Introduction
The Church is essential to Christians as it is responsible for spreading the gospel and interpreting scriptures and religious teachings. It depends on several evolutions that have shaped it into what it is today. A critical analysis of the Church requires identifying practices and beliefs and relating them to the guidelines provided in the Bible and by theologians and historians. [2] The Bible is essential as it is considered the Christian Holy Book, which forms the basis for all faith teachings. [1]
This paper critically analyses the Church’s adherence to orthodox, protestant, and evangelical teachings, its organizational structure, discipline, mission, discipleship, and worship, emphasizing biblical fidelity, historical authenticity, practical feasibility, and fostering a sense of community among fellow evangelical churches while promoting spiritual growth and ministering to the physically suffering and spiritually lost. These factors are applied in practice to The Sanctuary Church, analyzing its adherence to these principles and identifying which form the basis of its strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths
Teachings
The current religious atmosphere is characterized by many denominations, each of which teaches Christian doctrine in a manner distinct from the others. Despite this, they all agree with several aspects; the first is that the Church is centered on the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and is formed by the Spirit. [3] To have a good influence on the lives of individuals, The Sanctuary Church spreads the message that people should have faith in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. [4] Christians can enjoy an invisible oneness with the Savior and a visible unity with those who follow Jesus due to the activities of the Holy Spirit, which is ministry.
Regarding the beginning of the Church, there are a few different points of view: R.B. Kuiper’s viewpoint contends that it began with Adam, and B. Douglas Bannerman alleges that it started with Abraham. [3] At the same time, Millard Erickson refers to the Day of Pentecost. [3] Regardless of what origin one appreciates, one must adhere to the Church’s teachings.
Every Church acknowledges the Bible as the ultimate authority to which Christians should look for guidance in their faith and practices. Because the apostles welcomed members of the Gentile faith into their congregation, the Church must be welcoming to everybody. [3] Regardless of their origins, all members are welcome to join The Sanctuary Church, which aligns with this inclusiveness. [4]
There is a consensus among contemporary evangelical churches that the sacraments of baptism and the Last Supper, as well as other theological and spiritual practices done to accomplish personal development, are recognized. [3] These sacraments are upheld by The Sanctuary Church, which acknowledges the significance of the Last Supper as a communal event and Water Baptism as the introduction to the Christian faith. [4] Those churches that regard this as the primary subject in evangelical ecclesiology explain the fitting of ecclesiology and sanctification.
All churches recognize the unseen Church as the organization that serves as the basis for the visible Church. A globe of evangelical traditions and diverse orthodox Protestant perspectives results from this, culminating in a unity of variety. [3] As an illustration of the fact that the Church filled by the Spirit takes place when the Church functions as a community, the Apostle Paul describes the Church in Corinth as a temple of God, which is the location where the Spirit resides.
As part of its efforts to align itself with this, The Sanctuary Church provides communal and group-specific services. [4] These services include ministries for men, women, youth, and children. The Sanctuary Church seeks to align its teachings with themes that promote acceptance, tolerance, and respect for all individuals, fostering community within the congregation. [12] The acts it takes are consistent with the teachings of other evangelical churches and reflect the perspectives of both the Orthodox and the protestant traditions.
Discipline
A crucial aspect of the Church’s adherence to biblical, historical, and theological discipline is its proper administration of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. According to the Bible, the last supper took place on the day that was supposed to host the typical Passover meal. [11] However, it was not exactly similar to the Passover, with the Bible pointing out that Jesus gathered his disciples for this meal after the Passover was complete. [12] He introduced a new aspect when he associated the bread with his body and the wine with his blood.
From a theological perspective, the Savior’s actions in associating the physical elements with his body and blood formed the new covenant that replaced the Passover, which had been the annual hallmark of the Old Testament’s covenant. [11] Jesus called on Christians to eat the bread and drink the wine in remembrance of him, which showed that he aimed for them to focus on the bread and wine and not the novelty of the Passover meal. [11] 1 Corinthians 11 illustrates that Jesus meant for the Last Supper to be celebrated frequently among gathered communities.
Apart from variations in naming, frequency, observance, and beliefs about the significance of bread and wine, the Lord’s Supper is a critical part of a properly constituted church community. [3] Evidence from the Bible suggests that all early churches observed the covenant of the Last Supper as part of their worship during the first day of the week, raising questions over whether modern churches had the authority to alter this. [11] However, Apostle Paul strictly warned against it when he instructed the Thessalonians to stand firm and uphold their traditions. [11]
With the spread of misinformation, confusion, and bad teachings, churches must revisit the biblical, historical, and theological facts that confirm that a weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper is an accepted practice. [11] The Sanctuary Church’s adherence to the apostolic teachings regarding the Last Supper remains firm. It ensures that believers come together during the Sunday morning service to share in the body and blood of Christ. This adherence illustrates the Church’s commitment to aligning with the teachings of the new covenant, especially those of the Apostle Paul.
The Church considers baptism the rite of initiation into the Christian faith. It recognizes the impact of baptism on spiritual growth, with one needing to be baptized by the Spirit that converges all believers into one body of Christ. [3] According to theological teachings, believers are tasked with making disciples, baptizing them, and educating them on the teachings of Jesus Christ so they can meet what he expects of them. [3]
However, just like the Last Supper, there are diversities among churches regarding the best way to conduct baptism, the specific utterances to be made by the parties involved, and the actions associated with the practice. [3] One common factor across all denominations is the belief that water baptism is a prescribed sacrament in Christ’s Church. Unfortunately, despite baptism’s many aspects, many churches have narrowed it to focus on only one or two factors, making it ineffective in fulfilling its purpose.
Churches must align baptism with these characteristics, the first being the public confession of the Trinitarian Faith. They must understand that the confessions of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not merely a formula for declaring the rite but an acceptance of the Trinity’s work in creation, revelation, redemption, and consummation. [7] The second aspect identifies baptism as a personal association with Christ’s death and resurrection, with the believer acknowledging the significance of Jesus’ sacrifice as a sacrifice for their sins and his resurrection as an offer for theirs. [7]
Thirdly, baptism is repentance from a life of sin, as in the Bible, when John the Baptist preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. [8] Baptism goes beyond this enslavement from sin to become a pledge to live a sanctified life, with the believer committing to uphold a holy life. [8] In addition, baptism is a rite of initiation into the covenant community, where believers commit to following the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. [6]
Finally, baptism is a mark of official community forgiveness, with the baptized enjoying a place in the Church and among the communion of saints. [6] The Sanctuary Church is firm in its adherence to these principles, appreciating the role of baptism in accepting new Christians. [4] Its commitment to ensuring a complete baptism process aligns with biblical, historical, and theological interpretations of baptism.
Mission
In a critical analysis of The Sanctuary Church, Evangelism is heavily dedicated to reaching the lost, emphasizing spiritual acknowledgment and a commitment to nearness to Godliness. Through diverse evaluation, the project helps the lost willingly, with the power and love of God. Love in Christ is an endless virtue that brings mental and spiritual peace.
Dedication towards the word of God is paramount, summarizing the knowledge acquired about the biblical circle. [2] Through the dimension of the Spirit and the truth of God’s word, this gives people hope, especially those with faith in God’s sayings. The evaluation of evangelism has brought the poor and the rich together; the selfish and the giving together bring about good interrelationships between them in the eyes of the Lord.
Considering the Ghana project issues on education and healthcare initiatives, food and clothing are essential to the critical mission of The Sanctuary Church. Individual responses and responsibilities include looking out for each other’s interests, meeting each other’s needs, and allowing others to reciprocate their love and concern for us. [11] Offering food and clothing to people experiencing poverty has imposed a great responsibility towards society. Providing Christian education to children has strengthened individuals’ moral codes and created a cycle of good reputation in the community. The Sanctuary Church has built a clinical center that provides quality healthcare to the community and significantly contributes to health and sensitization.
The ministry to the physically suffering and spiritually lost, salvation, comes hand in hand, and it begins with the new birth, continues through the ministry of the gospel, and climaxes at the final day when that glory, honor, and praise are expressed. [3] The Sanctuary Church, standing on its pillars and reviving the community through the power of God, has allowed the calling to announce salvation in Christ. [4] It states it is a primary God-given mission, opposing the churches that do not align with this fundamental knowledge. [3] Healing through Jesus Christ is seen in the Church, where the sick get healed, the poor get rich, and the hopeless get hopeful.
Each church member should treat others with honor, respect, and compassion, which means loving others as you love yourself and being captivated by the word of God. People participate in the Church not for themselves but for others. [3] The love and unity each member has for one another have helped people depend on each other regarding economic stability and the peaceful coexistence of society.
The Sanctuary Church encourages guidance and counseling, especially for youth and homeless individuals. The Church has built counseling centers that offer necessary advice for addressing a range of challenging situations by advocating the whole message of the word and following Jesus Christ. The Sanctuary Church devises ways to administer the word of God and promote peace and love throughout the entire community, viewing the Church as a spiritually healing world.
Weaknesses
Worship
Worship based on historical, theological, and biblical reflection includes confession, corporate prayers, singing hymns, offering food or money to the poor, observing the Lord’s Supper, public reading of the scripture, and a message of love and good work in the apostolic Church. [10] Consequently, the issue of sermo-centrism in The Sanctuary Church has diminished the entire church service to the sermon, where everything but the sermon is detachable, optional, and flexible. [10] This ignores the validity of other aspects of the service.
The purpose of gathering as a church is to exhibit the community’s unity by properly observing the Lord’s Supper, praying for urgent matters, exercising spiritual gifts to strengthen the whole body, reporting on ministry endeavors, and discussing controversial doctrinal and practical issues. It underscores the essence of communal fellowship and worship, where people come together to intercede for their needs and honor the sacraments. [13] Exercising church discipline through reading the apostolic writings, breaking bread, and providing instruction in the faith to purify the local congregation brings about the union of individuals for Christ. The church service will encourage people to love, do good works, and confess their sins to one another. [10] This will resist the trend of sermon-centrism.
The rise of online sanctuary churches should not be the sole focus of church services; it generally eliminates community social gatherings. [10] Although it can be essential at some point to spread the word of God or a biblical message online or broadcast to those who may not make it to Church physically for diverse reasons, it should not be exclusively online. [10] Despite advances in the technological world, this goes against the biblical and theological requirements of worship. [10] Online worship can be destroyed by social platforms on the same device used for social media message notifications, which can turn one’s concentration away from listening to the word of God and start other social interactions. Other online issues that can distract from concentration include advertisements on worship sites and unintended calls.
On the contrary, online services bring about anti-sacramentalism, discouraging rites of initiation and renewal to Christ, hence lacking a proper place for sharing the body and blood of Christ, that is, sacraments, and practicing baptism. Baptism loses its original meaning as today’s traditions do not dwell on the practice and role of baptism in churches. [10]
The Lord’s Supper, which requires people to attend the service physically, has suffered even more. [10] Sharing Christ’s blood and body represents the unity of people and salvation. The Sanctuary Church should encourage church members’ physical participation to abolish the anti-sacramentalism trend.
The conversion of the congregation into an audience and the seeking of crowd approval for monetary gain are practiced in The Sanctuary Church. [10] Celebrity preachers and politicians aim for attraction, treating the church setting as a pyramid to reach the top. Political issues in the Church destroy individual harmony because they often focus on self-interest, corruption, and tribal conflicts that oppose the Church’s message.
Evangelism has eliminated the physical aspect of The Sanctuary Church in today’s society. Churches are seen as virtually bringing about neo-docetism, which leads to the establishment of non-incarnational churches. [10] Reducing the Church to a virtual one has promoted the ideology of an entirely virtual Christ.
Organization
The Church must organize its operations based on an authentic and workable structure. Church leaders are crucial to this organization, as they must demonstrate a solid understanding of the church’s guidelines and theological and religious requirements. Apostle Peter defines those who belonged to the Church as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation of people for his possession.” [3][14]
The Church consists of people who have the privilege of trusting in God, obeying him, and associating with others who share similar traits. [3] Any church that fails to present itself this way does not understand what it means to be Christ’s Church. [3] The Sanctuary Church recognizes the importance of these teachings and preaches to its believers the unique nature of those who believe in God, as his grace and power favor them.
Sviegel identifies several leadership modes that make up the church hierarchy. To begin with, the small community is the smallest, most intimate, and most manageable, with a qualified pastoral presence that promotes discipleship, accountability, and education. [5] In this group, the pastoral leaders are in direct contact with church members, understand their strengths and weaknesses, and meet the needs of this flock. [5]
The next level is the mother-daughter network, consisting of small to medium churches. This group has qualified pastoral individuals at each local church plant site, who address the needs of the people they serve. [5] The medium congregation consists of smaller groups with pastoral personnel among them for discipleship, accountability, and encouragement. [5] Past this comes the larger Church, which provides voluntary opportunities for intimate community among smaller groups of Christians with qualified pastoral leaders.
In this group, one can move from a pastoral leader to a professional executive when the trained, ordained leaders become detached from the congregation. [5] The megachurch has a large auditorium with multiple church campus services, providing believers with opportunities to participate in church programs and events. [5] In many cases, volunteer Christians are led by less qualified lay leaders.
The sixth level consists of multi-site church campuses, with the main campus serving as the central hub that broadcasts messages to these sites. On the local sites, pastoral leaders and Christians act as volunteers. [5] The remote Church has rapidly grown in recent decades, promoting online experiences with no real pastoral or community experience. [5]
The Sanctuary Church performs weakly in this leadership structure as it does not have a vast pastoral presence, which is crucial for interactions with community members. The Church has tapped into online technology to reach a wider audience and streamline sermon delivery. It hosts events such as Bible study sessions that bring together small groups of Christians for spiritual growth. However, despite believing in the divine appointment of apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, it has yet to implement a fully functional and practical leadership system. It must strive to maintain an effective organizational structure to ensure it achieves its goal of positively impacting congregations through spiritual growth.
Discipleship
To be a disciple, one must experience spiritual growth and establish a link with the body of Christ and the Church, which is responsible for ensuring the progress of Christians. According to theological research, the day of Pentecost was the turning point in the history of Christianity. This is because the Holy Spirit appeared to the disciples in the form of fire, leading them to acknowledge that baptism by the Spirit is precisely the same as baptism by fire. [3]
On this day, those who adhered to the teachings of Jesus Christ officially became known as Christians. Baptism by the Holy Spirit laid the groundwork for the apostles’ later tasks, including the propagation of the gospel and the establishment of the Church of the New Covenant. The Sanctuary Church follows the apostles’ actions to guide people toward becoming genuine worshipers of God in Spirit and truth. [4] It does this by spreading love and compassion for all people worldwide to increase the number of people who believe in God.
Furthermore, the apostles were responsible for carrying out their mission by traveling to other cities and towns to proclaim the Lord’s message to those who did not believe in him. When Jesus was on earth, the Church did not exist as it does today, yet he propagated his message, which affected the souls of those who listened to him. [5] The Sanctuary Church builds upon this foundation by utilizing evangelism as a means of assisting individuals in developing a close connection with God.
In many religious traditions, filling one’s soul with the Holy Spirit is the most critical factor in achieving a spiritual life. [3] This fullness can be recognized through fruits and gifts such as love, joy, understanding, prophecy, wisdom, faith, and hope. [5] These fruits enhance our interactions with other people.
The goal of The Sanctuary Church is to assist believers in acquiring these gifts, which are integral to their personal and spiritual growth. People need to make room for the Holy Spirit to work in and through their connections with others in the church community so they can be filled with the Holy Spirit. [5] Through various outreach programs, the Sacrifice Church seeks out individuals lacking in faith and instructs them in the teachings of the Bible. The discipleship program at The Sanctuary Church is admirable; nevertheless, the Church should make every effort to broaden its scope to reach a larger number of people and to disseminate the Lord’s gospel, which will ultimately lead to greater salvation and spiritual development.
Conclusion
Upholding spiritual unions and family values is The Sanctuary Church’s unique aim. Its main objectives are restoring families and creating. Its most vital points are its strong sense of mission to the community and dedication to its core beliefs. However, given its controversial beliefs and practices, which have drawn criticism and scrutiny, shortcomings may arise. Due to this information about the religion’s doctrines and lifestyle standards, adherents may develop a strong sense of discipline. Despite the dedication and unity shown by its members, The Sanctuary Church faces obstacles to its broad acceptance and longevity in the larger social environment due to its contentious nature and rigid discipline.
Bibliography
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- “The Sanctuary Church.” The Sanctuary Church.
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- Svigel, Michael J. “Dealing with the Elephants-Toward a Fuller Doctrine and Practice of Water Baptism (Part 3 of 3).” RetroChristianity, 2013.
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- Svigel, Michael J. “Riding the Elephant-Toward a Fuller Doctrine and Practice of Water Baptism (Part 4 of 3).” RetroChristianity, 2013.
- Svigel, Michael J. “Rise of the Anti-Church: Online Virtual ‘Church.’” RetroChristianity, 2012.
- Svigel, Michael J. “Should We Celebrate the Lord’s Supper Every Sunday in Church?” RetroChristianity, 2012.
- Svigel, Michael J. “[Y’all] Be Filled with the Spirit.” RetroChristianity, 2009.
- Hebrews 10:25.
- 1 Peter 2:9.