The Meaning and Nature of the Church

In the early 1960s the Green Bay Packers were led by a giant of a coach named Lombardy. Lombardy was stickler for the basics and was known to have started one particular season by holding a football in front of the players and announcing, "gentlemen, this is a football".
It's easy to loose grasp of the game and the fundamentals by focusing on something outside the basics; to attempt to be tricky or cool, or advancing to more difficult tasks without mastering the fundamentals.
This concept isn't just for football players, it's true for all sports. Ask any golfer how easy it is to loose touch with the fundamentals of the swing.
The Church is no different. A church can loose touch with what the Church is supposed to be about, often loosing perspective of the meaning and nature of the church by emphasising leadership or management principles used by corporations, or by focusing on fads, or arguing over non-essentials regarding worship styles.
Over the next few weeks we will be presenting a series of eight studies focusing on the Bible for a proper understanding of the meaning and nature of the church. In our first study we will define the New Testament use of the term church and explain the difference between the local and the universal church. We will also attempt to mention misunderstandings of the term church that are popular in our modern culture.
If you're as frustrated as I am about what you see going on in the modern church, please go through this study. I invite you to make comments.