Making the case for organized religion

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This Vale Of Tears

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Everyone's heard it said that they have no problem with Christianity, but it's "organized religion" that they reject. Quite often it's really in roster with a series of excuses for not showing up for church on Sunday; be that as it may.

But my question is, are Christians really any good in the world without organized religion? On a small scale we can act within our own spheres to touch the lives of others and find ways to ameliorate our world and correct small injustices. But consider that missions in Africa and South America require churches to sponsor them. Consider how large charities like Samaritans Purse and Catholic Charities help countless people on a global scale with an apparatus and operating budget that circulates millions of dollars at a time. Consider how the Bible itself is a product of organized religion, made official as a canon by the 4th century councils of Rome and Hippo and how major doctrinal decisions were made in such councils as well.

Organized religion becomes a target by its sheer visible status. Churches don't hide, they are a shining city on a hill. So the downside of all the good that organized religion does is that the devil has an infrastructure against which to mount an assault. It becomes worse when the accusations are true, when church leaders fall into scandal and corruption compromises the mission of the Church. People don't remember when a church builds hospitals and schools in Haiti, but they sure remember the sex abuse scandals. The good we do is dismissed, ignored, and quickly forgotten and the bad we do has staying power in people's perception of "organized religion."

Yet the Church Militant by sheer preponderance considers the blessings of concerted efforts to spread the gospel of Christ and to help our fellow man worth whatever liabilities come with it. Maybe we should give organized religion a break. Criticism is easy, building something and being part of something that brings immense good to the world, well that's harder.

But worth it.
 

Dodo_David

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Vale, I fully agree with you. The Lone-Ranger approach to the Christian faith doesn't work well.
We can do more when we pool our resources together than what we can as individuals.
 
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FHII

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Couple of comments:

I don't measure a church on what amount of charity work they do but rather if they are preaching and enforcing the truth. In other words, a church can send relief to places to Haiti (and praise God they do, and Paul did have missions of charity) but if they aren't preaching sound doctrine, it's not a God inspired Church. HOWEVER, you do bring up a good point. No one remembers charity work but they do remember scandals. Furthermore, it's not just the one church where the problem was that suffers, it's the entire denomination.

Second, I am not in favor of denominationalism for many reasons, but that is not to say I'm against organized religion. Among the verses that support it are those found in 1 Cor 14.
 

This Vale Of Tears

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FHII said:
Couple of comments:

I don't measure a church on what amount of charity work they do but rather if they are preaching and enforcing the truth. In other words, a church can send relief to places to Haiti (and praise God they do, and Paul did have missions of charity) but if they aren't preaching sound doctrine, it's not a God inspired Church. HOWEVER, you do bring up a good point. No one remembers charity work but they do remember scandals. Furthermore, it's not just the one church where the problem was that suffers, it's the entire denomination.

Second, I am not in favor of denominationalism for many reasons, but that is not to say I'm against organized religion. Among the verses that support it are those found in 1 Cor 14.
But the charity work is just as important, we all know the famous "faith without works is dead" verse found in James 2, but see how he contexts this verse:

13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.


So the preaching, the correctness of doctrine cannot be elevated above meeting the needs of others. Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick, visiting the prisoner, these are all the gospel of Christ. But even as I say this to you, I'm not preaching at you because I'm sure you understand this already. What I am saying is that you should look very carefully at what a church's charities are and it should matter to you. My church sponsors a mission in Africa and that's very important to me.
 

FHII

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Hello Vale...

I lie not.... I literally got done reading the book of Amos 45 minutes ago so I'd be hard pressed not to understand the need for charity (it was one of the things God was charging Israel of neglecting).

I do disagree about which is more important (truth or charity) in that I do think preaching truth -- at the very least dilligently seeking it -- is of primary importance. HOWEVER, charity done correctly was urged by God in the OT, Jesus, Paul, yes... James too, and I bet even Peter and John talked about it.... I'm the type of guy that would state every single law of Moses was equally important, every apostle was equally important and so forth. Therefore, I'm in agreeance that so is caring for your poor and needy.

So I'm not interested in arguing which is more important (although, yea.... I brought it up!) ;)
 

mjrhealth

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One should take a good hard look at the history of their church before they go telling people they should join and walking with Christ is nota lone ranger approch unless of course you dont believe He existst but for religion. In which case it has already failed.

In all His love
 

This Vale Of Tears

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mjrhealth said:
One should take a good hard look at the history of their church before they go telling people they should join and walking with Christ is nota lone ranger approch unless of course you dont believe He existst but for religion. In which case it has already failed.

In all His love
I really don't know what to say. I mean....I really don't understand what you just said here. *baffled* :blink:
 

Dodo_David

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mjrhealth said:
One should take a good hard look at the history of their church before they go telling people they should join and walking with Christ is nota lone ranger approch unless of course you dont believe He existst but for religion. In which case it has already failed.

In all His love
Huh?
 

Wormwood

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mjrhealth said:
One should take a good hard look at the history of their church before they go telling people they should join and walking with Christ is nota lone ranger approch unless of course you dont believe He existst but for religion. In which case it has already failed.

In all His love
Ill try to interpret:

"One should take a good, hard look at the history of their church before they go telling people they should join. Walking with Christ is not a lone ranger approach. Unless, of course, you don't believe [God] exists [except within organized] religion. In this case, [religion?] has already failed. "

Is this what you were trying to say? :)
 

Harry3142

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In the 1930's Hitler made nonaggression treaties with the nations around him. These treaties caused those nations (with the exception of the USSR) to consider themselves safe from attack. For this reason many of the nations which were the western border of Europe decided to 'go it alone' in regard to Hitler and his demands concerning other nations, such as Austria and Czechoslovakia. Instead of coming together in order to form a united front against Hitler, they all assumed that their own particular nation was safe.

We know from history that they were anything but safe. Hitler had deliberately lied to each of them in a successful effort to keep them from uniting, so that each of them could be conquered more easily. He swept through Denmark, Norway, The Netherlands, Holland, and Belgium because each of those nations had chosen to 'go it alone', only to be easily conquered by his military machine.

The church, particularly here in the USA, is facing no less of a threat today from those whose ultimate goal is to crush all religious belief. As one example the New Mexico Supreme Court handed down a decision recently which forbad any Christian from refusing to grant the request (now seen as the order) to actively participate in activities which are flagrant violations of Christian belief. The particular case was a free-lance photographer who was known to be an active Christian. She was approached by two lesbian women who wanted her to take the photographs at their civil union ceremony (gay marriage is not recognized in New Mexico). She refused, as this was in direct violation of her Christian faith, but recommended other photographers who would shoot the photos.

The lesbian women hired another photographer, who took the photos, and then sued the Christian photographer because her religious belief had interfered with their perversity. The New Mexico Supreme Court sided with the lesbians, and rendered from the bench the decision that all religious belief was to be totally subordinate to the desires of others, irregardless of the perversity of those desires. The Christian photographer has been ordered to pay thousands of dollars as a result of her religious convictions.

The bottom line is that all churches who want to preach a lifestyle which conforms to Scripture will have to band together in order to defend themselves, and in particular their children, from the deliberate and concentrated onslaught of those whose sole agenda is to destroy all religious belief, and thus destroy all codes of morality which are based on those religious beliefs. Otherwise, each church will find itself targeted for forcible cooperation, and even active participation, in actions which are clearly described in Scripture as reprehensible to all Christians, irregardless of their denomination.
 
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justaname

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This Vale Of Tears said:
Everyone's heard it said that they have no problem with Christianity, but it's "organized religion" that they reject. Quite often it's really in roster with a series of excuses for not showing up for church on Sunday; be that as it may.

But my question is, are Christians really any good in the world without organized religion? On a small scale we can act within our own spheres to touch the lives of others and find ways to ameliorate our world and correct small injustices. But consider that missions in Africa and South America require churches to sponsor them. Consider how large charities like Samaritans Purse and Catholic Charities help countless people on a global scale with an apparatus and operating budget that circulates millions of dollars at a time. Consider how the Bible itself is a product of organized religion, made official as a canon by the 4th century councils of Rome and Hippo and how major doctrinal decisions were made in such councils as well.

Organized religion becomes a target by its sheer visible status. Churches don't hide, they are a shining city on a hill. So the downside of all the good that organized religion does is that the devil has an infrastructure against which to mount an assault. It becomes worse when the accusations are true, when church leaders fall into scandal and corruption compromises the mission of the Church. People don't remember when a church builds hospitals and schools in Haiti, but they sure remember the sex abuse scandals. The good we do is dismissed, ignored, and quickly forgotten and the bad we do has staying power in people's perception of "organized religion."

Yet the Church Militant by sheer preponderance considers the blessings of concerted efforts to spread the gospel of Christ and to help our fellow man worth whatever liabilities come with it. Maybe we should give organized religion a break. Criticism is easy, building something and being part of something that brings immense good to the world, well that's harder.

But worth it.
Just a little brainstorming after reading this...

My first thought while reading it. The common phrase "I am spiritual, but not religious at all." What a post-modern statement! Let me unpack this a bit.

religion |riˈlijən|nounthe belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods: ideas about the relationship between science and religion.• a particular system of faith and worship: the world's great religions.• a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance:consumerism is the new religion.

You know something is wrong when someone contradicts themselves so quickly. Now in their defense I tend to know they are speaking on the subject of organized religion. Typically you hear this from some new age style individual, as to where I go into presenting the gospel. Yet sometimes you get the person who claims Christianity. This is where I can go to scripture and prove how organized the early Church really was. Just look to acts, and then to the instructions by the epistles. All of this was structured, ordered, and organized. In acts we see the development of organization, in the epistles we see administration of organization being enacted.

Another thing I thought of right away. Your quote, "The good we do is dismissed..."

It is not surprising men outside the Church are looking to quickly tear it down. They hate it! They are hostile towards God, and we as the Body of Christ, are hated just as well. Yet this scripture does jump out at me, proving the difference between man's thinking and God's truth.

1 Peter 4:8
8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.


As to the doctrine comments. The truth of the gospel should never be compromised, whereas all of Orthodoxy is in communion or fellowship. Further dogmatic differences should be laid aside for the furtherance of charity and unity in the Body of Christ. Let us love one another, and in such extend love to a broken humanity!

James 1:27

27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

My call is not to love this evil world, yet to be love in it! As the Pope exclaimed, whereas he was smeared without warrant IMO, let us do love in the world. Let us do good, and at least there man can meet eye to eye. Believer with non-believer, Christian and Muslim, Catholic and Protestant. No one is advocating these works for salvation or even merit for such, yet we as God's holy children are called to good works, in fact they have been prepared in advance by God so that we would walk in them.

Being that we are made in God's image and we are being conformed into the image of His Son, we should mirror Christ in this world. And what was the Christ but merciful, compassionate, loving, and ultimately a sacrifice. Should we not sacrifice our lives as well, so that we are meeting the needs of others? The greatest in heaven is the servant of all. The greatest in heaven is God, and we need to mirror His example, by serving others.

Let me boast now a bit in the Lord. What better a calling in all of the universe but to be the incarnate love of God. Think of how great a treasure it is we truly posses. God's Holy Spirit enables us to be the hands and feet of the Christ. We truly can be love to the least of these.

So many desire to focus on what is negative as opposed to that which is heavenly. I make a conscience choice to love, for love covers a multitude of sins.

Nice topic Vale


 
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marksman

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Dodo_David said:
Vale, I fully agree with you. The Lone-Ranger approach to the Christian faith doesn't work well.
We can do more when we pool our resources together than what we can as individuals.
It is sad that we don't do that. I have made two attempts to get the churches in my area to work together and pool resources for evangelism and in the first case I was told "go away, we run things around here" by the pastors (sic) and on the second occasion with another group of churches I was told that they were too busy running their churches so they had no time for evangelism after telling them that they did not have to be involved if they did not want to be, they could appoint someone who had a vision for evangelism to join the task force.

Whatever the task force decided, the various churches could offer resources that they have to make up the whole so there was no demand to stretch themselves beyond where they were at or go out and buy extra stuff.
FHII said:
Second, I am not in favor of denominationalism for many reasons, but that is not to say I'm against organized religion. Among the verses that support it are those found in 1 Cor 14.
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Rach1370

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I think that what it comes down to is really simple:

As Christians we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are family. Now, unless a family is disfunctional, they tend to get together and spend time in each others company. For enjoyment, for relaxation, for love. As a 'Church', that's what we do, with the added bonus of then, together, growing towards Jesus.

But, as a rule, where more than two people come together, 'organisation' must happen. It's a simple necessity...what time, what place, who's driving, who singing, whos talking. Without it, it's just noise, mess and disharmony....all people are different, even brothers and sisters.

I honestly think it's that simple. 'Organised religion' is needed where God's people come together. It's only when the people doing the organising focus on the benefit of themselves, rather than the whole, and rather than God's purpose for his people, that that term becomes derogatory.
 

marksman

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justaname said:
This is where I can go to scripture and prove how organized the early Church really was. Just look to acts, and then to the instructions by the epistles. All of this was structured, ordered, and organized. In acts we see the development of organization, in the epistles we see administration of organization being enacted.
Being organised can mean many things depending whether your faith is in organised religion or not.

I have heard the words of Paul quoted "let everything be done decently and in order" to mean there is no place for the working of the Holy Spirit or his gifts in the meeting. To be done decently and in order we have to have a programme that is adhered to religiously and never changes from week to week. That is the only way we can do things decently and in order.

And yet the people who claim this is what those words mean totally ignore that the chapter was instruction about the proper way to administer the gifts of the Spirit.

The first claim is an end in itself. The second fact makes Paul's words just a means to an end to encourage and promote the gifts of the Spirit in the meeting.

The first kind of organization is not organisation it is control. The second, Paul's words are life giving because they facilitate the gifts of the Spirit in greater measure because he didn't say because I want things done decently and in order therefore you are not to use the gifts of the Spirit. He said it so that they WOULD use the gifts of the Spirit but in a proper manner.
 

justaname

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marksman said:
Being organised can mean many things depending whether your faith is in organised religion or not.

I have heard the words of Paul quoted "let everything be done decently and in order" to mean there is no place for the working of the Holy Spirit or his gifts in the meeting. To be done decently and in order we have to have a programme that is adhered to religiously and never changes from week to week. That is the only way we can do things decently and in order.

And yet the people who claim this is what those words mean totally ignore that the chapter was instruction about the proper way to administer the gifts of the Spirit.

The first claim is an end in itself. The second fact makes Paul's words just a means to an end to encourage and promote the gifts of the Spirit in the meeting.

The first kind of organization is not organisation it is control. The second, Paul's words are life giving because they facilitate the gifts of the Spirit in greater measure because he didn't say because I want things done decently and in order therefore you are not to use the gifts of the Spirit. He said it so that they WOULD use the gifts of the Spirit but in a proper manner.
I think you and I are on the same page here. Some abuse scripture contextually to make false doctrine.

Yet I was hinting on the fact of organization in the early Church. Perhaps I should expound it a bit to further my case and better the understanding.

Looking to the early Church we see leadership roles being established even within and amongst the apostles. For example James as chairman settling the dispute between Peter and Paul. (Acts 15) Also we have Paul collecting money from churches. (Acts 20) Then we see different roles being established such as overseers or bishops, elders, pastor/teachers, deacons, and so on. We know of John being an overseer of the Asian churches, and Timothy also having a major role in leadership. Looking to 1John 1, we see there was a certain fellowship that was common amongst all of the Body of Christ. Also in respect to different facets of practice and ritual, we know that some uniformity was being established or at least critiqued. (1Corinthians 11)

I can further into all the application given by Paul in many of his epistles as to moralistic and even daily practice being established as to how a Christian should live. So many mantras like walk in the Spirit, walk in the light, do not sin (given by John), and so on. We have how we should not take one another to the secular courts, how we should wait until the appropriate time to judge, how we are to love one another. All of this is religion becoming more organized with every epistle written, and every mandate ordered.

So many look to what has manifested unto this day and say, "Look what man has made from what God has given us." As to which I say, yes man is corrupt, so in everything he is involved with there is corruption. Even the earliest version of the Church had to deal with it, just look at Ananias and Sapphira. This is why we need order and structure.

Now in these times it is even more difficult, because we have so many denominations, all the way to heresy exhibited in the Christian cults. Every denomination will tell you there way is the proper way, some so much as to tell you if you are not a part of their way of doing things you are dammed. All of this does nothing for the furtherance of the Kingdom, nor do I believe it to be in cooperation with Christ. None the less it is a burden we as believers must deal with, and need to face head on. Once we have some form of organization, we have men striving for what they perceive as positions of authority and power. Within this they build walls of exclusivity and shut out others that disagree. None of this is Spirit led, yet the claim is the Spirit is leading every different establishment, in all their different directions in conflict with one another. This is where you get the Christian fed up, then stating, "I am just going to do what the Spirit leads me to do." This person just started another denomination, in conflict with the entire fellowship.

Difficult as it is, these boarders must be met and overcome. Let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem as in the days of Nehemiah with our load in one hand and our weapon against the enemy of the Church in the other. Yes they mock us, but let us remember the Lord, and the prayer given by Nehemiah.

"Hear, O our God, how we are despised! Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity. Do not forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have demoralized the builders."

Men see stain and blemish in the Church, yet the Lord sees it how He presents it, pure and holy. Men see an impossible task in the unity of the Church, yet the cloud of witnesses and the Holy Spirit unifies us already. What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.
 

Prentis

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We have needs of coming together, but not under the umbrella of an institution, rather under the umbrella of Christ, who is the head of the body.

We have plenty of organization in the sense of coming together. But what we lack is coming together around the new life in Christ Jesus.

We lack a witness because we have often been no different than Islam or Judaism, a religion without power. But Christianity is a religion according to the power of a new life in Christ Jesus where we walk as he walked and do the works we see the Father doing. When we come together around such a life, then we will once again be a church with apostolic authority and power, that overcomes in the Spirit and changes the world around it, instead of going with the flow of the world.

We need first to be transformed and conformed to the image and life of Christ, by his power, and to come together around this.
 
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This Vale Of Tears

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Prentis said:
We have needs of coming together, but not under the umbrella of an institution, rather under the umbrella of Christ, who is the head of the body.

We have plenty of organization in the sense of coming together. But what we lack is coming together around the new life in Christ Jesus.

We lack a witness because we have often been no different than Islam or Judaism, a religion without power. But Christianity is a religion according to the power of a new life in Christ Jesus where we walk as he walked and do the works we see the Father doing. When we come together around such a life, then we will once again be a church with apostolic authority and power, that overcomes in the Spirit and changes the world around it, instead of going with the flow of the world.

We need first to be transformed and conformed to the image and life of Christ, by his power, and to come together around this.
Have you considered that only in your mind exists a conflict between institutional organization and spontaneity and inspiration by the Holy Spirit; that one undoes the other?
 

Theophane

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People don't remember when a church builds hospitals and schools in Haiti, but they sure remember the sex abuse scandals. The good we do is dismissed, ignored, and quickly forgotten and the bad we do has staying power in people's perception of "organized religion."

How true. :(

We as the (global/local) Church are responsible to be the hands, feet, mouth, ears, and eyes of Christ. We are to be the salt and light of the world. The good we do in His Name will *always* be ignored by those who align themselves against God. Trying to please them is an exercise in both futility and distraction

Also, the enemy is in our midst now and has been since the Garden of Eden. The enemy sits in the pews during our church services and whispers in the ears of pastors, congregants, all those who are not vigilant.
 

marksman

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Prentis said:
We have needs of coming together, but not under the umbrella of an institution, rather under the umbrella of Christ, who is the head of the body.

We have plenty of organization in the sense of coming together. But what we lack is coming together around the new life in Christ Jesus.

We lack a witness because we have often been no different than Islam or Judaism, a religion without power. But Christianity is a religion according to the power of a new life in Christ Jesus where we walk as he walked and do the works we see the Father doing. When we come together around such a life, then we will once again be a church with apostolic authority and power, that overcomes in the Spirit and changes the world around it, instead of going with the flow of the world.

We need first to be transformed and conformed to the image and life of Christ, by his power, and to come together around this.
Most definitely Prentiss. When you read the scriptures it is all about the Risen Lord and the good news of salvation. In too many churches today it is about the system and rules. I am not singling out the catholic church but the more you go to mass the more likely are you to get salvation. if that ain't a rule I don't know what is.

I used to work with a catholic that went to mass every day of the week. When he found out I didn't, I discovered he thought he would not be saved if he didn't.

When you have thinking like that what hope have you got for a Jesus focussed and a Jesus centred life and worship?

I have been in churches where everything is done by rote and churches where there is no platform, no pulpit, no pastor, no preaching and no programme. We came together and allowed the Holy Spirit free reign to do whatever he wanted to do with whomever he wanted to use.

I tell you, in the second all one could say was "God was in this Place." Not warm fuzzy feelings, not hyped up music, not nice sermons, not I likes the hymns today, just down to earth Holy Spirit power and presence.

People are afraid of this for one reason and one reason only. They can't control.
Rach said:
But, as a rule, where more than two people come together, 'organisation' must happen. It's a simple necessity...what time, what place, who's driving, who singing, whos talking. Without it, it's just noise, mess and disharmony....all people are different, even brothers and sisters.
I believe you say this because you see religion/christianity as an organisation, not an organism.

if we are to base things on where two or three are gathered together in my name I will be in the midst of them, I cannot for the life of me see where you need organisation, so let me illustrate.

I am in town doing some shopping and decide to have a coffee before I go home. I go to a cafe place my order and sit down at a table. A few minutes later a couple of friends from the fellowship arrive who are doing the same thing. They went shopping and decided to have a coffee and they end up in the same cafe as I am in.

They join me at my table and for the next hour we fellowship, encourage one another and share the scriptures over coffee. No organisation, ne decisions made, no plans to put in place. Just three gathering together, spontaneously as an expression of the church.

I believe the fact that we believe church cannot happen without organisation and man's leadership is bondage and prevents us from being the church as opposed to going to church.

Now say someone on another table overheard our conversation who is not a christian. They are curious and invite themselves to join the conversation. I believe the best organizer in the world was in action. He is known as the Holy Spirit. He organised for me to go to that cafe. He organised for my friends to go there as well and he organised the unbeliever to be there at the same time at the next table.

Who needs man's organisation?
justaname said:
Then we see different roles being established such as overseers or bishops, elders, pastor/teachers, deacons, and so on. We know of John being an overseer of the Asian churches, and Timothy also having a major role in leadership. Looking to 1John 1, we see there was a certain fellowship that was common amongst all of the Body of Christ. Also in respect to different facets of practice and ritual, we know that some uniformity was being established or at least critiqued. (1Corinthians 11)

Men see stain and blemish in the Church, yet the Lord sees it how He presents it, pure and holy. Men see an impossible task in the unity of the Church, yet the cloud of witnesses and the Holy Spirit unifies us already. What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.
Overall a very good post justaname as you have isolated very distinct problems.

I would like to add two comments to what you have said. To date I have not found any scripture where it says that pastor/teachers were appointed to run the church as they do today, brought in from outside the church and paid a salary. And as an aside, most pastor/teachers are not teachers. They are attempting to be because it is expected of them. I say this because I am a university trained teacher and it is obvious their ability to teach is about 2 on a scale of 1 to 10.

I have a conviction that man sees his church and that Jesus sees his church and the two are not the same. Man is building his kingdom and God is building his kingdom and whilst he is doing that, he is letting man's kingdom wither away under the onslaught taking place today against the church.

What the enemy hasn't realised is that all he is doing is destroying man's church, not Jesus church for the simple reason Jesus said "I will build MY church, and the gates of hell WILL NOT prevail against it." Man's church is caving into all sorts of doctrines of demons, even the evangelical church and because this is happening, they get very angry when one or more of the members of Jesus church stands firm against the lies of the devil.
 

Rach1370

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marksman said:
I believe you say this because you see religion/christianity as an organisation, not an organism.

if we are to base things on where two or three are gathered together in my name I will be in the midst of them, I cannot for the life of me see where you need organisation, so let me illustrate.

I am in town doing some shopping and decide to have a coffee before I go home. I go to a cafe place my order and sit down at a table. A few minutes later a couple of friends from the fellowship arrive who are doing the same thing. They went shopping and decided to have a coffee and they end up in the same cafe as I am in.

They join me at my table and for the next hour we fellowship, encourage one another and share the scriptures over coffee. No organisation, ne decisions made, no plans to put in place. Just three gathering together, spontaneously as an expression of the church.
This is great, and it certainly does count as 'fellowship' and even praise. But let me ask you a question....do you want to save these things...fellowship, paise and worship, growth in the knowledge of Christ...for a chance encounter? Becuase that's what you're discribing...a chance encounter with friends. I live in a small town...500 people tops. And let me tell you, it's surprisingly hard to 'bump' into friends in general, let alone Christian friends.
For me...I want to know I can gather with those who love Jesus, like me, and who together, we can sing, praise, give, learn.

I believe the fact that we believe church cannot happen without organisation and man's leadership is bondage and prevents us from being the church as opposed to going to church.

Now say someone on another table overheard our conversation who is not a christian. They are curious and invite themselves to join the conversation. I believe the best organizer in the world was in action. He is known as the Holy Spirit. He organised for me to go to that cafe. He organised for my friends to go there as well and he organised the unbeliever to be there at the same time at the next table.

Who needs man's organisation?
I'm sorry....but really? You're against the idea of organisation? How do you live your life? How do you get groceries, or pay your bills, or catch up with family or friends (other than random 'bumps' as above)?
God created us to be busy! He made us to work, to keep active in our lives. He made us to be in community with those like us...our spiritual family. If not for 'organsitation' the amount of time we actually spent together would be almost zero.
And yes...I agree the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives. That what may seem as 'random' chance to us could be his working. But just as He works through us...as in, he uses us in spreading the gospel, to do his saving work, how can you be sure that he is not using 'organisation' in general, for his work as well?
Yes, modern 'churches' have their issues, but I wonder how many people are saved attending church, as opposed to someone overhearing a random conversation? We don't know, really, do we? But, as it's clear that God uses both platforms, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss one totally, just because you have an issue with attending church.