What is a heretic?

1.
a professed believer who maintains religious opinions contrary to those accepted by his or her church or rejects doctrines prescribed by that church.
2.
Roman Catholic Church. a baptized Roman Catholic who willfully and persistently rejects any article of faith.
3.
anyone who does not conform to an established attitude, doctrine, or principle.

It seemed well and good for me to describe what I intend to do through this blog by means of giving the definition for the very thing that I have been accused of being. A heretic doesn't have to reject all of the doctrines of a certain faith, just a few. For that reason, I would have to say that I'm not really sure if I could fall into the category of heretic with what things I do believe. I would even beg the question, what makes one a heretic in the modern Body of Messiah? I guess the answer to the question would be in how we interpret the writings of the Tanakh and the writings of the Apostles (Shaliachim). I believe that interpretation depends on the three "C's" of biblical study: context, context, context. Without the adequate picture behind the writings of the Newer Covenant , we are left with an incomplete doctrine and message. I have been studying the origins of our belief system for about two years now and, though I am nowhere near full knowledge and will never be, I seem to be creating quite a stir with the difference in opinion and thought from most evangelical Christians that I know. When questioned about church growth and size, my immediate reaction is to ask what the guage would be for appropriate growth and why size is of any importance. Obviously, most people are a little perturbed at the fact that I answer a question with a question, but, more importantly, they stop to ponder this question. Is questioning the longstanding idea that the size of a congregation is the cubit's rod for our growth a heretical idea? What is a proper response to "How healthy is your Church?" What is the origin of the word 'Church' and why is it so important that we figure it out? Does it change our idea of the Body of Messiah? Should it? Have fun heretics.