact our philosophy of ministry? How is this gonna impact the way we look at churches? How is this gonna impact the ordinances? How is this gonna impact the offices? How is this gonna impact our gifts and the work of the ministry? How is this gonna impact missions? All of those things are things that we're gonna talk about this season to say, no, there's actually a lot of stuff that if the local church didn't exist would actually impact the reality of church as we know it. And so then when we put it back together, hopefully the goal is to say, whoa, I have a fresh new perspective or appreciation or understanding of why the church is so important, so valuable. So yeah, just to give everybody a roadmap, first, we're gonna kind of talk about ordinances, right, in the next episode. Then we'll talk about some of the church offices, like, you know, the music pastor with the, so cool, the coolest guy in the church. Man bun. He's got the tattoo, right, the Greek tattoo. Pastors, deacons, elders, trustees, Sunday school superintendent, those things. Then we're gonna talk about the ministry and spiritual gifts. the impact on scripture, right? Because that's going to have a huge impact. The church isn't here. How does this impact the canon of scripture? Yeah. Who's Paul writing to? Who's Peter writing to? And then we'll talk about church discipline. Yeah, that's affected. How do we... How do we hold each other accountable? What's the process for accountability? And then putting it back into the local church of why we do what we do. Yeah, the wisdom of God of having a local church and addressing sin. If you didn't have the local church, addressing sin looks a lot like Twitter. Formerly known as Twitter, now known as X. That's right. Yeah, and then missions, right? Right. Missions. All those missions conferences. All those people coming to the church asking for money, right? Like the... Faith Promise. We've talked about Faith Promise. We did. I shared Faith Promise with Caleb, and he stared at me like he had no idea what I was talking about. Yeah, I've never been a part of a church that had done that. I've never heard that concept before. Yeah, so we can talk a little bit about that. think through that, and how our missions is affected, how we fund our missions, and all that kind of reality will be part of this process. Yeah, we were talking about the importance of the local church in sending out missionaries, so you lose all that. So, man, I'm really looking forward to discussing some of these things. Yeah, I think there's an element. I mean, okay, so this is going to sound Not sacrilegious, I don't think. But I think what we're going to come to at the end of this season is the brilliant genius of the local church. Yes. I mean, obviously, we would say, well, it comes from Christ, and He ordained it, and He set it up. But I think I would want our listeners to come away from this season not because of what Caleb and Dave talk about, because we're just two knuckleheads, as Tim Walls would say. We're just two crazy guys sitting around a microphone. But we come away from this going, the local church is pure genius in how to operate believers in a daily concept of living together and functioning together and working together and the cause of Christ being And I think, you know, even like what I do, serving with IBL and getting to be involved in a lot of different churches, a lot of different ministries, I often have the question, you know, why did God allow human beings to run the local church? Like, if I could ask God, I mean, I have a lot of questions to ask God. And I'm sure when I get to heaven, they're all going to go away. But one of the questions I have is, why not just put an angel over every church? And that seems like that would eliminate a lot of issues. But you put human beings in charge of the local church underneath Christ, obviously. But I think as we process through this season, we're going to come away from this going, wow, look at Christ he knew what he was doing. Not that that should have ever been doubted, but I think we kind of, I do, I kind of doubt that sometimes. I'm like, is that the really the best? Was that really the best mechanism, God? Was that really the best way? And I know inherently in my head, the answer is yes, because it's God and he couldn't, you know, make a mistake. But the reality is, We're going to come away from this season going, the local church is pure brilliance in how we live and function and work together. And for the person who is sitting out there, and I know they're out there, who is jaded because of something they can point to in the local church, we would agree, yes, you know what? The local church is messed up. The local church has issues. It's run by human beings. It's full of sinners. However, the concept and the functional ability of the local church is a genius concept. Not even a concept, it's a genius reality for how we live out our Christian lives. Yeah, and I think one of the other things, too, I often say, and going through this, I'll probably augment how I say this, but I often say, you know, ministry is the most inefficient way of doing anything. Because you're dealing with people, right? And you don't necessarily know what the goal is, right? Like, if I build a house, I know when the house is done. When is a sermon done? When is discipleship done? When is counseling done? So it's really hard to gauge when those things are done, and sometimes it's hard to gauge if they're done well. Like, what I think is a good sermon may not be a good sermon. We experience that you know, several times when we go to several of these conferences, we listen to the speaker going, I didn't get, well, that was the worst presentation of that. And we sit next to a brother who goes, that was amazing. I absolutely needed everything he said. And so you just go, how do you, how do you even gauge his success of a sermon? How do you gauge some of the success? So yeah, I would often say, well, it's inefficient, right? Because you don't know whether you're doing good. You don't know whether you're doing bad, but when you look at the local church, as I see some of this, I'm going to go, actually, it probably is the most efficient way to run something like this. Because the church is being built, it's obviously that there's going to be a lot of things that we just don't know, we don't see, but hopefully as we go through this we'll go, oh no, I don't know if there's a better way to deal with some of this stuff. I don't know if there's a better way to keep people accountable. I don't know if there's a better way to disciple people than the local church. Well, and I think we know that. Again, I think we know that theoretically because it's rooted in Christ. So, of course, okay, if Christ ordained it, it has to be. It's like the Sunday School answer, you know, Jesus, God, Bible. Of course, the church is the right way. But I think coming out of this season, it's going to be, oh, now I know why. Like, now I know why Christ did what he did. Dude, this makes perfect sense, and I want to be all in on this. I want to be all in on being part of my local church and part of my local assembly. Ultimately, that's what we want. We may never know you, we may never talk to you, we may never engage with you, but if this season specifically, can inspire you and motivate you and give you a foundational perspective, new perspective of the local church that invigorates you back into your local church, then that's a success. That's right, that's right.