If you were to ask several people from within the Restoration Movement to describe the perfect church you would receive several different answers. If you were to drill down and ask those of a single congregation to paint the picture of an ideal church you would see many paintings. Whether subtle or obvious, most Christians do not share an exact model of congregational or church perfection in their mind. 

One might argue that there is a lack of Bible study or knowledge and that is the reason for such discrepancies. This is to insinuate others are not respectful of God’s word. More likely part of the answer lies in how we approach the Bible, not if.

What does God think? Is there a perfect church situation here on earth? Are we asking (seeking) too much?

In John 6:15 the Jews had confused a political and earthly kingdom with God’s eternal home for them. However, the Old Testament was pointing forward to something better and spiritual. Colossians 2:17, Hebrews 8:5 and Hebrews 10:1 show the law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. Could we fall into the same trap of attempting to make the shadow the reality?