Social Media has been buzzing with “Church” talk.  What is the “Church?”  What is the “Local Church?”  Do we “go” to Church, or are we to “be” the church?  I think it’s a great conversation, even if it polarizes at times.  Some folks get a little nervous when reconsidering, re-evaluating, and perhaps even re-defining what the local church is, but I believe the Church has the ability to dialogue without unfounded accusations and uninformed exhortations.  In other words, the Church can talk about church, and even debate about it, without acting contrary to it.  I think that some ecclesiastical doubt is a good thing and ultimately healthy for the Church.  From my perspective, I believe that there is tremendous diversity in how local gatherings/fellowships/churches can express themselves, but also believe that whatever characteristics are true of the Universal Church should be reflected and represented in its slices, chunks, and parts.   A few questions:

1.  Is the Universal/Local Church distinction biblically supported?

2.  If local churches are structured according to, modeled after, or conducted in such a way that directly contradicts the accepted characteristics of the Universal Church, then can they be considered churches?

3.  At minimum, a local church can be considered a church when ______________.  Fill in the blank.