7 Attributes of the Church

Immanuel Baptist Church, Clinton, AR

I’m finally beginning to read Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church, a book by Dr. Gregg R. Allison.  It is a book that I’ve wanted to read for some time because of having the opportunity to sit under a couple of classes taught by Dr. Allison at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and hearing his heart for Jesus and his love for the local church.  I’m sure I’ll share some more from this work but one thing I liked was Dr. Allison’s 7 attributes of the local church.  I think you'll find it helpful reflecting on these.

The local church is: (pg. 103)

1. Doxological: oriented to the glory of God

2. Logocentric: focused on the Word of God – this is understood in two aspects. The local church is to be focused on Jesus the Word of God incarnate and to be focused on Scripture.

3. Pneumadynamic: created, gathered, gifted, and empowered by the Holy Spirit

4. Covenantal: gathered as members in new covenant relationship with God and in covenant relationship with each other

5. Confessional: united by both personal confession of faith in Christ and common confession of the historic Christian faith

6. Missional: identified as the body of divinely called and divinely sent ministers to proclaim the gospel and advance the kingdom of God

7. Spatio-temporal/eschatological: assembled as a historical reality and possessing a certain hope and clear destiny while it lives the strangeness of ecclesial existence in the here and now

The first three attributes deal with the church’s origin and orientation.  The church exists for the glory of God!  Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone and head of the Body.  The Spirit of God calls us out of death and into life and empowers us to live for Jesus and carry out His mission. 

The final four attributes deal with the church’s “gathering and sending.” We are gathered under the new covenant and confess Christ as our only suitable all sufficient savior in accordance with historic orthodoxy.  We are carry the message of the gospel this lost and dying world realizing that we have been called in a specific time and place as we await the blessed hope of Jesus’ return.

Therefore, I don’t think it’s necessary for a church to have a “vision statement” in the sense of needing to create a reason for why a local church exists. Here is our vision!  This is what the church is and this is how and why it exists and these truths are rooted in Scripture, which is all sufficient. 

I’m only about halfway through this book so far (which weighs in at about 471 pages) but I would recommend it to anyone who desires to grow in their understanding of and love for the church.  Here it is on Amazon. (I get no commission so just find the book for the best price!)