Bursting Wineskins: Searching For New Covenant Church Life

By Mack Cunningham

This book describes my journey that started with my disappointment regarding the Church life I was raised. This led to discovering the vast difference between modern Church life and what is recorded in Scripture about life in the early Church. Along the way I see parallels between modern Church life and the Old Covenant practices of the nation of Israel under the law. I conclude with a comparison and critique of early Church life vs. modern Church life to determine which 'wineskin' is more beneficial to be poured into.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667815121

Book preview

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© 2021 Mack Cunningham. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN: 978-1-66781-511-4 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-66781-512-1 (ebook)

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 – My Journey Begins

Chapter 2 – The New Wineskin

Chapter 3 – The New Wine

Chapter 4 – Comparing Covenants

Chapter 5—Recovering New Covenant Priesthood

Chapter 6 – The Old Wineskin

Chapter 7– Comparing Wineskins

Chapter 8 – Traditions and Human Reasoning

Chapter 9 – How Necessary Are You?

Chapter 10 – My Journey Continues

Resources

Introduction

It is well documented that there are increasing numbers of believers who no longer attend local churches. As a result, traditional denominations are losing membership and independent churches aren’t fairing much better. This book is written to followers of Jesus Christ who are either dissatisfied with their current church life or who have already left traditional church attendance and are in a ‘fellowship desert’. Even those who are already participating in a smaller, less traditional church life might find something edifying and affirming by following my journey. This small book is not a definitive work on the church by any means, but is intended to provide encouragement and clarity to some, and challenge others to re-examine some things in light of God’s word.

The church is loved by God. God’s only Son suffered and died to bring it into fruition. The church is deeply intertwined with the godhead because we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and are ‘in Christ’. Therefore, one should tread lightly and prayerfully if attempting to criticize the church. There should be something very harmful to point out and motives should be checked to make sure there is no hidden fleshly agenda. And so, I take on the unenviable task of critiquing the church in this little book. Many will argue that the church needs to be built rather than being torn apart, which is true. But I believe that we cannot tolerate or ignore certain ways of thinking or acting that are detrimental to the healthy growth of the church. Just as the Lord entrusts Spirit-filled believers to edify one another, He burdens certain saints to bring a word of rebuke and correction to His church when needed.

That being said, I want to make it very clear that I am not disparaging the motivation of leadership in contemporary churches. Nor am I saying that nothing good comes from the way church life is currently practiced. But I do yearn for the church to realize where it has forsaken the Lord’s will and inadvertently substituted practices that have impeded the growth and maturity of the church. I earnestly hope that my heart and spirit will be abundantly clear in the following pages.

WARNING! Fasten your seat belts. The following pages contain a radically different doctrine that could cause you discomfort. If you are allergic to open dialogue and taking a fresh look at things you currently believe and practice, please pray before reading.

Acknowledgements : Gaylynne Sword and Dayle Caldwell for their help in editing.

All Bible references are from The English Standard Version.

Chapter 1 –

My Journey Begins

For much of my time as a follower of Christ, I have been interested in how believers live out their social lives in the church. This focus developed in me from an early age because I was raised in the very different church structure of a Brethren Assembly. We did not recognize the office of ‘pastor’ and did not pay anyone to teach. More mature brethren shared the teaching responsibility. There was very little ‘sermonizing’ in our gatherings. Rather, we were provided brief comments on a list of scriptures related to a particular subject. There was no worship band and whoever was leading the singing regularly asked for selections from the congregation. We met for two hours on Sunday, dedicating one hour to the ‘breaking of bread’ (the Lord’s Supper, Communion). During this Communion time, anyone could pray, share a scripture, or select a song.

In my mid-twenties, I left the Brethren due to their extreme separatism. My fellowship was highly suspicious of other local churches and felt they had to protect the ‘special ground’ they believed they occupied. So, for the first time in my life I ventured out into the world of evangelical church life most believers experience in America. I was shocked by the stark contrasts I experienced and found myself very uncomfortable when participating in this foreign style of church life. Here is what typically takes place. An official greeter says hello to everyone as they enter a large ‘sanctuary’ and hands them a bulletin containing announcements and the agenda for the service. This struck me as very sterile and superficial because I was used to gathering of about one-hundred people who acted more like an extended family to each other. Then we were encouraged to use cards found in the backs of seats to register our attendance and express any prayer requests for the staff to pray about during the week. I couldn’t help but feel I was attending a conference instead of a church service. The singing included some contemporary worship choruses led by a worship band which I quite enjoyed. The accompaniment was very professional but the sound was turned up so loud that I could barely hear myself sing, let alone anyone else.

The sermons I heard were also very different from what I was used to. The Brethren teaching style was to focus on a topic or word, visit several related verses in scripture, and briefly comment on each one. I now encountered an entirely different kind of teaching called a ‘sermon.’ Sermons typically focused on exegeting a few verses of scripture. From these few verses, three or four points were highlighted that were embellished with illustrations, practical applications, and exhortations. I was surprised at the pragmatic (how to live a successful Christian life) emphasis most of the sermons had and how little they glorified God and what He has done for us. The ‘preachers’ also seemed to spend a good deal of time exhorting everyone. To me this bordered on emotional manipulation. Many sermons ended with an ‘alter call’. I had never experienced an ‘alter call’ in my church life up to that point and the whole idea of evangelizing in a gathering of the church seemed out of place. So, when the pastor asked the congregation to raise their hand and then come forward to pray with him for repentance or salvation, I became extremely uncomfortable.

Another first for me was passing an offering plate at every service. We just dropped our offering in a box at the back of the meeting hall. This struck me as almost shameful because of the social pressure this kind of collection puts on people. At the end of the service, another odd thing occurred. The pastor raced back to the exit doors to shake hands with people who lined up to say hello to him and compliment him on his sermon. How bizarre and self-serving was that? I left these services with a heavy heart because