PUTTING AN END TO WORSHIP WARS - Elmer Towns

Two principle Greek words are used in the New Testament to describe fellowship. The
first is koinonia which is translated "communion" and "fellowship" in the New Testament and
has the idea of "sharing in common." The second word translated "fellowship" is metoche. This
word literally means "partnership" and conveys the idea of sharing in or partaking in something
as one of the partners of an enterprise.
The idea of Christian fellowship is also conveyed in the affirmations of unity in the early
church. The Greek word henotes meaning "unity" or "oneness" is used only twice in Scripture
(Eph. 4:3, 13), but the concept is emphasized in the Acts by the expression "one accord" (Acts
1:14; 2:1; 4:24) and statements concerning the church being "of one heart and one soul" (Acts
4:32).
As one studies the pattern of church growth in the early church, there appears to be two
aspects of church life. First there was the cell, which was the smaller group meeting together as a
fellowship group or ministry team (Acts 4:32). Second, there was the celebration which was a
gathering of the cells in a larger group for some corporate activity (Acts 5:14).
Evidence for the existence of cells and celebration as part of church life exists in the New
Testament apart from the church in Jerusalem. In the church of Corinth, the church in that city
was apparently composed of a number of Gentile cells (Rom. 16:4) and a number of Jewish cells
(Rom. 16:16). It is significant that in writing to the Romans from Corinth, the apostle sends
greetings from "the whole church" in Corinth (Rom. 16:23).
Cells provide the infrastructure needed to build a larger church. Most people will be
bonded to a cell group in the church before they would become a part of a larger ministry. But
there must also be a place for celebration. The two are complimentary, not contradictory. What
is learned in cells, is expressed in celebration. What is gained in celebration should strengthen
the cell experience.
The cell group in a Body Life Church is usually characterized by four principles. First,
cell group members have a basic commitment to one another and their cell group. Second, there
is a commitment to openness in relationships especially within the context of the cell group.
Often, this takes time to develop and grows the longer people are involved in a cell group. The
third principle characterizing cell groups is the reliance people develop. The cell group becomes
the accountability structure in the lives of cell group members. Finally, healthy cell groups are
committed to enlargement and growth. Usually, cells are divided when attendance consistently
reaches eighteen to twenty members. If a cell group does not reach this point within eighteen
months, many churches elect to dissolve the group and incorporate group members into healthy
growing cells.
EXPECTATIONS AND ROLES IN THE BODY LIFE CHURCH?
The pastor of a Body Life Church is the facilitator of the church. Most Body Life
Churches believe in and practice the plurality of elders. There may be many "teaching elders"
within a single church. On some occasions, a strong teaching pastor may emerge as the leading
pastors. On other occasions, the teaching pastors in a church work to avoid allowing any one