Dear friends This week’s edition touches on a subject that we’ve talked about before—or at least that I’ve talked about before in the old days when this site had a different name. Should we think of church mainly as a family which exists for its own sake and the building up of its members in Jesus Christ? Or is church more like a voluntary society with a mission—to reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ? And what are the consequences of emphasizing one of these options more than the other? We were prompted to have another crack at this subject by a recent speech by Simon Flinders, and in particular by a paragraph from that speech that kicks off our conversation (see below). I hope you find it stimulating! Your brother Tony (PS. Apologies for the late arrival of this week’s edition—a bit of sickness in our small team slowed us down.) This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.twoways.news/subscribe