"CHALLENGES CONFRONTING THE CHURCH"

The Sponsoring Church

INTRODUCTION
  1. In this series, so far we have considered the challenges of...
    1. Authority In Religion e. Traditionalism
    2. Denominationalism f. Secularism
    3. Sectarianism g. Institutionalism
    4. Factionalism
  2. Each of these contribute toward changing the church...
    1. Into something very different than Jesus intended
    2. Creating churches that are more worldly than spiritual

[There is one more challenge I wish to cover in this series. One closely related to institutionalism, and has been at times a reaction to certain forms of institutionalism: the sponsoring church concept...]

  1. THE DEFINITION OF THE SPONSORING CHURCH
    1. EXPLAINED...
      1. Where one congregation oversees (sponsors):
        1. Either a work in another area
        2. Or the combined efforts of two or more churches
      2. "One congregation that especially oversees a project such as a mission society, in which other congregations have an interest and to which they voluntarily contribute regularly." - J. D. Thomas, We Be Brethren, p. 355
      3. "The fact that other churches contribute to a project that is overseen by the elders of one church is the central idea." - ibid.
      4. "A sponsoring church is a congregation which assumes the oversight and control of some activity in the general field of evangelism, edification, or benevolence." - Kevin Kay, Institutionalism: Sponsoring Church
    2. EXAMPLES...
      1. A church sponsors a foreign work, with its elders overseeing the evangelist(s) and the congregation(s) in a particular area
      2. A church sponsors a work beyond its own ability to finance (e.g., TV, radio), and asks other churches to financially support its efforts
      3. A church sponsors an evangelist, with other churches channeling their support of said evangelist through the auspices and control of the sponsoring church
    3. ORIGIN...
      1. The sponsoring church concept was developed as an alternative to parachurch organizations
      2. For example, many churches of Christ opposed human institutions like missionary societies
      3. The sponsoring church concept sought to do the same work through churches rather than missionary societies

      [At a quick glance, one might wonder, "What is so bad about that?" I believe there are reasons to be concerned...]

  2. PROBLEMS WITH THE SPONSORING CHURCH
    1. IT IS WITHOUT SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT...
      1. Some point to Jerusalem as a sponsoring church - Ac 11:29-30; 12:25
        1. Claiming the elders of the Jerusalem oversaw the work of distributing funds from the church in Antioch
        2. But the elders in Ac 11:30 are just as likely those of the churches in Judea, not Jerusalem
      2. Some believe Philippi sponsored Paul's support - 2Co 11:8; Php 4:15-16
        1. Presuming that support from other churches were funneled through Philippi
        2. But Paul's remarks in Php 4:15 refer to the beginning of the work in Macedonia
        3. 2Co 11:8 can easily include later support received directly from other churches
    2. IT GIVES TOO MUCH OVERSIGHT TO ELDERS...
      1. Elders are to oversee the flock of God "among" them - cf. Ac 20:28; 1Pe 5:1-2
      2. Elders of a sponsoring church have oversight beyond the local congregation
      3. They oversee works in other places, even churches in other countries
      4. Who gave the elders the right to assume such authority?
    3. IT VIOLATES THE NT PATTERN FOR LOCAL AUTONOMY...
      1. In the NT, congregations were independent, autonomous
      2. Other than the Lord and His apostles, a congregation was answerable only to its elders - cf. 1Pe 5:5; He 13:7,17
      3. Elders of sponsoring churches expects churches/individuals they sponsor to answer to them
      4. Sponsoring churches have sought to control the actions and even the property of churches or works they sponsor (especially in foreign countries)
    4. IT REVERSES SCRIPTURAL COOPERATION BETWEEN CHURCHES...
      1. In the NT, support always worked toward the direction of equality - cf. 2Co 8:13-14
      2. With the sponsoring church concept, smaller churches send money to bigger churches
      3. Instead of equality, big churches become bigger at the expense of smaller churches
    5. IT SEEKS TO ACTIVATE THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH...
      1. The sponsoring church concept was originally developed in opposition to church supported missionary societies (e.g., the American Christian Missionary Society)
      2. The missionary society concept was designed to activate the universal church
      3. Thus the sponsoring church seeks to accomplish the same goal as the missionary society
      4. Yet such efforts have unintended consequences, including the next problem...
    6. IT LEADS TO DENOMINATIONALIZING THE CHURCH...
      1. Attempts to activate the universal church lead to factionalism and denominationalism
      2. Invariably, such efforts separate those who support such efforts from those who do not
      3. Before long, groups of churches are identified by whether or not they support such efforts (e.g., so-called "cooperative" vs. "non-cooperative" churches)
      4. People begin asking "Are you with us, or them?", sounding like Corinth - cf. 1Co 1:11-12
CONCLUSION
  1. Like institutionalism, the sponsoring church concept began with good intentions...
    1. A desire to do good
    2. A desire to do more
  2. But like institutionalism, the sponsoring church concept has unintended consequences...
    1. Changing the nature, work, even the organization of the church
    2. Contributing to traditionalism, factionalism, sectarianism, denominationalism

As the Lord's church enters the third millennium, we do well to constantly examine ourselves, looking to the Scriptures to make sure that we are what the Lord wants us to be, willing to confront any challenge that threatens the church for which Jesus died...