Paul salutes the Church
This week something leaped out at me that I know I've noticed before, but suddenly it seemed to be much more meaningful than before. Paul addressed his letters to the churches in a way that's pretty interesting (emphasis mine throughout):

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.... To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:1,7)

Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 1:1-3)

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia: Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (II Corinthians 1:1-2)

Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, (Galatians 1:1-3)

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:1-2)

Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Phillipians 1:1-2)

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Colossians 1:1-2)

Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (I Thessalonians 1:1)

Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (II Thessalonians 1:1-2)

Since we long ago realized that we would not find a denomination here that we agree with, we've had to search for a particular local church that we agree with and with whom we can worship. The one thing these greetings have in common, is that in every case Paul is addressing the believers in a particular city or region, that is, he's addressing the particular local churches in each case, he's not addressing denominations.

Even more significant than that, in the one place where he addresses something like denominationalism, he condemns it.

What would we do if suddenly everyone had to walk to church? There's no church within walking distance of our neighborhood, so we could invite all the Christian families close by to our house for worship service, but you know what? The only Christian families in our neighborhood I know and am friendly with are the one next door, and the one across the street, and they're both Roman Catholic.

There's a family down the street that I see dressed up and going someplace every Sunday morning, so I assume they're going to church, but, while I've met more Christians than this at homeschool meetings and such, the only other Christians I know in this whole town are the ones we've gone to church with, either at the base chapel, or the Lutheran and Episcopal churches, and they live so far away that we hardly ever see them during the week.