One clear lesson we can glean from the Lord's messages to the seven churches in Asia is that local churches are fallible. Their fallibility is seen in the Lord's call for them to "repent" (Revelation 2:5, 16; Revelation 2:21-22; Revelation 3:3, 19).

While the local church is biblically authorized, necessary and beneficial to Christians, if our loyalty to a local church is greater than our loyalty to the Lord, we abuse our blessing! We have forgotten that the Lord is infallible and the local church fallible. 

Too much emphasis is placed on the collective activities of the church, while little emphasis is realized in the individual activity of Christians. To acknowledge the possibility that a local church can sin and need a wholesale repentance is to begin to accept our individual responsibility as Christians (Philippians 2:12). This is demonstrated in the three works of a local church.

Local churches can engage in collective worship practices that are not authorized in Scripture. We must remember that God desires true worshippers that worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). True worshippers are individuals, not churches. If individuals never question the unauthorized worship practices in a local church, who will? Who is to blame? Will a local church answer at the judgment (2 Corinthians 5:10)?

Local churches can engage in evangelism practices that are unauthorized. Souls are to be called to Christ by the gospel (2 Thessalonians 2:14), not by entertainment, recreation and social functions. It is the fellowship of Christians in a local church that make such unauthorized activities possible. To end these unauthorized practices, individual Christians must challenge them and, if necessary,  withdraw their fellowship (Ephesians 5:11). Let every individual Christian trust in God and His word to save souls, not men and their social gospels (Galatians 1:6-9).

Local churches organize themselves in a variety of ways that God has not authorized. Where the first century churches each had a plurality of elders (pastors) and deacons, evangelists and members (Philippians 1:1; Ephesians 4:10-11; 1 Corinthians 12:20), today's churches have one pastor overseeing a flock with every type of minister under the sun (youth, singles, pulpit, evangelistic, music, etc), female leaders (1 Corinthians 14:34-35; 1 Timothy 2:11-12), and many other perversions. Individual Christians fill these unauthorized roles and individual Christians call for them to be filled. Individual Christians must recognize that just because the collectivity demands something, it does not necessitate or authorize it (Colossians 3:17). Local churches are not organized by majority rule, but by the Lord's rule (Matthew 28:18).

Many other practices of local churches fall into the same dilemma. For instance, some local churches spend their money without the authority of the Lord. It is not their money, it is the Lord's money and must be spent how He authorizes. When local churches cease to function under the Lord's authority, they cease to be the Lord's church (cf. Revelation 2:5). In addition, the names local churches call themselves by say much about where their allegiance lies.

The actions of many Christians would lead us to believe that the local church is the head of the individual Christian. Let us never forget, just as Christ is the Head of the church (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18), He is also the head of the individual Christian (1 Corinthians 11:3). The leadership of a local church is also subject to Christ (Hebrews 13:7,17). Local churches are not sources of authority, but are to be under the authority of our Lord (Ephesians 5:24), who purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18).

If individual Christians fail to correct local churches when they stray from the will of God, they render themselves subject to the local church, not to Christ. Only when individual Christians, subject to their Lord and Savior, demand that local churches remain faithful and true to the inspired teachings of the Lord, will the Lord truly be our all in all (Ephesians 1:22-23).