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Why Do People Leave The Church Building But Not God?

Posted in christian living, Community, Ekklesia, institutional church, The church, tagged Bible, christian living, Christianity, church, Love of God on February 25, 2024|

By Mike Edwards

I wrote here why people possibly deconvert though at one time having faith in God. Many Christian leaders imply those leaving the institutional church are leaving God. DONES are often deconverting from religion not God! One does not have to be involved in a regular Christian community to be a God-follower. I wrote here why I left the religious institution not God. There are many advantages to being a part of a group of people who seek to encourage one another about God. But many of us had to leave the building!

What are some emotional reasons people leave the building?

Packard has done much of the research. Many leave the building due to observed lack of responsible stewardship. 60% of the budget went toward the 90-minute show without serving better those outside the building. Many leave because being preached at doesn’t allow meaningful dialogue. Being so damn certain all the time is hardly relational, especially when even scholars disagree what the Bible says about issues impacting the lives of so many people. Many felt the lack of grace. People weren’t looking to excuse their moral failures, but why can’t we focus less on sexual behaviors and more on the poor, homeless, etc. Who is perfect! People leave for many reasons including abuse by leadership.

People leave for the same intellectual reason others leave the faith all-together

A major factor in leaving the building or God all together is because of views claimed about God. God according to the Bible supposedly condemns gays, burns unbelievers in the afterlife, and thinks women can fulfill the same roles as men though just as gifted. The truth is biblical scholars who have a deep respect for Scriptures don’t agree what the Bible says about gays, women, hell, and other moral issues. See here. See here. See here. It is only intuitive that a Creator loves the ways their creations ought to love one another. Biblical interpretations that don’t match how you and most know you ought to love your neighbor may be amiss.

Another major intellectual reason is due to certain explanations given for the presence of evil and suffering in our world despite there being a God. It is understandable why many can’t believe in a supposedly, all-powerful God who standbys while one is being raped, tortured, murdered, abused, etc. What kind of parent or God stands by and not intervene when they could prevent such suffering? Maybe a perfect, loving God can’t be controlling just as they can’t be manipulative. Maybe God can’t intervene single-handedly without human help. See Thomas Oord. The alternative is that God can always stop your suffering and doesn’t, or that God arbitrarily stops other’s sufferings sometimes but not yours. I doubt it!

Going forward

In the Bible “Church” was not a building or a place attended once a week. Jesus referred to His followers as being the Church and to encourage and care for one another. The Bible doesn’t tell the Church to go to church. Jesus said “Where two or more are gathered in His name” God would be present. Jesus did not specify where they must gather, what they must do or how they must do it. Simply find environments to encourage and be encouraged to radically love as Jesus did. Personally, in the church if I opened my mouth about disagreements about leadership’s views of what a loving God is like, I felt I was being divisive and pulling others down. I am comfortable disagreeing, but I am not looking to force my views on others. Our relationship with God isn’t about an institution or day of the week. It’s a daily, hourly relationship.

Why Do People Leave The Church Building But Not God?

MikeEdwardsprofilepic125

Mike Edwards has been writing for Done with Religion for some time and has been a great addition to the site. He couldn’t find enough people to discuss God openly so he started blogging years ago. Mike also has his own site where he writes that can be found at What God May Really Be Like He can be contacted by email at: medwar2@gmail.com

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Simple Acts of Kindness Can Make a Difference

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, Community, Love of God, tagged acceptance, christian living, Christianity, discrimination, kindness, LGBTQ, Love of God, respect, spirituality on October 26, 2023|

by Michael Donahoe

In a day when tempers seem to flare more often and people seem to be less kind to others, it does not take much to make a difference in the life of someone you meet.

We hear on the news and social media the acts of rage, discrimination, meanness, lack of respect and overall disregard for other human beings.

We have racial discrimination, exclusion of the LGBTQ family, gender discrimination, and on and on it goes. Yet underneath all the labels are human beings who are loved by God and are to be loved by us.

My feeling is, no matter what you think is right or wrong, whichever way you choose to live your life, there is no reason to treat others with judgment and condemnation and there is no reason to force your way of living on others. Being respectful, kind and accepting of others does not mean we always agree. We can treat others with kindness and as equals and still stick with our individual beliefs.

Being nice to people can change their attitude and outlook for the day. Giving others a smile, respect, doing a simple act of kindness can touch someone who is frustrated, depressed or just losing hope in the whole human race.

Rather than always being against someone or trying to force your views and way of life on others, put aside your personal beliefs when it comes to others and treat them with kindness and respect. To me that is following the example of Jesus and a way of encouraging a fellow human being who can then pass it along to others.

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Michael Donahoe was added as a writer as his views fit perfectly with those of Done with Religion. He also writes on Substack at https://personalmeanderings.substack.com/

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Going to church or Not – We are All in Christ

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, Community, institutional church, Love of God, The church, tagged acceptance, christian living, Christianity, church, institutional church, Love of God, religion on October 12, 2023|

by Jim Gordon

We know when the word church is used most of the time we are talking about the modern-day, organized religious organization that people attend on Saturday or Sunday. The traditional organized church with its many programs, leaders, pastors, rules and regulations.

People attend church for various reasons such as out of obligation, guilt, social purposes or because they have always gone to church. Yet, many people attend church because they love being around other believers, they love worship and they enjoy participating. The thing to remember is whether we go or not has nothing to do with being a follower of Jesus.

We forget that the Church is not a building or an institution but a community of people who love God and love one another. Whether in a church building or out of the organization, we are all one body with Christ as the head.

I think an issue today among many of us who have left the organized church is that we feel those who are still involved in church and those who think differently than us are wrong. Often times we even seem to be enemies. This is absolutely wrong and not the correct way of thinking.

Sometimes those of us outside of church start thinking we are further along in our walk with God than those who still attend church. This is a bad attitude to have. We should be loving and accepting of those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ no matter if they attend church or not. Just as those who faithfully attend church should not look down on those who have left the organized system, looking at them as if they are backsliders or have lost their faith. God will lead each of us by the Spirit in the way we are to live.

The important thing is our love for God and for one another. No matter what we do on Sunday mornings, whether we attend a church building or love God from outside the walls, our goal is to decrease to self, our desires and plans, and allow God to increase and love others through us.

Jim Gordon and his wife left the institutional church after spending over fifty years within the system. Jim wanted a way to express his thoughts and concerns about the religious system and why he and his wife decided to leave the institution but not their faith in God. Jim can be contacted by email at: jimgordon731@gmail.com

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Politics and the Christian Life

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, Community, Kingdom of God, Love of God, tagged acceptance, christian living, Christianity, elections, government, Love of God, political parties, politics, religion, spirituality on September 27, 2023|

by Jim Gordon

With political activity starting to ramp up in the United States, and with all the various issues and events in politics today, you may wonder if Christianity and politics can actually exist together. It seems that Jesus really had no real interest in the political system of his day, yet he also did not condemn it. He said to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.

In our day and age politics can be a powerful thing and many people find it extremely important. No matter what country you live in, it is controlled by a political party in one way or another. Many countries, like the United States participate in free elections and others are under more of an authoritarian rule. Either way, we humans are all under some type of political influence and control.

I have found that from a Christian viewpoint it seems many Christian people in the United States feel that if you are a Christian you have to be a republican. Actually, there are many Christian people who are democrats as well as republicans, independents and a few other political views. Personally, the way I feel about politics, I really do not care which political party a person belongs too. Unfortunately, I really do not see much of the ways of Jesus in either of our main political parties. It seems politicians are more concerned with political power and financial gain rather than on serving the people and making things better for all.

When I vote, I try to vote for the person I feel will do that best job for the most people and I do not worry which political party they belong too. I know there are many politicians who are of the Christian faith, yet there are also many who only use Christianity to get more votes. The main point is, whether Christian or not, we need people who are willing to work together and serve the people of the country in the best way possible.

Truthfully, being a Christian has nothing to do with a political party. Those of us who are followers of Christ live every day by our faith which involves every aspect of living. Our faith in God is not a Sunday only thing or a political thing. Many people seem to think they have a spiritual life on Sunday and a secular and political life the rest of the week. Yet the truth is, as Christians we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we walk with the Spirit of God each and every day. Everything we do can be considered spiritual because God is within us all the time.

Many people seem to think we can use political power to force our Christian values on everyone. Christian Nationalism *(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_nationalism)* and Dominionism *(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_theology)* are trying to take more control. Some want to declare the United States a Christian nation and rule it by Christian people according to their interpretation of biblical rule. Although these two movements are not necessarily republican or democrat, if politicians accept and back them, they can make it more likely these movements will take over. I for one do not believe we should or can legislate Christian values and morality on anyone. God does not force his love and ways on us, so why should we try to force our values and beliefs on others.

True religious freedom is for all people to be able to choose which religion they want to accept and follow, and also have the freedom to choose no religion at all. Obviously, in the United States there are a wide variety of religions and beliefs, and everyone should have the freedom to chose what they want to believe and follow.

Jesus was obviously more interested in speaking and teaching about the kingdom he was a part of, the Kingdom of Heaven. He was not nearly as worried or concerned about worldly kingdoms or political powers. His is a kingdom of loving one another.

I would love to see people stop bringing Christianity down to political purposes. Focus on Christ and loving others no matter which political party they endorse, if any. Politics is not the answer and is not worth all the fighting and arguing. Loving God and loving one another is a much more important and meaningful way of life no matter what political views are involved.

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Is It Really Us versus Them Within the Church Today?

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, Community, Ekklesia, institutional church, Jesus follower, Love of God, tagged acceptance, believers, christian living, Christianity, church, evangelical, progressive, religion, spirituality on August 2, 2023|

by Jim Gordon

There are hundreds of various denominations within the Christian faith and thousands of various interpretations and doctrines based on the Bible. We seem to hear a lot about two of these groups, evangelicals and progressives, and they appear to be on the opposite ends of the Christian belief spectrum. Should we really make the differences out to be an us versus them way of life? My biblical reply is, my brothers and sisters, this should not be.

I grew up as an evangelical and spent nearly fifty years living with that belief. After many years of questioning my beliefs and what I was taught over the years, I became less evangelical and more progressive in my thinking. That does not mean I have suddenly become anti-evangelical nor am I an enemy to my brothers and sisters who follow the traditional evangelical way, I just do not go along with that way of thinking any longer.

Unfortunately, many times we get an us versus them attitude and fight and argue amongst ourselves over doctrine and interpretation of scriptures. Again I say, brothers and sisters, these things ought not to be. We are not enemies. We are not to be against each other. We are brothers and sisters in Christ with two different views of interpretation. As a verse in the Bible puts it, just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body and we all belong to each other.

We are to be a people that make up the one true Church which has many members, each with an equally important part to play and with Jesus as the head over all of us. This Church is not a building made with hands, but is each one of us who follows the example of Jesus. Just because we interpret scripture differently, just because we have a different view on what the Bible says does not mean we are enemies.

Rather than fight and argue over who is right or who is wrong, remember we are in this together as a family of God. We are one community of believers who want to serve our God by showing love to a hurting world. There are many ways of following the example of Jesus and living for God.

There are many people out there who are hurting, questioning and lost who do not know that God loves them. All they see are people who claim to know God who are fighting amongst themselves and who are condemning those who are different. Because of this they figure what is the use, there is no reason to become a part of this group of people. They are no different than anyone else.

Yet we who are followers of Christ are to show the world that God loves them. We are to do this by loving one another, encouraging one another and lifting one another up. We are to show the love of God to those who are hurting and who do not know that God loves them. We are to let the love of the Spirit of Christ flow from within us to touch others.

Rather than fight and argue amongst ourselves over doctrine, denominations and interpretations, we are to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, teach us and love all people with the love of God. Remember that Jesus told us to love God and love one another. He never said to judge, condemn, discriminate nor exclude anyone.

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Should We Call Ourselves A Judeo-Christian Nation?

Posted in Acceptance of Others, Bible, christian living, Community, Love of God, tagged acceptance, Christian, christian living, Christianity, Love of God, religion, spirituality on July 9, 2023|

By Mike Edwards

The Founders of the United States certainly believe in a Creator (see here ), but they also respected one’s freedom to determine their own religious beliefs. They wouldn’t argue atheists should be discriminated against. The Bible is the foundation behind the Judeo-Christian heritage. Good and bad has arisen as a result because of how the Bible is viewed. The Bible has been used to cause harm to women by declaring husbands as their leader rather than God. But a Nation that lives by the 10 Commandments doesn’t need law enforcement. Actions are immoral regardless of whether you claim belief in God or the Bible. Universal truths exist regardless of your belief.

A Judeo-Christian label doesn’t respect God’s freedom of belief

Christians who believe in a Bible must admit that Jesus didn’t come to overthrow the Roman Empire to establish a Christian nation. Jesus biggest opponent seems to be the religious who claim to represent God. God obviously respects one’s personal choice to believe in God or not; otherwise, why wouldn’t a supposed all-powerful God destroy unbelievers at the first sight of evil in the world? Without freedom we could accuse God of not creating the very best world where only true, authentic relationships can develop. We are dependent on our children for intimate relationships. God would only give us uncontrolled freedom if seeking a friendship with us.

A Judeo-Christian label assumes truth comes from a Book

Insisting on Judeo-Christians values as a nation’s foundation can suggest such values come from the Bible. The majority of people born into this world didn’t have a Bible but surely understand moral values. Different Religions can agree on most moral values though they don’t share the same Book of values. Values don’t just come from a Book. Even if God inspired a Book word for word somehow, God can’t control interpretations being infallible. Biblical scholars who respect Scriptures don’t agree what the Bible teaches about many moral values – women rights, gay condemnation, Hell, and the afterlife , etc. See here. See here. See here.

Where do values come from?

Moral values are not determined by a Book, popular opinion, or by a few in power. No, one can’t just always follow their own heart! There are universal values that most rational people agree on such as murder, stealing, equal rights for all, etc. We simply may disagree what would the punishment should be for breaking such a law. That must be debated openly. Most religions agree the overriding moral guide is to love others like you want to be treated. Belief or lack of belief in God doesn’t give you an excuse to not treat others like you want to be treated.

What kind of nation are we then?

Believing in “biblical values” doesn’t lead to consensus of belief. What kinds of immigration or climate policies we should pursue aren’t universal truths. A Nation can never reach its potential until there is open, free debate what is the most caring decision for all involved. Until we all ask ourselves “am I acting toward others like I want to be treated,” we seem destined to fail. Are we a loving Nation? The U.S. Constitution may be the greatest guarantor of freedom in history. Certain alienable rights must exist such as the freedom for life and liberty if such decisions are not physically harmful to others. We can express individually and respect one’s belief or not in a moral, loving God. This is who we are as a Nation!

Should We Call Ourselves A Judeo-Christian Nation?

MikeEdwardsprofilepic125

Mike Edwards has been writing for Done with Religion for some time and has been a great addition to the site. Mike also has his own site where he writes that can be found at What God May Really Be Like He can be contacted by email at: medwar2@gmail.com

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Where Is God?

Posted in christian living, Community, Jesus follower, Love of God, religion, tagged christian living, Christianity, communication, Kingdom of God, Love of God, spirituality on June 21, 2023|

by Norman Mitchell
https://thewildfrontier.wordpress.com/

I’ve struggled a lot with the apparent withdrawal of God from the world. The old testament is full of stories about God interacting with people, having conversations with them, walking with them, befriending them. Then we get to the new testament, and God appears in the flesh. After that there are a few years where the disciples perform miracles, then… nothing.

The last two thousand years have been years of silence. At least that’s how it seems to me. To be sure, there have been followers of The Way during that time who have had some incredible insights and done some amazing things. But there is no more, “thus saith the Lord”-type of communication. Mostly what I see is people regurgitating the biblical writings and arguing about what they mean.

The easy answer is to conclude that God does not exist—that He is simply a figment of the collective human imagination. It would be easy to chalk all the old stories up to superstition and imagination. It would be easy to conclude that people who were relatively naive about the physical sciences such as molecular biology, orbital mechanics, and advanced chemistry simply attributed natural phenomenon that they didn’t understand to divine intervention. Maybe they were just telling a bunch of morality tales.

But I think there’s a better explanation. To understand, it might be helpful to first look at the politics of the Roman Empire.

As I understand it, the terms evangelist and gospel were Roman terms. Whenever a new Caesar ascended to the throne, the political overlords decided that the masses needed a unifying narrative that would promote stability and maintain everyone’s places in the established hierarchy. The old Caesar was ostensibly descended from the gods and generally had the loyalty of the populace. Because the new Caesar was not a descendent of the old one, the people might be inclined to doubt that he had a divine right to rule and question his legitimacy; and that would be disastrous. Why, the people might revolt, and where would that leave the ruling class?

So the political establishment crafted a narrative that would explain how the new Caesar had descended from the gods, why he had the right to rule, and why the people owed him their allegiance. Then the emperor would send out evangelists who would proclaim the gospel—the good news that there was a new king.

And that is precisely what the new testament writers did when they wrote the books of the new testament, only they were writing about Jesus.

Jesus did not come to start a religion. He never promoted himself as the head of a movement. He came as a servant, but he also came as a king. A humble king to be sure, but a king nonetheless. He came as a king of a completely new kingdom. A transcendent kingdom that looks nothing like the artificial kingdoms of this world. An authentic kingdom that is higher than all other kingdoms.

The gospel is not that Jesus died on the cross to appease an angry God so He would forgive us for being sinners and let us live in heaven when we die. The gospel is not that you need to admit that you are a sinner and pledge mental assent to a set of religious tenets, and then thou shalt have thy sins forgiven and live forever in heaven, the end. The gospel is that the builder from Nazareth was the son of God who arrived on earth and is now the king of the highest kingdom and is the one to whom we owe our highest allegiance.

The gospel of Christ is a call to a discipline. Following the King is a practice. It is a journey, and we face the choice every day to either continue or abandon the journey. Following the King is both an individual pursuit and a corporate expression of Divinity in the world. And that is what God intended from the beginning. His intention was for his presence to be expressed in the physical world, yet Adam failed, Noah failed, and the Israelite nation failed in this endeavor.

God now intends for his image, his presence to be expressed corporately through his followers who are joined together with Christ as the head. And I believe that the reason it seams that God has withdrawn from human society is because the Body of Christ has ensconced itself in an institution that stifles it, inhibits its growth, and creates artificial barriers between the various parts of the body. The institution has obscured the gospel message. Those who benefit from the institution, either by seeking safety within it or by attaining social status from it, have twisted the gospel and turned it into a warped counterfeit of the gospel of the Kingdom. They have used the institution to hide the good news behind a wall of religious dogma.

I believe that we do not see God in the world today because His body is fragmented, disjointed, functionally useless.

Sometimes, I look at the world around me and see things that are so horrible that they are almost unbearable, and I feel as if all I can do is raise my voice to the heavens and demand, “God, do you see?!?”

What I hear in response is Him gently returning the question to me: “do you see?”

It seems that throughout human history, God has been guiding humanity toward a point where we would be willing to allow His life to live through us. But, you might ask, what if the ekklesia fails, just like the others? One reason to hope is that we have the spirit of Christ indwelling us. When Jesus left the earth in physical form, his spirit transferred to his followers.

This is not a rehashing of the new agey teaching that “god is within all of us.” Notice that I said the spirit of Christ indwells us. That’s “us” as a unified whole, not as a loose aggregation of individuals. None of Christ’s followers possesses the full spirit of Christ, but we each have part of it. When we are joined together as a body with Christ as the head, that is when the kingdom of heaven is revealed on the earth—just as God has intended from the beginning.

Several of the new testament authors foresaw a time when God would, once again, interact directly with humanity. Until then, I think He expects us to carry out our assigned mission: to follow the true King and join together as a body under the King’s leadership to reveal his presence in the world. Perhaps if we did that, then people would be able to see God again.

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Is The United States A Christian Nation Whose Rights Come From God?

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, Community, Love of God, tagged acceptance, Bible, Bill of Rights, christian living, Christianity, constitution, Declaration of Independence, Love of God, spirituality, United States on May 28, 2023|

By Mike Edwards

The United States is often referred to as a Christian Nation or a nation whose rights come from God. The Declaration of Independence penned in 1776 gives good reason to suggest our founder’s belief in a Creator:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Is God a Christian nationalist?

We don’t all agree on a definition of this term, but those who believe in a God/Creator/Supreme Being aren’t always careful with their words. They are accused of attempting to establish a Christian nation, though they must agree we should respect one’s right to choose any faith or religion that doesn’t violate the rights of others (“unalienable Right to Liberty”). I doubt God is a Christian nationalist or sought to establish a Christian nation because of respect for freedom of belief. Besides, forced love is an oxymoron. Jesus came to influence others to love as they want to be loved, not to overthrow the Roman Empire to make it a God/Jesus/Christian empire.

Who do our rights come from?

I happen to have faith there is a Creator, but faith is an individual decision. Regardless of one’s belief, we aren’t clueless right from wrong. Such clues don’t come just from a Book. The majority of people born into this world didn’t have a Bible, and people knew right from wrong before the Bible. Rights neither come from a few individuals that happen to be in Government. Perfect rights or laws are those that demonstrate loving others like we want to be love. Even atheists would agree.

How do we determine what perfect, loving laws are?

We don’t all agree what the most loving actions are. It is a bit naïve for any nation to claim our values must be biblically based, as if all agree what the Bible says about abortion, gays, capital punishment, etc. See here. The equal rights of women with men in many Nations are denied because of a Book. Regardless of your faith, most rational beings agree on many universal moral values (murder, stealing). And no – climate control, immigration, taxes, health care, are not universal laws. The problem in the U.S. is debate is frowned up and attempts are made to quash contrary opinions.

How do we create a nation where “all are created equal with unalienable rights?

I believe the Declaration of Independence and Constitution makes the U.S. unique from most other countries. We all have “unalienable rights” and not rights according to Government or Dictators. In our Republic, the Government is limited in taking aways certain rights of the people. Our Democracy allows representation through voting, though the Constitution and Bill of Rights safeguard individual rights such as freedom of speech, thus protection from majority power over the minority. A true debate of differing opinions is out best chance at arriving at the most caring decision for all concerned. Until we all ask ourselves “am I acting toward others like I want to be treated,” we seem destined to fail.

Is The United States A Christian Nation Whose Rights Come From God?

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Is there Abuse in the church?

Posted in christian living, Community, Ekklesia, institutional church, Love of God, religion, The church, tagged abuse, Acceptance of Others, christian living, Christianity, church, church abuse, Love of God, religion, temple of the Holy Spirit on April 28, 2023|

Yes, but not for us

by Jim Gordon

It seems when I mention that my wife and I left the organized church, people assume something happened to hurt us or make us mad.

Just to be clear on this subject, neither one of us have ever been abused by the church. Neither one of us are mad about some event or some person at church. Unfortunately, abuse does happen in the church system and many people are hurt by others, but that was not the case with us.

After nearly sixty years in the organization, and after the last ten or so of those years feeling that something is not right with the system, we made the decision to leave and follow Christ outside the walls of religion. To be clear, that is our decision and we certainly do not expect everyone to agree and do the same thing. Many people are part of the organized religious system we know as church, and they truly love God and want to serve God.

We believe the Church is a community of people and not a building nor a service held one day each week with paid professionals leading the service. We believe the Church is each of us who follow the example of Jesus and see Christ as the head of his body. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and each of us are equally functioning members making up the body of Christ.

We believe that forsake not the assembling of yourselves means we need one another. We live each day having fellowship with those God brings together, no matter where it happens. We never truly found real fellowship when we sat in an organized service for an hour looking at the back of the head of the person in front of us. We believe true fellowship is not just sitting together with other people in a room, but it is daily loving, encouraging and praying for one another and meeting the needs of those we are able to help.

The temple in the Old Testament was only a shadow of what was to come in the New Testament. God now lives in us, and we are the temple. God is our leader rather than another human being we call pastor. There is no hierarchy in the Church today. Each of us are equally important parts of the body and able to teach, encourage, build up and pray for one another. It is truly a priesthood of all believers, not a one man or woman show.

Those with specific gifts for helping the Church are not better or more spiritual than the rest. They are brothers and sisters who walk along beside those who need encouragement. They are those who have learned a spiritual lesson and are there to help those who are still learning. They are servants and friends rather than spiritual authorities.

So, when I say that we have left the church, it is only the building and organization I am talking about. We left, not because we were mad or hurt but because we believe the religious system most people call church is far from what God is building. God is building a group of people who will daily follow the leading of the Spirit outside the walls of religion, loving God with all their heart, loving their neighbor and accepting all they meet along the way.

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Following Jesus Apart from Religion

Posted in christian living, Community, Ekklesia, institutional church, Jesus follower, Love of God, religion, The church, tagged christian living, Christianity, church, Ekklesia, institutional church, Love of God, pastor, religion, spirituality, worship on September 22, 2022|

by Jim Gordon

Those of us who are living outside the walls of religion and institutional church have found a freedom we sometimes cannot explain. At least we cannot explain it in a way that people who still attend a church building seem to understand.

The problem is those who still attend the traditional church do not accept the fact that everyone is different and sees things in various ways. They usually want to stay away from us or talk about how we have backslidden and fallen away from God because we do not do what we have traditionally been taught was godly.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. We are worshipping and loving God just as much as before, only in a different way. We have not left the Church (Ekklesia) but we have left the building (church). Jesus is building His Church out of ‘living stones’ and not with brick and mortar.

My wife and I left the church because we felt the system was not the way God intended and we became unsatisfied with the way things were going. Yet, we never left the true Church which is made up of all of those who are believers.

Each of us has an equally important part to play in the body, yet no one is the head over anyone else. Each of us are functioning parts of the body and we are all needed and important. Of course, only Jesus is the head of his Church, not a pastor.

Those of us who have left the traditional church are often told we need to attend because we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Yet this verse does not mean we have to be in an organized, pre-planned service led by a pastor and a worship leader. It is saying we need our brothers and sisters in Christ. Whether we meet on a Monday at a café, Tuesday in a home, Thursday at a bar or Friday in a park makes no difference. Jesus said for where two or three gather together in my name there I am in their midst.

For us true and meaningful fellowship happens each and every day when God brings us together with a brother or sister, or when we meet up with another couple for dinner. It also may be a time of one-on-one fellowship online with a brother or sister hundreds of miles away yet bonded closely through the Spirit.

We are so conditioned to think of the church building and its scheduled events as the main way of fellowship and learning. We are told in the Bible that when we come together each of us should have a word, or a song, or a praise, but how often does that actually happen within the institutional church? Being outside the walls, my wife and I have found this to be the norm. We all talk, we encourage one another, learn about each other, pray for one another and we support and care for each other. Fellowship is everyone having a part to play and everyone being open and talking about who God is to them. It seems that sitting quietly in a church service does not fulfill what God intended fellowship to be among his children.

A vitally important thing to remember for those of us who have left the church organization is that we should not have a feeling of ‘us vs them’. We need to keep in mind that those who attend church are doing so because they love God and feel they are doing the right thing. We are all children of God, whether we are in the institutional church or out of it. We are all various parts of the Church that Jesus is building and we each need to follow the leading of the Spirit for ourselves.

As people of God, we are to love God and love others. We cannot do that in our own strength but by the power of the Spirit within us. Sadly, it often seems we have a problem loving our brothers and sisters in Christ and an even greater problem loving those who see things differently.

I pray that all of us can keep in mind that we are children of God, saved by grace and living in His kingdom now. Whether we are ‘in church’ or outside the walls, let us focus on our love of God and for one another. The world needs to see the love of God in action among those who follow God. They do not need to see arguing, fighting and the disrespect that is sadly, so familiar among Christians today.