A few years ago, a friend sent me an email with a couple of links to articles: “Why House Church Isn’t the Answer” and “Why I Don’t Go to Church Anymore” (along with a brief note saying he didn’t necessarily agree with everything the author had written, but…). I read both articles, and they didn’t seem extreme at all. I was challenged; and I filed it all away.
Not long after that I met John. The friend who introduced us thought I might be a good influence on him. You see John was a follower of Jesus who had stopped going to church. We started meeting regularly, because he lived close and we both needed an English speaking friend. It was more than that, of course, which became clear over time. Each time we met I’d steer the conversation toward our responsibility to help Japanese people come to know Jesus. I didn’t mind that he didn’t go to church, but I wanted him to be strategic (and to join in making my plans a reality if possible…). But he would never bite. Instead he just went on and on about Jesus. How frustrating. Eventually I began to wonder about why that frustrated me and whether maybe — possibly — I might have something to learn from John rather than a duty to “fix” him.
He loaned me a copy of Watchman Nee’s book, Christ the Sum of All Things, and he mentioned Wayne Jacobsen (the author of the articles mentioned above). Wayne and a friend were writing a book and publishing one chapter at a time online. One day I clearly remember stopping, putting a serious expression on my face, and telling my wife that I sensed a huge movement of people (Christians, that is) beginning to move away from “church” as we’d known it. House churches, the “emergent conversation,” and stray articles online were just the tip of the iceberg, I said — half speculating and half convinced.
That was about four years ago. Today we don’t go to church anymore in that old sense of the word. We haven’t for a long time, because church isn’t a place to go or a thing to do. We are the church and we participate in the life of Christ’s church every day as we follow Jesus in relationship with others who share the same relationship and calling.
About three years ago, as we started this journey (actually we’d started years before that but we didn’t realize it then), the first word that hit me was “reality.” I went away for a weekend and read most of The Sacred Romance, and somewhere in the middle I realized that if Jesus is real, then there is no mundane moment or place. If his love is real, then I can celebrate that on the dullest day and even my best shining achievements pale in comparison. I started talking about living in reality like something I’d discovered after years of something else. Honestly, I think people do a lot of pretending; I did.
I want to wrap this up. I just wanted to say that this week I sensed the movement (the iceberg of which I’d seen the tip) is very close to the surface. You can see it. Not that it needs to be seen or harnessed by anyone (which many will attempt and fail). I think God is doing something great, and all the ripples (with labels like emerging, missional, house church, etc) are just…well, ripples on the swell.
It’s hard to see a swell on the ocean (unless you’re a surfer and paying attention). I’m not much of a surfer (literally or figuratively), but here are a few things I see.
- The Shack is a runaway best seller. The book hardly speaks of church at all — it’s focused on the greater reality of God’s love. The Shack is riding on the swell.
- Wayne Jacobsen, who wrote the articles and book I linked to above, helped discover and publish The Shack. Now his influence and books sales are expanding. I don’t think he cares about all that, but he’s living in the reality of what Christ is doing. We’ll see what happens next. Maybe he’ll hang ten. (He wrote the book picture above with a co-author under a pseudonym (read it for free here).
- A very popular talk radio host says he follows Jesus but disdains religion. He has attracted a huge following of people who are following Jesus outside traditional church-clubs. Wayne was on his radio show last week (listen here).
- Even the rise of Barack Obama in the USA strikes me as a sign of these times. People are hungry for change and tired of systems that cynically manage and control. They want someone or something REAL — and I’m convinced they’re ultimately searching not for Barack (though he seems like a good guy to me) but for the God of Love revealed in Christ.
And there are many more small and large things and my intuition as well. I just wanted to note for the record we’re on the verge of something bigger than the sum of what we have called Christianity. And the reality of it will be known by people who are in the water (surfing in the reality and love of God that’s here now) and lastly by those talking about it on the beach.
I want to be in the water!
1 response so far ↓
1 Travis // Jul 19, 2009 at 7:14 am
I apologize in advance, I do not mean to be argumentative, combative, nor do I attempt to dissuade you. I want to remind you that WE (to include myself / I do not hold a position I simply believe) have to be very careful when what we do or say has an influence on others.
I have read these articles, and I do not mean to be offensive, yet I think they are dangerous. The articles that move away from the original become more dangerous. I agree that man have messed things up when it comes to the will of God, I understand the concept of church, which is why when Paul writes to various churches he defines distinction by saying church of God. True that believers are the Body of Christ or in the Body of Christ, yet there is a need to come together, be it a physical building, a park, a home, some where. man priest, pastor have not walked the line as they should have, but when you truthfully ask this question have any of us, {I’m so thankful that God mercies are new every morning}, as I have read several of these article I now wonder is this movement about a physical place to gather, is this a surface issue. Is it being under authority, or is it not trying to do that which the Bible commands us to do which is love one another. When there is a difference, go through proper channels (the individual, if that does not work get intervention). Instead, we look for an alternate resolve. There is a book on a different topic “The Bait of Satan” different topic all together but the concept is the same. Satan wins the Christian loses if we divide and or do things to divide congregations. Not every individual is STRONG, although no one can stand alone, every one is not as strong as another is. Some may stay in the permissive will of God and others may use this as a ploy to do nothing. The perfect will of God has people together; he did not create us to be soloist. In the wild, those stray and or alone are easy prey.
Here is something I complied in response to these articles and a lesson that I intend to review:
Question and answer from a radio call in show: Can a Christian be saved without going to Church? Can they find favor with God by living biblically but not going to church?
It is important to note that there will be many people in heaven who were not affiliated with a church, either because they did not have that opportunity or another reason that prevents them from that privilege. Notice I did not say they chose not to fellowship. One of the most important principles of Christianity is that we are saved into the body of Christ, which is another name for the church. In Acts 2, the Bible says, “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” When you are baptized, you become part of Christ’s body and enter into the church.
I would also ask this question in return: Why would a person say they love God and His truth, but they do not wish to fellowship in love with His people? That’s one of the reasons God wants us in church, because it has people with similar faith and beliefs. It helps strengthen our faith and makes us accountable to one another. It is also an excellent environment to increase our capacity to love one another. People learn their most important lessons of love in the context of their biological families, and church families follow the same dynamic, especially when it comes to new believers. It is certainly a part of God’s plan. If a person says, “I believe in God and the Bible and want to be saved and baptized, but I don’t want to go to church,” it sounds to me like a man saying to his bride, “I love you, I want to marry you, but I don’t want to live with you.” It is saying you want the benefits of marriage, but not the relationship that goes with it. Part of the Christian experience is having a relationship with the church, the fellowship of believers.
If a person decided to live as a hermit, away from society. In that kind of solitude, you have a tendency to become eccentric. Isolating oneself from society and lacking social contact begin to affect your mind; your thoughts become defensive and or cynical, every one is against you. Think of the character of hermits in fables, they got it from somewhere. You become socially incompetent. In the same way, it is important for Christians to be social with fellow believers in corporate worship and gatherings to avoid becoming spiritually eccentric and incompetent.
Why Should I Go To Church (The Church House)
We can hear the word of God preached in many way, yet we can not share and or demonstrate the results of what we heard from each of those way in a like manner. We cannot then experience the fellowship / friendship of other believers. In church we discover opportunities to serve and be served. Therefore, we learn to apply what is taught out of God’s word and then we learn to extend it to others outside the church.
In the church house, we share in the successes and failures of others and learn how the Lord has worked in the lives of other people through testimonials. In this, we are encouraged. Remember, God did not make us to be alone.
Every believer should be connected and involved with a local congregation. The Christian life was meant to be lived within the context of the family of God and not in isolation. It is difficult to be the kind of Christian that God desires you to be apart from involvement in a local church. The church must be assembled in order to carry out many of its functions.
In the Gospels the after being empowered 70 went out, they encountered, obeyed and overcame, they returned and shared the experience, now all knew the working of the Power of God. In the book of Acts after being filled and empowered the Apostle and other went forth, they too encountered, obeyed, overcame, returned and shared the experience.
In the Church house we can learn more concerning the Exercise of Spiritual Gifts, pretty much the same way as they did in Scripture, they got the Word as they were taught it, heard it, then they went forth and returned. In the group setting as hear of the use of spiritual gifts and or see it, we are empowered and or encouraged.
The Holy Spirit has bestowed upon each believer one or more spiritual gifts
(1st Corinthians 12:4-7, 11). The purpose for these gifts is not personal edification, but the edification of the body (1st Corinthians 4:12, 26). In my opinion only within the fellowship of believers can a Christian’s gift be properly exercised and accomplish the purpose for which it was given.
Mutual Ministry - God uses the picture of a body to describe the function of the local church. 1st Corinthians 12:18-21 each part of the body of Christ exists to meet the needs of the other parts of the body. A Christian cannot function alone. The Bible does not suggest, it commands us to comfort one another, build up one another, confess our sins to one another, pray for one another, love one another, accept one another, admonish one another, serve one another, and forgive one another. Vital fellowship in a local assembly is essential if we are to obey these commands and minister within the body of Christ.
Within that Mutual Ministry concept, we SERVE (Romans 2: 6; 1st Corinthian 14:26).
As mentioned above we are SERVED (1st Corinthians 12:14-27; James 5:13-16). We have a greater opportunity to GROW (Acts 20:7; Colossians. 3:16; Hebrews 10:25). Just as our physical bodies need nourishment, so too our spiritual lives need to be fed. This spiritual food includes worship, prayer, discipleship, good Biblical instruction, and mentoring. As Christians praise God and pray, there is a special bond occurs.
Accountability - The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes the importance of being in a local congregation and under the spiritual authority of church leadership (Hebrews 13:17). God has placed leaders in the church to shepherd believers and look out for their welfare (1st Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1st Peter 5:1-5). The apostles often warned that false teachers would come and try to lead believers astray. Being connected to a solid church that is committed to sound doctrine will help protect us from false teaching and the schemes of the devil (2nd Timothy 4:1-4; 2nd Peter 2:1; 1st John 4:1). We must not loose sight that the shepherd is under authority as well, ultimately as are the congregation under the Chief Shepherd; however, in the book of Acts there was a council, that council was in place for a reason. Within the New Testament, you see the theme where someone went to the Elders or were told to go to the Elders. Even Christ was held accountable.
We must realize, however, that there is no perfect church. Any local church is composed of believers in various stages of spiritual growth, leaders with diverse abilities. I do not believe that a Christian can be under the proper care and authority of a televangelist, a tele-prophet, a tele-bishop, television preacher or by “hopping” to a different church each week. Accountability to our spiritual leaders requires that we know them and they know us. Again, this can only be accomplished by active involvement in a local assembly of believers.
Gather together, suggests stress upon the place at which the gathering is made, this is face to face. Not face to TV. Not face to radio. Not face to cassette or CD player. Not face to computer monitor. But, face to face with Gods people. It is in the assembly of the believers that Jesus is present. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. The apostle Paul put it this way, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Congregational worship is not a suggestion, or a matter of personal preference. It is a command of Scripture and vital for the life of the church and for the life of each individual believer. Repeatedly in scripture it tells us to exhort one another, how can this be done if we do gather. When this truth is embraced by faith unto edification, the community round about will see a witness.
The problem with attending the local body is not new, it maybe more pronounce or obvious today. Once you take the first step to miss church, the second is easier, the third time even more easier, the forth time more so, until you develop a habit of missing church and making excuses to miss.
Being part of a local assembly is not always easy. Sometimes the picture of Jesus and the God of the universe I know and the pattern that I see when I attend church are sometimes in total contrast to what I find in the Bible. Sometimes the contrast troubles and or hurts me.
So why do I keep going if I come away hurt or troubled? Why do I continue to gather with people who sometimes do not reflect character of God? Why continue to go somewhere where I may become offended? Mainly because I may on occasions do likewise, I may be in error and there are as well several other reasons:
1. Soloist are more likely to develop a view of God even more skewed than one finds in the church. There is balance to be found in a group of believers. Even when I do not agree with what all that I hear at church, the introduction of a different perspective helps me hone my own beliefs and check them against the Holy Scriptures. I need the shaping that the church provides. I need to make myself accountable to a community of believers.
2. The church is my spiritual family; these are people to a degree who care about me.
3. We were not created to be alone, to top it off when someone steps through the doors of the church, they are indicating at least some minimal level of interest in spiritual things. The church brings me into intentional contact with such people. I find encouragement along the way as I interact with others who have chosen to live as Christians.
Are church members really hypocrites?
This is a classic argument people make for not going to church. Rather than make a debate about it here. Let us just say it; there are some real phonies in church! There are people who think they are better than others are, etc. However, are phonies elsewhere, at work, on the street where you live, in politics, and so on? You can spot them a mile a way! Nevertheless, fakes are not more heavily populated in church, it just seems so much worse because church is supposed to be something else.
Can you really worship God all alone?
Think about this one, Jesus said, “True worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.” (John 4:23) Are you being honest about this? Is this the right spirit?
Why can’t I just watch religious TV?
You can watch Christian TV and learn many things. You can see some pretty strange things too! If you are living on a steady diet off Christian TV shows, you are still missing something. People, real live living people who will get to know you, hang around with you, eat with you, laugh with you, and so much more.
There is too much politics in church.
Some people ruin church for others because of their quest for control, you expect it in the work place and the marketplace, but at church? It seems so much worse when this happens in church. This is not a new problem. Among the disciples, James and John had their mother make a play for them to sit on Jesus’ right and left hand in his Kingdom. Politics will continue to be a part of anything that involves people.
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