Church Anatomy

How to bring healing and wholeness into churches is probably the most important ecclesiological question of the our day. Earlier research on church health approached the subject like a mechanic working on an engine. Today's research on this subject views church health organically through the eyes of Family Systems Theory with sprinkles of Christian lingo. Even so, the body of research has remained virtually silent on the role of doctrine in improving church health.

The Apostle Paul's primary analogy for the Church was the body of Christ. His epistles view a healthy church in terms of differentiation or separation, harmonious community, equipping the saints, and the use of spiritual gifts. At the heart of this focus abides the basic gospel of salvation and a biblical world view that takes into account the realities of the spiritual world.

Without the gospel, churches easily fall into a Christian behaviorism that is inherent in a rational, mechanical approach like that of an engineer. Thus, churches experience burnout and defeat by trying and trusting the latest technique. Like blindfolded warriors who do not know who the real enemy is, congregations can harm themselves when they lack true spiritual discernment. This self-harming happens whenever biblical teaching about the realities of spiritual resources in Christ and spiritual obstacles outside of Christ are either absent or remain intellectual abstractions instead of personal wisdom.

Any serious attempt to approach developing church health as a living system in Christ by the Holy Spirit begins with the study of the biblical nature and mission of church (Ecclesiology). Applying the New Testament teaching about being and doing church as the apostles did for the unhealthy problems in those various congregations then is what developing healthy churches is about today.

We see examples of this in the those church leaders who came after the apostles whom we call the early church fathers They reminded churches of biblical teaching in addressing these issues in their day.

Their writings illustrate and expand upon biblical principals of church health. First, churches can become unhealthy after regaining their health if they stray from living by the biblical principles that support and define the body of Christ. Second, church health involves an ongoing battle to mature. Third, the unity of the Spirit is broken when unloving attitudes and actions destroy the bond of peace. Fourth, previously healthy churches that have become unhealthy can regain health by means of God's Spirit working through the Word of God.

Although the apostle Paul did not know systems theory, the image of the church as "the body of Christ" forms the foundation model for a systemic approach to church health. As a spiritual system made up of Christ's disciples, the church consists of several interrelated subsystems (See I Cor. 12-14 and Ephesians).

For the purposes of the Body Anatomy Church Health Development site, they may be thought of as analogous to the four researcher-designed anatomical dimensions of the human body. Starting with the outer dimension and working toward the inner dimensions of a congregational body of Christian disciples. My research identified four subsystems composing the spiritual anatomy of a church.

The skin system is the most visible subsystem of the human body. It covers the connection of our hands, arms, feet, legs to our torso, and to our head. Like skin, the biblical teaching about the nature of the church covers the entire body. This teaching is contained in the NT and often reflected in written statements of faith like the Nicene Creed. In addition, it forms the corporate relationship of the Church with its head-Jesus Christ . Sometimes, we forget our vertical relationship with God in our pragmatic haste for an active body that is doing good works in the world.

The subsystem of the skin also represents the connection of our hands, arms, feet, legs to our torso to the world as Christ's continuing ministry in the world through the Church as God's Healing Community mending broken lives.

There is an inter connection of the skin system with the other systems of the human body. The skin system connects to the internal subsystems of the musculoskeletal system and internal organ system, the neurological system, as well as the circulatory system of the body. Similarly, biblical teaching seeks to influence the subsystems of our horizontal relationships with each other in Christ. Biblical teaching seeks to shape how people behave and relate in God's church. Whenever, scriptural teaching fails to influence our horizontal relationship with each other in Christ, we fail to discern our connectedness as the body of Christ.

The musculoskeletal system (muscles, bones, and joints), and internal organ system represents relationships of holy Christian love between members of the body of Christ.

The nervous system connects the skin, muscles, bones, and internal organs of the human body in terms of action, direction, and coordination. Likewise, within a church system there is a very small but important part of the congregation's inner life. It involves wholesome relationships between the pastor and the leaders which each fulfilling their biblical roles. The NT teaching about church offers guidance to the relationships between those involved in congregational leadership.

The circulatory system energizes and defends the various subsystems of the human body. The red blood cells carry oxygen and nutrients. The white blood cells to fight disease or infection. Apart from the circulatory system, the human body cannot live. The skin, bones, muscles, internal organs and the nervous system all depend upon the blood cells of the circulatory system. In the same way, the soundness of individual Christians is crucial to the sound health of the whole church body. Church health not only involves the corporate life of the church but also the individual members of the body of Christ. As it concerns overall church health, biblical teaching concerning the church touches the spiritual, moral, relational, behavioral, emotional, and physical fitness of each Christian.

According to Theopedia: An Encyclopedia of Biblical Christianity, Ecclesiology is the study of the Church. In general, ecclesiology addresses various issues, the most basic being a biblical definition of the "church" and its functions. The word ecclesiology comes from the Greek ekklesia meaning assembly.

A healthy church is shaped by ecclesiology in every subsystem of its relationships. There are four subsystems of a church's spiritual anatomy. My doctoral project involved preaching eight sermons covering biblical teaching concerning congregational health.

Each sermon sought to apply ecclesiology to one or more of the two congregations'; four subsystems (see Table below). The following ecclesiological terms come from the third volume of H. Orton Wiley';s Christian Theology (103-117, 124-137).

Scripture	Ecclesiology	Sermons & Church Subsystems	Theme	Needs

1 Corinthians 15:1-7	Apostolic and Confessional	Spiritual Body Building Skin	The contribution of healthy boundaries of belief to church health.	To relate Jesus' resurrection to church health.
Ephesians 1:18-23	The Temple of the Holy Spirit.	A Headless Body? The whole anatomy.	The contribution of passionate spirituality for the church's health.	To strengthen the church's focus on the risen and ascended Head of the Church and to motivate spiritual growth.
Ephesians 4:1-3	Unity and Diversity	All in the Family musculoskeletal & internal organs, and nervous systems	The contribution of keeping the bond of peace to church health.	To encourage loving relationships within the church for the sake of improving teamwork.
Ephesians 4:7-13	Offices of Ministry	Coaches and Players musculoskeletal, nternal organs, and nervous system	The call of the pastor to equip the health of the church as a team.	To understand the biblical equipping role of the pastor.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11	Priesthood of all believers.	No Star Player musculoskeletal, internal organs, and nervous systems	The contribution of spiritual gifts to church health.	To understand and motivate people to participate in the ministry of all Christians.
Ephesians 4:17-24	The Holy nature and call Indefectible and mutable	Messy Morality musculoskeletal, internal organs, nervous and circulatory systems	The contribution of healthy moral boundaries to church health.	To point out the biblical teaching that personal morality does influence church health.
2 Timothy 3:1-7	The Holy nature and call Indefectible and mutable	Overcoming the Dark Side circulatory system	The contribution of Christian character to church health.	To motivate people to face the truth that our inner Christian character counts.
Ephesians 6:10-13	Militant Indefectible and mutable	The Empire Strikes Back! musculoskeletal, internal organs, nervous and circulatory systems	The place of spiritual warfare in church health.	To inform the church of the source of resistance to a church seeking to become healthier and how to deal with it strengthened by Jesus' resurrection power.

Biblical literature provides a primary organic lens for viewing the health of the body of Christ. Systems theory furnishes another organic lens for conceptualizing the dynamics of congregational health.

One major process governing the elements of the systems theory involves each part functioning according to its position in the whole system. Each dimension is systemically linked. Thus, any change, positive or negative, in one will influence the overall health of the church system. For example, if a pastor fails to declare sound ecclesiology or if an individual church member refuses it to some degree, the body of Christ will lack soundness to that degree. This lack of soundness will show itself either in unloving relationships, lack of harmonious teamwork, underdeveloped ministries, or deficient individual wholeness. Such hindrances to the wholeness of the body of Christ and the healthy fulfillment of its mission require a healing process that seeks to treat the system as a whole.

Sometimes our study of the New Testament leads to only see the church described as the body of Christ. Thus, we often miss how the writers of the New Testament used this biblical image in two ways. They used it prescriptively to improve a congregation's health as well as descriptively to define Christ's church.

Ecclesiolgy and Scripture	Congregational Needs	Church Anatomy

Apostolic Eph. 2:20; and Confessional Rom. 10:10. Impregnable Mtt. 16:17-19 and Vulnerable Acts 20:28-30; Eph. 6:10-18.	To relate Jesus Christ, Salvation, the formation of the Church and the Bible to Church Health.	The entire anatomy.
The Temple of the Holy Spirit Eph. 2:19-22; I Pet. 2:5. Impregnable Mtt. 16:17-19 and Vulnerable Acts 20:28-30; Eph. 6:10-18.	To encourage loving and holy, biblical relationships within the church.	musculoskeletal & internal organs, and nervous systems.
Unity and Diversity Eph. 2:11-18 & I Cor. 12. Impregnable Mtt. 16:17-19 and Vulnerable Acts 20:28-30; Eph. 6:10-18.	To encourage loving and holy, biblical relationships within the church.	musculoskeletal and internal organs, systems.
Offices of Ministry Eph. 4:11-13; I Cor. 12:27-30. Impregnable Mtt. 16:17-19 and Vulnerable Acts 20:28-30; Eph. 6:10-18.	To understand the biblical equipping role of the pastor and others.	musculoskeletal & internal organs, and nervous systems.
Priesthood of all believers Eph. 2:9-11; 4:12; I Pet. 2:4-10. Impregnable Mtt. 16:17-19 and Vulnerable Acts 20:28-30; Eph. 6:10-18.	To understand and motivate people to participate in the ministry of all Christians.	musculoskeletal & internal organs, and nervous systems.
The Holy nature Colos. 3:11-13 and call I Cor. 1:1-3. Impregnable Mtt. 16:17-19 and Vulnerable Acts 20:28-30; Eph. 6:10-18.	To point out the biblical teaching that personal morality does influence church health.	musculoskeletal, internal organs, nervous and circulatory systems.
The Holy nature Colos. 3:11-13 and call I Cor. 1:1-3. Impregnable Mtt. 16:17-19 and Vulnerable Acts 20:28-30; Eph. 6:10-18.	To motivate people to face the truth that our inner Christian character counts.	circulatory system
Militant James 4:6-8; Acts 26:17-19. Impregnable Mtt. 16:17-19 and Vulnerable Acts 20:28-30; Eph. 6:10-18.	To inform the church of the source of resistance to a church seeking to become healthier and how to deal with it strengthened by Jesus’ resurrection power.	The entire anatomy.