Articles
Can One Church Imitate Another Church?
“For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans” (1 Thess. 2:14).
Notice, Paul said these Thessalonians had become imitators of the churches of God in Judea. I wonder if, in our rightful defense against the sponsoring church arrangement and our strong stand for autonomy, we have missed something? Have we missed that Paul said these had become imitators of the churches of Judea? Judea is a province, or as we would say, a state, like Texas. We would say the churches of God in Texas. What was there about the churches in Judea that they imitated? Paul said they had suffered the same things from their own countrymen at the hands of the Judaizers. The Thessalonians were being treated the same way and therefore, were like the churches in Judea. One church can imitate another church. Remember: the church is people.
For example, the shepherds of one church may imitate the shepherds of another church. If one group of shepherds observes how another group of shepherds does their work, they can learn something from each other. It is not unusual for me to be asked what this group of shepherds are doing in their work. I am glad to share the work our shepherds do here with another church. Also, I often ask other shepherds how they do their work; how they work through specific issues. I then come home and share that with our shepherds. Since shepherds are representative of the flock, that is one church imitating another. No autonomy has been violated.
Further, when I was growing up, I never heard of a church having a theme for the year. Some local church somewhere started having a theme each year, and now many churches have a theme for the year. It is not unusual to hear of one local church having the same theme as another. One church imitated another. No sponsoring arrangement took place.
Consider the challenges of evangelism today. How many churches have tried different “programs” only to feel like they are failing? But, wait, we hear of another local church having success in the work of evangelism. We want to know what they are doing. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to sit down and visit with Kerry Keenan, who works with the Lord’s church in Temple Terrace. Kerry is an evangelist, and he evangelizes. He has a passion for teaching others. I asked him to share with me what he and the church are doing. I came home and shared what he shared with me. One church imitating another church. No autonomy is lost.
Yes, just like Thessalonica imitated the church of Judea, one church can imitate another church. Find the good. Ask questions. Observe their attitudes and their devotion. Then imitate them as they imitate the Lord.
Rickie Jenkins
