I've been wondering just what is so important or supposedly stable about attending one church meeting on Sunday. I attend somewhere between 1 to 5 services a week on the internet, in person with simulcast, in person at a church facility with a preacher and in a home under a major ministry.
Still people want to know what church I go to. Really is it necessary to give a list? Are others more stable because they attend one service where I may attend 4 in one week?
Where are the true friendships in "fellowships"? Are people just happy to be religious? I hear words such as "my church" or "my ministry". What it's all about? Honestly, what about Jesus? Are so many content with singing a pretty song with the appearance of stability in the eyes of man? Where is the true calling? Where are the real friends in "The Family Of God"?
I pray for "The Church" because one day we may not have the pretty buildings to go to.
Instead if we are not, the church, then our religion will fade away. Our faith will not pass a trying test.
May you be strong in THE LORD and the power of HIS Might and may all else fade away. Who will dare to be a true friend to someone instead of pumping up egos by "ministering" at people?
Honestly, we are all on the the same boat. Let's give glory to God and be-friend one another.
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Vesselight
Hi Vessel,
ReplyDeleteThere are many reasons people might ask where you go to church. One is that, sadly, it's a way for people to categorize one another -- to see whether your beliefs are compatible and what you have in common. As you know, there are different beliefs among churches that divide, as well as unite. I don't think that's what you're really asking though.
IMHO, the importance of being physically present in a church is not to make an appearance, sing together and bolt for the door. The gathering of the church should be for the purpose of becoming part of a community -- not just to hear the Word or participate in corporate worship -- but to become committed to a group of believers. The New Testament model is that the believers met in one another's homes to break bread, pray, administer spiritual gifts, serve one another and encourage one another in the Lord. They were completely devoted to one another to the point that they shared all things in common. That kind of commitment and devotion to one another doesn't seem to happen in many church communities today. Perhaps that's part of our problem in reaching the lost of this nation. John 13:34-35 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
If we consider churh to be about worship, teaching, prayer, and discussion, we can find it online. For me, there are other aspects of community: Where and how are we serving the body? Where do we lay down our lives for the brethren? Who do we allow to know us completely? To whom do we submit ourselves for training, correction and counsel? Who is accountable for our soul? These are all aspects of community that are included in the instructions for the church. We certainly see them lived out in the epistles.
In online communities, we avoid the day to day interaction with other believers that brings out our strengths and weaknesses. We allow people to know us in a limited way. We reveal only what we choose. When we live in community, we are being built togther -- stone rubbing against stone, revealing what lies beneath the hard exterior, so that we can be shaped to fit together into a spiritual house.
Can you benefit from online communities? Absolutely. There are shut-ins for whom this is an enormous blessing. But even in those situations, I don't believe it's God's best. We need to look into one another's eyes and receive one another's embrace. We need the challenge of loving correction from someone who knows us and has earned the right to speak into our lives.
This isn't a perfect answer. It would take much more time and space than allowed here to respond adequately. But it's a start and perhaps more stimulation for "what you're thinking." Blessings.