The church and the family (Redux and Part 1)

(Below is a post from September 2012 I have yet to follow up on. I plan to use this repost as the first in a series on the church and the family.)

Understanding, explaining and practicing the biblical view of the relationship between the family and the church can be a challenge.

Opinions about how the two should relate to one another run the gamut. In fact, we have seen them run the gamut in just our small fellowship, Covenant Community Church. And those opinions can be strongly held -- sometimes prompting, partly, people at both ends of the spectrum of opinions to depart the church family.

Because of opinions expressed in our church, I have given a lot of thought to the issue over several years. I have wanted to address it at this blog but have not seemed to find a good entry point for the discussion. I think I have now.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw that an acquaintance in the ministry whom I respect a lot had begun serving in a pastoral position with another church. I went to that church's website and found the following statement in the information about its ministry:

We believe that the family is the first and most important institution that the Lord created. Moreover, following God the family should hold the highest priority.

I believe we would all agree the family -- marriage specifically -- is the first institution God established. The other assertions -- "the family is the . . . most important institution that the Lord created" and "the family should hold the highest priority" -- raise questions for me, however. And I think they should for you, if you are a disciple of Christ identified with a church.

In this post, I don't intend to address those questions with answers. I have opinions that I think are biblically based. For now, however, I just want to ask some of the questions I think the statement above raises.

I welcome your responses to these questions and any additional questions you think should be raised.

Here are my questions:

-- Is this -- the assertion the family is the "most important institution" and "should hold the highest priority" -- what we see as we read the four gospel accounts, Acts and the letters in the New Testament?

-- Is this consistent with what Jesus is teaching when He offers some hard sayings at various points in His earthly ministry regarding His disciples' devotion to Him in contrast to their devotion to family members?

-- Does this mean the government is more important than the church, since God established it (Gen. 9) before either Israel or the church and this statement appears to be based partly on chronology?

-- Does this mean an institution based on flesh and blood is more important than one based on the blood of God the Son?

-- Does this diminish the church and thereby diminish the work of Christ in His perfectly righteous life and totally satisfactory, substitutionary death that created the church?

-- Does this mean the church is subservient to the family?

-- What does this mean for church members who are not part of a nuclear family? Is their value less because they are only part of a church family and not part of a biological/adoptive family?

-- Does this mean it is okay for me to think my family is more important than God’s family?