My wife and I have for years ‘gone to church’ Sunday after Sunday. We sat in a pre-planned service, being entertained, listening to one person tell us what God was saying, and looking at the back of the head of the person sitting quietly in front of us.
Each week we sat there, not having the opportunity to say what was on our minds, no chance to talk and get to know our brothers and sisters sitting all around us. We were told we were having good fellowship and teaching, learning more about God each week.
Truthfully, we were getting so tired of this religious social club environment. We were not getting anything out of this experience, and we certainly were not putting anything into it…..other than our money when the offering basket went past. We have become tired of the religious enterprise with its pre-planned services, the CEO and board of directors, along with the gimmicks and programs designed to ‘bring the people in’, especially when we were told to go out into the world. We were feeling a lot like what our friend Kenn Bruner said in one of his postings… people “who are tired of a predictable and ‘business as usual’ mundane and mediocre existence as a Christian; those tired of sitting in a church pew Sunday after Sunday in their “comfortable and safe” place, bored to tears”.
What we are finding is that true community is believers living their daily lives with one another by caring, loving, assisting, encouraging, and building one another up. This is what is known as the true Church. It is fellow believers living daily for Christ, not a once a week trip to a building and sitting there for an hour. As Ken Eastburn said in one of his postings… “Organic house churches are different than Bible studies or small groups as to fellowship and caring for one another. Meeting together once a week to study and discuss the bible is fine, but an authentic family of God is different. It goes deeper. Coming prepared to meet the needs of others, even when it is inconvenient, demonstrates the love of Christ”.
We are followers of Christ, going about our normal daily business, living with Christ as our head….not a pastor. We live as one with Christ, letting his life and love touch others each and every day. We assemble with our brothers and sisters in Christ any day, anywhere. Sunday is not the Lord’s day, every day is the day the Lord has made. God’s house is not a building where we gather with people who believe similar to the way we believe. God’s house is us, His people, those of us who have accepted His grace. We are called to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, not just those who believe like we do.
It has been good for my wife and me to stop being part of the Sunday morning crowd at the building of our choosing. It has us looking to God more, listening for His voice and allowing the Spirit to teach us rather than one man. It has us loving and accepting people as they are, not just those who believe like us. The Church is meant to be a community, living, loving and caring for one another each and every day. Although we have not yet found what we are looking for, we are trusting God to lead us and bring us into a community of believers he has for us. As Dan Notti said in one of his postings… “Believe God for it. Authentic community is God’s intention for believers. He has made the provision for it through the work of his Son and the power of the Holy Spirit, and He has the patience and love to stand with us as we experiment with living into it. Can we believe him for that”?
I stand with you my friend. Christ is enough, but when HE is squeezed through the filter and mindset of a religious institution not enough of HIM survives the process. We need no mediator or filter at all and when we awaken to that Truth we can begin to move past and out of dead religion into the true Church.
LikeLike
I totally echo your comment about church being social club and also, like you and your wife, had walked away from it. I intentionally asked the Lord to put people in my life who love Jesus. Shared my experience here:
http://truthsetsfree.me/2014/07/10/five-warning-signs-of-pseudo-fellowship/
LikeLike
I walked away from a traditional Anglican church over 40 years ago. For the last 12 years I have been very aware of tens of thousands of committed believers, walking away from churches they may have attended for many years. I’ve been learning so much about why people believe what they believe, often as a result of divisive, denominational theology.
It’s exciting to realise that more and more of us are being drawn to share our stories through blogging, and learning from each other in a way that we were never able to do in church, sitting in pews listening to a monologue.
LikeLike
Hello Peter, I agree, it’s encouraging to see so many going through the same thing we are going through. It is good that God is calling us out of religion and into a daily life as one with Him. Thanks for the comment.
LikeLike
Joining this wave of awakening about three plus years ago. I walked away from a church that my family spent twenty two years in. I felt I finally can breath some spiritually fresh air! Great to find many like-minds in this blogging community. I got a lot of encouragement from those Christians from all over the world who have similar experience.
http://truthsetsfree.me/2014/07/10/five-warning-signs-of-pseudo-fellowship/
LikeLike
Thank you for your comments. I appreciate you reading my articles. Like you, I find it encouraging to find others in this blogging community who are like-minded and sharing their stories. Thanks again.
LikeLike
We are not alone.
Sharing from International House of Prayers:
Too many Christians have become Christ-less Christians…. we need to stay strong till we see Him face to face.
http://truthsetsfree.me/2014/01/11/am-i-a-christ-less-christian/
LikeLike
Reblogged this on justhappeneduponthis and commented:
Sometimes ya’ gotta’ get outta’ church…to find church, Amen!
Anthony
LikeLike
Thanks Anthony, glad you liked the article. Thanks for reblogging it. I appreciate it.
LikeLike
I am with you brother. It has been a interesting 30 plus years of being an outsider. I am challenged as of late to learn how to truly love those who are not like me, and find their home in these churches/temples. I still long for and continue desire that the Lord would once again bring me back to the true fellowship of the believers my heart misses.
I read this from TAS, thought you would like to read it as well, tell me what you think. JM.
http://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/000718.html
LikeLike
Thanks John. It would be interesting to hear your journey of being outside the walls of organized church for so long. My wife and I have only been on our journey for just over a year, although it was several years of being separated in our thoughts and feelings before we actually left. I also read the article by Austin Sparks. What a great article. It is so good hearing others talk about things that we have wondered, questioned and thought for some time. Thanks for giving me the link.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on High Voltage Disciples: A Journeyman's Journal.
LikeLike
Thank you for this blog that expresses how I feel! My wife and I are also disappointed in what the church has become compared to what it should be illustrated in God’s word. We crave that sweet fellowship of Christ followers in the Acts 2 church.
LikeLike
Thank you Richard. It’s good to know that others feel the same and are going through the same thoughts. I appreciate you reading the article.
LikeLike
Good for you!
All of the “US” and “WE” in “HIM”
Anthony G.
LikeLike
Thanks Anthony. I appreciate you reading my article. Thanks for your comment.
LikeLike
thank you for reminding me of this excellent post, it is my humble privilege to reblog if that is o.k. with you?
Anthony
LikeLike