No agenda?

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.”

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

Soul Search

Comments from Mike:

I appreciated Larry's comments. It's a New Year and new and renewed hope arises. Here's a thought about those of us who remain away from organized church. Is that causing us to grow closer to Jesus? Is our love for one another and for Jesus growing? Are we spending more or less time with studying, meditating, and seeking His truth? Are we less or more aware of His presence and His revealing of who we really are? Are we digging deeper and deeper into His Word and trying to understand His Love for us? These are questions I've asked myself. If being away from the community of church life is disconnecting us with inner work and spiritual growth; if we are becoming cold; if love, joy, peace are illusive and replaced by anger, irritability, conflict, judging and fear; then maybe we might need to reconnect with institutional church or a house church at some level. Dad

A Kindred Soul

Karen and Jorge sent this link to us: http://www.whatischurch.com
Thanks so much guys, I couldn't stop reading Mike Bishop's articles and his blog.
There is one in particular that I found intriguing here's the link: http://www.whatischurch.com/mobile/wayoflife.htm

MY JOURNEY WITH CHURCH

I received this email from my father-in-law today, and I'm very thankful for a little different persperctive. I have been hoping for different experiences and viewpoints to be expressed.
I appreciate all of you who have responded through the blog, email, and phone. Let's continue the dialog. Talon

From: Larry Lehman
Yesterday evening I read the postings on this blog site with real interest. Church has been a very important part of my life, all my life. I was taken to church when an infant, became a believer at age 11, was baptized and and eventually served in a number of leadership roles. I am now retired from those roles but still teach Sunday School. I got awake last night and spent an hour or so mulling over the experiences that were shared on the blog and the comments and interpretations.
I understand the experiences to the degree that is possible without walking in another’s shoes. I have taken a few hits over the years. I am also aware of the failing and inadequacies of the institutional church. I recognize that there is a lot of veneer. As Keith said, “That’s not a new idea to me.” I also recognize that church happens when two or more followers of Jesus share their journeys, share in worship, study the Word, etc. (Matthew 18:20)
So why have I hung in there with the organized church? I am not sure I know all the answers to that question. In general I would say that it has been a good experience for my wife and I. I recognize that not all churches are the same. I come from a Mennonite tradition where leaders are expected to be “servant-leaders.” I didn’t aspire to be a leader and was serving only in obedience to a sense of call. We believe that a body of God’s people finds God’s will by sitting down together to study the Word and discern His will. We sometimes say we represent a third way – neither Catholic nor Protestant. We became a brotherhood when a few people defied the state church in Europe, met together to study the Word and even baptized each other. Many of them paid for their boldness with their lives. I mention this to say that I have a sense of being outside of mainline protestantism and my experience may be different than yours. I do hasten to say we are far from perfect and often fail to live up to our ideals.
A number who submitted posts to the blog site emphasized the importance of trusting God and loving our fellowmen. I agree that these have been the most important aspects of my walk of faith. Trusting God has brought me peace and joy, even in times of difficulty. (I do not claim to have always trusted nor to have had perfect peace.) I have tried to put serving God first and have passed up opportunities to seek material gain. I have claimed Matthew 6:33 “Seek first his kingdom…and all these things will be given to you as well.” I have found this to be true. I have also found loving and relating to others to be the most meaningful thing in my life. Last week we spent three days with an elderly couple who are lonely. We disagree about politics and theology. I feel they are partly responsible for the way they are alienated from their family. We still love each other and spent much meaningful time together and prayed together. We had church.
I could give numerous examples of having church in many different settings, but I still find a need for the organized church. Organized may be nothing more than a set time when two or three get together to share, study and pray, or it may mean membership in a large congregation. I need the structure that comes by regular meetings for study, prayer and sharing. I need to know someone is concerned about how I am doing in my spiritual life. I need a defined time and place where this happens. It could be a home, an office or a restaurant, as well as a church building.
I remember a brother who shared how he spent a summer in a fire tower in the Rocky Mountains. He thought he would grow very close to God through this time of being alone. He said it was the time when God seemed the most distant to him of any time in his life. As several people noted, there is a connection between our relationship with God and our relationship with people.
So I guess I have hung in there with the organized church because it provides me with meaningful relationships with followers of Jesus and encouragement in my Christian life. I pray that each of you will also find those meaningful relationships that are necessary for followers of Jesus. I especially pray for “Anonymous” who may be ready to give up.

C.W. Hopper said...
"So when we meet as strangers, even when friends look like strangers, it is good to remember that we need each other greatly you and I, more than much of the time we dare to imagine, more than most of the time we dare to admit." [Buechner]

The sad thing that happens when you feel you no longer need God is that you also begin to feel that you no longer need people, or worse, that people no longer need you. Like Tom Hanks’ character in the movie, Castaway, a life of survival - merely trying to stay alive - is not living at all. To be alone, dependant only upon yourself, relying only upon your thoughts, believing you have nothing to contribute, is a painful existence. It was only when Hanks’ character constructed a crude raft, and set sail on the high seas with little hope of success, that he began to live again. It was a huge risk, one that almost certainly would end in death, yet it was worth it for he longed for adventure, and more importantly, knew that adventure is so much sweeter when shared with others. Who is God? God is us … and we are God!
However heretical that may sound, I believe it. God created this world to experience all the thoughts, feelings and emotions that were within God. When we choose to reject God, we reject others. God is not some powerful, bearded figure on a throne that offers love and freedom, yet banishes those who reject his offer to a life of eternal torture. God is Talon and Lisa and Mike and Becky and … me. Even the Bible calls us the body of Christ. Yes, we do need each other you and I (Buechner’s words), but we don’t need the traditional institution of church. In most cases, church is not community, for real community is made of different kids of people, with different attitudes, understandings, and even beliefs. Real community includes tolerance, and there is very little of that found in church. As I look forward to 2009, I am still seeking god/spirituality, but not through some organized religion. I believe what I’m looking for is not that far away, and it’s not in some after-life, and it doesn’t include some spiritual “Door # 3” where you can lose the prize you just won and get an eternity in hell instead. God is in every person, in all of nature, in our conscience and sub-conscious mind – God is all around us – we just have to realize it.