The Evangel Dean Basic Training Resource Handbook

A PPENDIX • 289

II. The Practical Application of a Locale Theology: The Urban Church Association (UCA)

A. The mechanical inworkings of an effective UCA (cf. “A Model of an Urban Church Association”).

1 Pet. 5.8 – Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls round like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

2 Cor. 2.10-11 – Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, [11] so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

1. The reality of the enemy and the great need for connection and association among urban churches

2. How predators hunt – by isolation:

a. Stragglers: those who don’t keep up with the pack

b. The weak and infirm: those who are vulnerable due to ill-health

c. The young and inexperienced: those not yet strong enough to be independent

d. The reckless: those rebellious and recalcitrant

3. Why churches tend to grow in bunches, and fail alone

a. Churches that are alone easily tend to forget their place in the grander story and schema of the Kingdom (“tempest in a tea cup” syndrome). b. Churches that are alone lose answerability to a larger context where their doctrine, practice, and behavior can be encouraged and challenged. c. Churches that are alone may easily isolate themselves from the larger body of Christ, spawning either heresy or schism (or both).

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