The following is an email from my sister Ashley who lives in Colorado:
Just been thinking about some ideas about the church over the past few years and wanted to share some thoughts.
My dad once wrote, “The church of Jesus does not need money to run, a denomination, building, directors, an agenda, or a marketing plan, but rather the spirit of God, power of his word, love of brethren & authority of scripture.” I believe this is the way the church was meant to be. Being a part of an institutional church program, where a man claims to be able to hear the voice of God for your life and tells you that without his vision for the church, or someone’s vision, we would become lost in the wilderness, is not what Jesus called us to do as the church of Christ. I'll admit that I don’t like institutions. I feel that people seem to have always have an agenda. But does God's church need an agenda to run? I once heard a preacher refer to Judges 17:6, “No king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” And the sermon was based on the idea that if you are not in a church you will fall into sin. You will live your life only according to what is right in your own eyes. But Judges 18:5 says, “Ask counsel of God that we may know direction.” 20:28, “And the Lord said, Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver them into thine hand.” Is there hope for freedom in God outside of the institutional church, without the fear that you are all the while falling into sin unbeknownst? Matt. 7:18 says, “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” Is your foundation made of rock or sand? Does God only speak to you through other people or does he also use creation and his word? Matt. 23:8,9 says “We are to call no man leader, teacher, or Father.”
My dad once wrote, “The church of Jesus does not need money to run, a denomination, building, directors, an agenda, or a marketing plan, but rather the spirit of God, power of his word, love of brethren & authority of scripture.” I believe this is the way the church was meant to be. Being a part of an institutional church program, where a man claims to be able to hear the voice of God for your life and tells you that without his vision for the church, or someone’s vision, we would become lost in the wilderness, is not what Jesus called us to do as the church of Christ. I'll admit that I don’t like institutions. I feel that people seem to have always have an agenda. But does God's church need an agenda to run? I once heard a preacher refer to Judges 17:6, “No king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” And the sermon was based on the idea that if you are not in a church you will fall into sin. You will live your life only according to what is right in your own eyes. But Judges 18:5 says, “Ask counsel of God that we may know direction.” 20:28, “And the Lord said, Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver them into thine hand.” Is there hope for freedom in God outside of the institutional church, without the fear that you are all the while falling into sin unbeknownst? Matt. 7:18 says, “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” Is your foundation made of rock or sand? Does God only speak to you through other people or does he also use creation and his word? Matt. 23:8,9 says “We are to call no man leader, teacher, or Father.”
I desire to live my life without trying to prove to others that my church attendance is directly related to my relationship with God. I often hear the voice of God most clearly alone on a mountain top, worshipping in my garage, or when going for a long run but it is also in the communion of friends that I am stretched and challenged to see God in a different ways. It is then that God will use others in my life to teach me about him. I believe accountability is important in relationships. Because without trust and openness, how can you expect to grow? Close relationships are sharing your life’s journey together, not as an island. Through sharing your life with others, you find renewal and preservation of spirit.
I believe that as the church we are a colony from heaven, loving one another, living & sharing life, devoted to prayer, filled with the Holy Spirit, and speaking the truth in love. What this means to me is, that as a child of God, I choose to open up my heart, listening to others and contributing joy to those relationships.
Ashley
More about church: I just finished a book by Frank Viola (not to be confused with the former Mets pitcher by the same name) titled Pagan Christianity. Viola has been a leader in the house-church movement the last twenty years and is considered an “expert on new trends for the church” (whatever that means – it was written on the jacket liner). His premise is that very little of what we do in church has any scriptural basis, and that most of what we do in church is based on traditions established by the ancient Greeks and Romans – hence the word pagan, as it relates to their religious ceremonies and beliefs. This includes everything from the role of pastor, to church buildings, to music, to tithing, to baptism and communion, to Sunday “attire”, to the sermon. The book is a serious, academic effort substantiated by much research and punctuated with tons of references, both current and ancient. It’s an easy read, but it ain’t no Max Lucado book. Anyway, near the end, after making his claim that the institutional church is not only unbiblical, but also harmful to spiritual life, he states:
ReplyDeleteMany people find themselves in a real dilemma today. They want to be the church, as God intended, but they are not exactly sure how.
The last year or so that I was a pastor, I began to have my own doubts about how church was done – and especially if our practice of church had any Biblical basis. I began to search through the scriptures and I simply couldn’t find a single place where God or Jesus directly said anything about starting, building, administering, facilitating or having services that in any way resembled what we, as well as any others, were doing. My search had begun, partly because, #1 - I just couldn’t see a whole lot of success in what we were trying to do as a church (in fact, it seemed we were getting worse), #2 - I had a terrible sense that what I was perpetrating was a lie, and #3 – some folks that I was close to, and trusted (including a couple of guys named Landreth), were asking some hard questions about church that I had no answer for.
I thought back to an earlier time, when I was “between churches” (a nice way of saying I got fired), and a few friends would come over on Saturday night and we would eat, laugh, cry, sing, pray, encourage, eat more, and those who stayed late would watch SNL or music videos on MTV. There was no schedule, no sermon, and no one asked you for money. These informal gatherings might happen again during the week, as people felt comfortable dropping by, or we all just descended on someone else’s house. Viola would tell you that this is how church is supposed to be. Ironically, we never called this church. But after doing this for a few months, we did feel compelled to stop doing it, and decided we would start a church.
This resulted in a multi-year process of renting buildings, where we moved equipment in and out on a regular basis, to getting our own building, which we laboriously poured much time and money into, to the point where we had grown and some were talking about adding on to our building, or even the possibility that we might build a brand new building. Of course, as pastor, I was the leading protagonist, and had mastered the art of manipulation so that God’s work could be done (i.e. keep those people committed!). I think it’s safe to say that, even though I studied and actually wrote down volumes of sermons (which I have since thrown in the garbage), not one word of those sermons can actually be remembered by any of the listeners, which makes it even safer to say that none of it actually changed any lives. Think about all the man-hours lost, sitting there listening to me say, literally, nothing of any import (at least those new chairs we bought were comfortable). As is the case with most churches, there were still a lot of good times, and there was some good accomplished, and some good relationships were built. But did this effort really help us to be good Christians? Search me; I don’t even know what that means.
To say I feel guilty for having fomented this entire fiasco would be an understatement. But the years have provided healing, and having a forum like this, where I can confess, brings healing as well. It also helps to know that some of the so-called flock that I shepherded have also escaped the reigns of religion and are also seeking true ekklesia (including that crazy Landreth bunch – they always kept me on my toes).
I’ll go ahead and go on record as saying that I think church, as we know it, sucks. I expect that will inspire more than a few responses (if anyone actually reads this blog) and I welcome them – that’s what makes this type of forum work. You can call me bitter, angry, or burned-out. All I can say to that is: Mike – we could have been at the lake all those times we were sitting in that building!
I am still a seeker of spiritual things, and want truth, whatever that is. My theology has changed a lot (that’s one reason I threw out all those sermon notes). I still long for worship, for community, and for relationship with a higher power. But, much like Viola , I ask … How?
If you have any ideas, please respond.
John Fischer deals with these issues in his book “Fearless Faith”. “God doesn’t want us removed from the world or danger, but protected in the middle of it and protected and safe from the evil one.” “The last will and testament of Jesus seems to defy a long-standing tradition: the separation of Christians from the world and worldly things in order to remain pious and pure. This doctrine of separation has its roots in tradition rather than scripture. The biblical doctrine of separation has primarily to do with what happens in one’s mind and heart. . . by the renewing of your mind, it is an appeal to a different way of thinking, not to a change of address.”
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