Local & temporary vs universal and permanent.

I've been exercised by F. F. Bruce's take (in A Mind for what Matters) on certain scriptures as having been of 'local and temporary' application....ie: 1 Tim 5:3-16...counsel about widows. These thoughts are of bearing on our approach to women in the church.
It seems to me that we do the scriptures a disservice when we take the truths brought to us in them and apply them as inflexible rules or laws. I don't believe this was ever what God intended when He gave us the scriptures. When we treat the scriptures like this we fall into the same trap as the scribes and pharisees.

I'm exploring the idea of "Authentic Christianity". By this I mean Christianity as we see it originally intended to be. Having said that...I realise that much of what we see in scripture is descriptive and not prescriptive. What does God want His church to be like? The characteristics, profile, shape, of His church?
I've addressed this several times in recent years in sermons I've preached, but I'm wanting to discover/develop a more substantial theology of Authentic Christianity.
I'm impatient of theorising and philosophising and I'm passionate to discover a practical, livable model.
This will mean examining how we do church in 2010; what we think is essential; our identifying characteristics. Then I'm interested in identifying what the scriptures have to say....bearing in mind that much that is said is descriptive rather than prescriptive of church, I'm looking for ingredients, components of AC. Christocentric. Love. Holy Spirit. Anointed. Super-natural. Diverse. Sacrificial. Giving. Going. Prayer. Servant leadership. People not building focused. Character before gifting. Gifting rather than academic qualifications. Koinonia. Miracles. Team.
What do you think?