Why I Don’t Go To Church Anymore By Wayne Jacobsen

Why I Don’t Go To Church Anymore: Living in the Relational Church – Part 6

By Wayne Jacobsen

BodyLife • May 2001

Dear Fellow-believer,

I do appreciate your concern for me and your willingness to raise issues that have caused you concern. I know the way I relate to the church is a bit unconventional and some even call it dangerous. Believe me, I understand that concern because I used to think that way myself and even taught others to as well.

If you are happy with the status quo of organized religion today, you may not like what you read here. My purpose is not to convince you to see this incredible church the same way I do, but to answer your questions as openly and honestly as I can. Even if we don’t end up agreeing, hopefully you will understand that our differences need not estrange us as members of Christ’s body.

Where do you go to church?

I have never liked this question, even when I was able to answer it with a specific organization. I know what it means culturally, but it is based on a false premise–that church is something you can go to as in a specific event, location or organized group. I think Jesus looks at the church quite differently. He didn’t talk about it as a place to go to, but a way of living in relationship to him and to other followers of his.

Asking me where I go to church is like asking me where I go to Jacobsen. How do I answer that? I am a Jacobsen and where I go a Jacobsen is. ‘Church’ is that kind of word. It doesn’t identify a location or an institution. It describes a people and how they relate to each other. If we lose sight of that, our understanding of the church will be distorted and we’ll miss out on much of its joy.

Are you just trying to avoid the question?

I know it may only sound like quibbling over words, but words are important. When we only ascribe the term ‘church’ to weekend gatherings or institutions that have organized themselves as ‘churches’ we miss out on what it means to live as Christ’s body. It will give us a false sense of security to think that by attending a meeting once a week we are participating in God’s church. Conversely I hear people talk about ‘leaving the church’ when they stop attending a specific congregation.

But if the church is something we are, not someplace we go, how can we leave it unless we abandon Christ himself? And if I think only of a specific congregation as my part of the church, haven’t I separated myself from a host of other brothers and sisters that do not attend the same one I do?

The idea that those who gather on Sunday mornings to watch a praise concert and listen to a teaching are part of the church and those who do not, are not, would be foreign to Jesus. The issue is not where we are at a given time during the weekend, but how we are living in him and with other believers all week long.

But don’t we need regular fellowship?

I wouldn’t say we need it. If we were in a place where we couldn’t find other believers, Jesus certainly would be able to take care of us. Thus, I’d phrase that a bit differently: Will people who are growing to know the Living God also desire real and meaningful connections with other believers? Absolutely! The call to the kingdom is not a call to isolation. Every person I’ve ever met who is thriving in the life of Jesus has a desire to share authentic fellowship with other believers. They realize that whatever they know of God’s life is just in part, and only the fullest revelation of him is in the church.

But sometimes that kind of fellowship is not easy to find. Periodically on this journey we may go through times when we can’t seem to find any other believers who share our hunger. That’s especially true for those who find that conforming to the expectations of the religious institutions around them diminishes their relationship with Jesus. They may find themselves excluded by believers with whom they’ve shared close friendship. But no one going through that looks on that time as a treat. It is incredibly painful and they will look for other hungry believers to share the journey with.

My favorite expression of body life is where a local group of people chooses to walk together for a bit of the journey by cultivating close friendships and learning how to listen to God together.

Shouldn’t we be committed to a local fellowship?

That has been said so often today, that most of us assume it is in the Bible somewhere. I haven’t found it yet. Many of us have been led to believe that we can’t possibly survive without the ‘covering of the body’ and will either fall into error or backslide into sin. But doesn’t that happen inside our local congregations as well?

I know many people who live outside those structures and find not only an ever-deepening relationship with God, but also connections with other believers that run far deeper than they found in the institution. I haven’t lost any of my passion for Jesus or my affection for his church. If anything those have grown by leaps and bounds in recent years.

Scripture does encourage us to be devoted to one another not committed to an institution. Jesus indicated that whenever two or three people get together focused on him, they would experience the vitality of church life.

Is it helpful to regularly participate in a local expression of that reality? Of course. But we make a huge mistake when we assume that fellowship takes place just because we attend the same event together, even regularly, or because we belong to the same organization. Fellowship happens where people share the journey of knowing Jesus together. It consists of open, honest sharing, genuine concern about each other’s spiritual well being and encouragement for people to follow Jesus however he leads them.

But don’t our institutions keep us from error?

I’m sorry to burst your bubble here, but every major heresy that has been inflicted on God’s people for the last 2,000 years has come from organized groups with ‘leaders’ who thought they knew God’s mind better than anyone around them. Conversely, virtually every move of God among people hungering for him was rejected by the ‘church’ of that day and were excluded, excommunicated or executed for following God.

If that is where you hope to find security, I’m afraid it is sorely misplaced. Jesus didn’t tell us that ‘going to church’ would keep us safe, but that trusting him would. He gave us an anointing of the Spirit so that we would know the difference between truth and error. That anointing is cultivated as we learn his ways in his Word and grow closer to his heart. It will help you recognize when expressions of church you share life with becomes destructive to his work in you.

So are traditional congregations wrong?

Absolutely not! I have found many of them with people who love God and are seeking to grow in his ways. I visit a couple of dozen different congregations a year that I find are far more centered on relationship than religion. Jesus is at the center of their life together, and those who act as leaders are true servants and not playing politics of leadership, so that all are encouraged to minister to one another.

I pray that even more of them are renewed in a passion for Jesus, a genuine concern for each other and a willingness to serve the world with God’s love. But I think we’d have to admit that these are rare in our communities and many only last for a short span before they unwittingly look to institutional answers for the needs of the body instead of remaining dependent on Jesus. When that happens do not feel condemned if God leads you not to go along with them.

So should I stop going to church, too?

I’m afraid that question also misses the point. You see I don’t believe you’re going to church any more than I am. We’re just part of it. Be your part, however Jesus calls you to and wherever he places you. Not all of us grow in the same environment.

If you gather with a group of believers at a specific time and place and that participation helps you grow closer to Jesus and allows you to follow his work in you, by all means don’t think you have to leave. Keep in mind, however, that of itself is not the church. It is just one of many expressions of it in the place where you live.

Don’t be tricked into thinking that just because you attend its meetings you are experiencing real body life. That only comes as God connects you with a handful of brothers and sisters with whom you can build close friendships and share the real ups and downs of this journey.

That can happen among traditional congregations, as it can also happen beyond them. In the last seven years I’ve meet hundreds if not thousands of people who have grown disillusioned with traditional congregations and are thriving spiritually as they share God’s life with others, mostly in their homes.

Then meeting in homes is the answer?

Of course not. But let’s be clear: as fun as it is to enjoy large group worship and even be instructed by gifted teachers, the real joy of body life can’t be shared in huge groups. The church for its first 300 years found the home the perfect place to gather. They are much more suited to the dynamics of family which is how Jesus described his body.

But meeting in homes is no cure-all. I’ve been to some very sick home meetings and met in facilities with groups who shared an authentic body life together. But the time I spend in regular body life I want to spend face to face with a group of people. I know it isn’t popular today where people find it is far easier to sit through a finely-tuned (or not so finely-tuned) service and go home without ever having to open up our life or care about another person’s journey.

But ultimately what matters most to me is not where or how they meet, but whether or not people are focused on Jesus and really helping each other on the journey to becoming like him. Meetings are less the issue here than the quality of relationships. I am always looking for people like that wherever I am and always rejoice when I find it. In our new home in Oxnard, we’ve found a few folks and are hopeful to find even more.

Aren’t you just reacting out of hurt?

I suppose that is possible and time will tell, I guess, but I honestly don’t believe so. Anyone who is engaged in real body life will get hurt at times. But there are two kinds of hurt. There’s the kind of pain that points to a problem that can be fixed with the right care – such as a badly sprained ankle. Then there’s the kind of pain that can only be fixed by pulling away – as when you put your hand on a hot stove.

Perhaps all of us have experienced some measure of pain as we have tried to fit God’s life into institutions. For a long time most of us hung in there hoping if we tweaked a few things it would get better. Though we could be successful in limited ways during moments of renewal, we also discovered that eventually the conformity an institution demands and the freedom people need to grow in Christ are at odds with one another. It has happened with virtually every group formed throughout the history of Christianity.

Are you looking for the perfect church?

No, and I don’t anticipate finding one this side of eternity. Perfection is not my goal, but finding people with God’s priorities. It’s one thing for people to struggle toward an ideal they share together. It’s another to realize that our ideals have little in common.

I make no secret of the fact that I am deeply troubled by the state of organized Christianity. Most of what we call ‘church’ today are nothing more than well-planned performances with little actual connection between believers. Believers are encouraged toward a growing dependency on the system or its leadership rather than on Jesus himself. We spend more energy conforming behavior to what the institution needs rather than helping people be transformed at the foot of the cross!

I’m tired of trying to fellowship with people who only view church as a two-hour a week dumping ground for guilt while they live the rest of the week with the same priorities as the world. I’m tired of those who depend on their own works of righteousness but who have no compassion for the people of the world. I’m tired of insecure people using the Body of Christ as an extension of their own ego and will manipulate it to satisfy their own needs. I’m tired of sermons more filled with the bondage of religion than the freedom of God’s love and where relationships take a back seat to the demands of an efficient institution.

But don’t our children need church activities?

I’d suggest that what they need most is to be integrated into God’s life through relational fellowship with other believers. 92% of children who grow up in Sunday schools with all the puppets and high-powered entertainment, leave ‘church’ when they leave their parents’ home? Instead of filling our children with ethics and rules we need to demonstrate how to live in God’s life together.

Even sociologists tell us that the #1 factor in determining whether a child will thrive in society is if they have deep, personal friendships with nonrelative adults. No Sunday school can fill that role. I know of one community in Australia who after 20 years of sharing God’s life together as families could say that they had not lost one child to the faith as they grew into adulthood. I know I cut across the grain here, but it is far more important that our children experience real fellowship among believers rather than the bells and whistles of a slick children’s program.

What dynamics of body life do you look for?

I’m always looking for a people who are seeking to follow the Living Christ. He is at the center of their lives, their affections and their conversation. They look to be authentic and free others to hurt when they hurt, to question what they question and to follow his voice without others accusing them of being divisive or rebellious. I look for people who are not wasting their money on extravagant buildings or flashy programs; where people sitting next to each other are not strangers; and where they all participate as a priesthood to God instead of watch passively from a safe distance.

Aren’t you giving people an excuse to sit home and do nothing?

I hope not, though I know it is a danger. I realize some people who leave traditional congregations end up abusing that freedom to satisfy their own desires and thus miss out on church life altogether. Neither am I a fan of ‘church hoppers’, who whip around to one place after another looking for the latest fad or the best opportunity to fulfill their own selfish desires.

But most of the people I meet and talk with are not outside the system because they have lost their passion for Jesus or his people, but only because the traditional congregations near them couldn’t satisfy their hunger for relationship. They are seeking authentic expressions of body life and pay an incredible cost to seek it out. Believe me, we would all find it easier just to go with the flow, but once you’ve tasted of living fellowship between passionate believers, it is impossible to settle for anything less.

Isn’t this view of church divisive?

Not of itself. People make it divisive when they demand that people conform to their revelation of truth. Most of us on the journey are accused of being divisive because freedom can be threatening to those who find their security in a religious system. But must of us aren’t trying to recruit others to leave their congregations. We see the body of Christ big enough to encompass God’s people however he calls them to gather.

One of the things often said about traditional church is that Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in American culture. We only meet with people who look like we do and like things the way we do. I’ve found now that I have far more opportunity to get with people from a broader cross-section of his body. I don’t demand others do it my way and I hope in time that those who see it differently will stop demanding we conform to theirs.

Where can I find that kind of fellowship?

There’s no easy answer here. It might be right in front of you among the fellowship you’re already in. It might be down the street in your neighborhood or across a cubicle at work. You can also get involved in compassionate outreaches to the needy and broken in your locality as a way to live out his life in you and meet others with a similar hunger.

Don’t expect this kind of fellowship to fall easily into an organization. It is organic, and Jesus can lead you to it right where you are. Look for him to put a dozen or so folks around your life with whom you can share the journey. They may not even all go to the same congregation you do. They might be neighbors or coworkers who are following after God. Wouldn’t that kind of interconnection among God’s people yield some incredible fruit?

Don’t expect it to be easy or run smoothly. It will take some specific choices on our part to be obedient to Jesus. It may take some training to shake off old habits and be free to let him build his community around you, but it is all worth it. I know it bothers some people that I don’t take my regular place in a pew on Sunday morning, but I can tell you absolutely that my worst days outside organized religion are still better than my best days inside it. To me the difference is like listening to someone talk about golf or actually taking a set of clubs out to a course and playing golf. Being his church is like that. In our day we don’t need more talk about the church, but people who are simply ready to live in its reality.

People all over the world are freshly discovering how to do that again. You can be one of them as you let him place you in his body as he desires.

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My thinking on why Church does not work by Stephanie McEntire

My thinking on why Church I.C..does not work.
I have been out of the I.C. (Church) for 20 years or so. I say that often not out of pride but because I have been a free believer for a while and I have seen a lot of things. I have seen churches try to make things better…different… inside the walls. I have gone back to buildings that don’t call themselves churches but call themselves a fellowship or something else and here is what happened time and time again. T hey evolved right back into the church as we know it today… with all the trimmings. Jesus said to BEWARE of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducee’s . He wasn’t saying to be aware of leaven but what leaven does and related it of course to the teachings. If you aren’t sure what Jesus had a problem with in the Pharisees and Sadducee’s teachings…Go to the Red Letters and read all the conversations and stories IN THEIR ENTIRETY. What I see when we try to “make” a church is a group of humans trying to make God in our image…by organization, rules and regulations…boxing up God so to speak. In all cases of reorganizing believers into something different, the leaven leavened the whole lump and all became religious again. You cannot put new wine in old wine skins…it just hasn’t worked. I am no scholar and can only share from experience but here is what has happened to me and this is my opinion only. (This goes for house to house or house meetings as well…all I have ever been a part of over the years have gotten religious or kept just enough of doctrine or form to be leavened completely.) All of what I am about to say is taken out of Mathew 16. Please read it for yourself. Jesus had just been confronted by the Pharisees and Sadducee’s and they were trying to trick him. They had heard about him and how people were changing. Show us a sign they said…in other words…do something for US…Jesus responded by using the weather as an example and my paraphrase..Jesus basically said “you wouldn’t see me anyway and it is an evil and adulterous generation that SEEKS after a sign..none will be given it..except the sign of Jonah”. Jonah had some control issues I think we could all agree on..The churches also have some control issues. The story continues The disciples forgot to bring any bread. Obviously Jesus knew this was concerning them…human hunger…human stuff…and it was at that time Jesus stated to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducee’s whom they had just left. Jesus reminded them that he had done this huge miracle earlier…you know the loaves and fishes that fed the thousands but still they got caught up in how to organize another feeding…again…they pulled something spiritual down into the natural. This is what I feel Jesus is talking about. You cannot pull the Spiritual things into the natural world without becoming Pharisees and Sadducee’s. At that point the disciples got what Jesus was saying about the leaven…this is about something spiritual that will be destroyed and destroy others by bringing it into the natural world and trying to duplicate it. You cannot make Spirituality into an earthly experience. Jesus continues this frame of thought in Caesarea Philippi, as they enter town. Jesus asks his disciples “what is everyone saying about me.” What they are saying about Jesus runs the gamut with them calling him Elijah, John the Baptist, Jeremiah…one of the prophets. Again…going with what they know. Pulling Jesus back down to the natural human terms. He asked Peter..”Who do YOU say that I am.” Peter answered you are Christ…son of the living God. PETER GOT IT. Jesus was nothing ever seen before and cannot be contained in the human organization. He gave PETER the freedom to decide who HE was on an individual basis. Flesh and blood did not reveal this to him…that is what Jesus said…no preacher…evangelist, motivational speaker…but the Father IN HEAVEN made this truth to him. Peter got it..maybe for just an instant…but he got it. Jesus then said to SIMON BARJONA (emphasis on the fact he was still talking to ONE MAN) “Upon this rock I will build my church.” This was not a commission to build a church made out of bricks…Time and time again he said that he would tear down the one made with hands….he didn’t change his mind ..but rather began to build the church or the ecclesia in Peter. In this church..inside Peter.. were all the keys to the kingdom. This is all he would ever need. PERIOD. Folks this all we should ever need. Then he did a very funny thing after saying all of that…tell no one I am the Christ. The Kingdom of God is within us. The Kingdom of God is at hand…look at your hand…that close. We are not happy with what we are given. We are not happy that church is within us. We want concrete walls…we want a sign…we want it all to fit in this natural world and tie a bow on it. I have seen hundreds try and try to make church happen here on earth but it always gets around to touch not, taste not, handle not. Believe me…I would be the first one there if church as we know it worked. One last thing out of Matthew 16. Jesus confided in Peter that he must die and suffer many things. Jesus was going to get out of the natural and bring us all into the Spiritual. Peter screwed up by saying…God forbid…no…not you..never you. Jesus reply was “get behind me Satan..you are a stumbling block to me…there you go again Peter…putting mans interest before Gods…(my paraphrase.) Isn’t that what we do ..become a stumbling block? Isn’t that what happens? Isn’t that why church does not work? If the fact that the Kingdom of God is within us is not enough…what will ever be?

Quitting “church” by Kameron Messmer

This is a letter i handed out to my pastors and friends as i was leaving. With some it caused a stir and others didn’t bother to say a word to me; both are disturbing to me. I thought it might be interesting to see the note that kicked me off into the heresy…

Quitting “church”
The church is the body of Christ on earth and I cannot and will not quit that Church, but after a long process of debate and questioning, I do not see myself participating in the institutional church any longer. This has been a long time coming starting in my youth and finally coming to a head now. I say that to let people know this is not a sudden or rash decision.  I have felt dissatisfied with the organizational church for a long time now and am just now realizing I am not alone in my feelings and I have justification in these feelings. After much research, I have come to the conclusion that the best way for me to do “church” is to go back to the ancient way of the early church in Acts. Many of the traditions we have in the church today are not based on the Bible but in pagan rituals, and get in the way of our relationships between God and man. I know many people will not understand my feelings, but I cannot in good conscience continue through the charade knowing what I know. For the people who read this, please know I am not leaving a specific pastor or congregation or building but the idea of the “church” in general. I have been going to the same church for as long as I can remember so believe me when I say this has not been an easy decision as I see many of the members of that congregation as my family. I heard a saying that goes “If the devil can’t steal your soul he’ll just keep you busy with church work”, and I have found myself too busy with church work to really connect with God or His people. I want to strip away all that hinders. I was also in the process of pursuing a minister’s license, but I no longer see the need for it because I believe we are all ministers in Christ and I don’t need a paper to legitimize my priesthood. The ministry I want to pursue deemphasizes a human hierarchy and emphasizes Christ as the head of the church. People seem to put more importance on the people in charge of the church when, in reality, we are all the same and Christ is to be the focus. For years I’ve felt God calling me to a ministry and I believe it has slowly been revealed to me over time. I truly believe God has called me to a ministry outside of the church no matter how strange that may sound strange to the average Christian. The ministry I feel called to involves all sorts of believers of all ages and backgrounds coming together to minister to each other not just get ministered to. I want to gather together with all religious structure stripped away until there is only Christ. I know some people who go to church think that is the way God intended things to be, but I believe we think that way because we have never known any other way. We have been raised with this mentality, and after studying it, I want to run back towards the ancient way of doing things. I want true community and fellowship and not the way we have always done it. The fellowship and community we have is only when we are comfortable and only when we allow it. We pick who we hang out with and have dinner with and are comfortable with. I want an uncomfortable community where I learn to love those I might not normally pick to love. I want to get to the uncomfortable point of freedom in selling my possessions for my new family and the poor. I want to get to the point of dropping everything and helping one another like I would my real family. I am not giving up the fellowship of believers if that is what you are thinking. I am doing church differently and am not expecting anyone else to join me or even try to understand. Please know I am not doing this to divide.  I hope this does however give you a glimpse into my heart and my reasons. I ask for your prayers as I will pray for you. If you have any questions or would like to talk please let me know. I would love to talk with anyone who is interested or concerned. Thank you and God bless.

Nutshell by Kameron Messmer

What I believe in a nutshell

I had another fight with my father. It’s happened so many times lately I decided to write down a little statement. Often opinions are misconstrued and not stated clearly so I end up looking like a heretic. Maybe I am… Often I share things with others before I have straightened it out in my head. Or a question I pose comes out in less of a question and more of a statement. To clarify, my learning process involves asking questions to make myself think. If anyone else hears them it seems to them like I believe certain things, which results in my father telling my family that I don’t believe in the Bible and that staplers are God. Gossip is an evil thing. So this is my way of stopping it. This little page is not the entirety of my beliefs of course, but it is enough to settle some things and explain why I have certain positions. Even if someone doesn’t agree with me I should hope they could respect my conclusions a little more. As I always say I am not arrogant enough to think I have everything figured out so if someone reads this or anything else I write and thinks I am wrong I welcome discussion. I may or may not change my position but regardless I love information. Thanks for reading and please let me know your opinions on things!

The Bible and Truth

I believe the Bible was written by several authors through several hundred years and then put together by several people hundreds of years later. I believe that the collaboration of that many people over that long of a period of time has got to result in problems. I can especially see problems with picking of the books in the Bible. Ordinary men, not men specifically chosen by God, picked the books that would be included in the cannon. There are books left out that almost made it in. How do we know the right ones made it in? I am not saying God did not have a hand in writing the books in the Bible.  I am not saying the Bible does not contain truth. I am not saying the Bible is false. I am not saying the Bible contains mistakes. I am saying there could be. Then again there might not be.  I believe that too many Christians focus on the Bible above all else; above people, above love, above God. The way I look at the Bible is it is helpful, it contains truth, it contains the Words of God, but it is not God.  If something in the Bible is found to be historically inaccurate for instance, that does not shake my faith in God. I think when people call the Bible “The inerrant Word of God” They are putting it on a pedestal it was not meant to be on. If there ever was anything found inaccurate people’s faith might be shaken because they have put their faith in a book, not in a person.   I believe the Bible is far more than “just a book” as I’ve been accused of believing. I simply don’t want to elevate the book over what it points to. I believe there is truth everywhere, this doesn’t not mean that I think everything is true. I am not saying that I believe truth is relative. I think too many Christians think they have the corner on truth. Everything I believe is because I learned things from different places. If I learn more about a certain subject I may change my opinion but it still will come from the aspect of a Christian because I have a relationship with Christ. I have faith. In saying that, I am secure enough to learn things from those who might not be Christian. I believe God can reveal truths to anyone and therefore truth can be anywhere. In a book or a movie or a Buddhist. Just because someone is not a Christian doesn’t mean we can’t learn something about God from them. I have learned things from Protestants and Catholics. From people out of church and inside. From Christians and Atheists. Men and Women. Black and White. We all have different perspectives because we have different lives. Why can’t we look for the truth in everything instead of ignoring people because they don’t agree with us theologically? How can we learn anything new if we only learn from those who believe exactly as we do?

Homosexuality

I believe homosexuality is probably wrong. I say probably because I have heard the arguments on why some think it is not a sin. To me it seems they are stretching things and they have not convinced me. I have been wrong before and I am not arrogant enough to think I know everything about an issue so I will say as of right now I believe it is still a sin. I do however think it is just as bad as any number of sins Christians commit every day. Christians seem to think homosexuality is the most horrible sin and the rest are forgivable. Christ never mentioned homosexuality which makes me think. Homosexuality is mentioned in the Bible but it is relatively brief. Other sins are mentioned more frequently and not given as much spotlight in modern Christianity, probably because Christians break those more often. Christians seem to think they are safe to attack the “pagan” homosexuals and not attack their own. In my honest opinion we should stop focusing on changing the laws and get out there and love people. If God is in us and we pour our lives into people, then there will be change.

Church Buildings and Services

After I found out that there were many things in the modern institutional church that were not founded on the Bible I was happy to leave. Besides all the reasons I found, it is boring and a waste of time. There are many traditions and teachings not found in the Bible which leads me to believe that the church is not what Christ intended. I find the Bible tells us to have Christian friends but nowhere does it command to go to a specific building made specifically for worship on a certain day. People started adopting different routines and traditions until it became our modern day interpretation of church. This does not seem like a command to “go to church”, it looks like a habit.  To think that one is sinning by not attending one of these man made institutions is absurd.  One major reason that I left it that I found there were no Christian buildings specific for worship for hundreds of years. Were they sinning by not going to “church”? Early Christians who were closest to the disciples and Jesus lived their Christianity everywhere they went. They were the church and didn’t need a set aside building to pour money into. If you want to worship by going to a building go right ahead. For me there are too many things I have problems with. One thing I would hope that church goers would change is the amount of time put into this system. If it is there to help you with your Christian life it should push you to share your life and love other people. It shouldn’t suck your time effort and money until you can’t be effective anymore. Do you go to several meetings and practices and services a week until you don’t have time for your neighbors? Do you give so much money at church that you can’t support the poor in your neighborhood? Are you so tired from preparing for a class that you can’t be bothered with friends and family? That was how it was for me and I was sickened by it. That’s not what Christianity looks like to me.

Tithes

After actually studying the Bible and tithes I find it really hard to believe the people that tell me we should. There are so many reasons why Christians should not tithe I could write a book. People already have so I won’t but I will put down a couple things that struck me. Tithing was not practiced in the “church” for over seven century’s.  If Jesus taught his disciples to tithe wouldn’t it be instituted from the beginning and not tacked on 700 years later? Besides this if you look at the true Jewish tithing system you’ll realize it was the taxation system for the Jews. This was political not just religious. God was telling the Jews how to take care of their poor among other things. It was not a way to pay pastors or build buildings. The original tithe also was not required from anyone that wasn’t a farmer or rancher.  If you didn’t raise or grow anything you didn’t give. Also the poor weren’t required to give. It would be stupid to require them to give when the whole purpose of the tithe was to support them. I know some people will read these reasons and say that they still will tithe for a guideline and that’s fine. It’s not bad necessarily, but what is bad is when churches make obligations on people to give when they might not be able to. There are people preaching that God will curse those who don’t tithe. This is a lie that hurts people. I am not saying that giving is bad. In fact New Testament giving is harder than tithing. Please give to people and ministries that need it, just don’t give because you think God will strike you down if you don’t.

Pacifism

I Know things in the world are bad. I know there are bad people doing bad things to people. How the world and the governments handle these problems are not really our problem. Things will sort out. If anything we should work for, “Thy Kingdom come” who is called, “The Prince of Peace” not “God of War”. Christ didn’t tell people to go into government to change laws. He did call people to change hearts. I don’t think I am going to picket the wars in this world but I am not going to glorify violence. The government can make whatever choices it wants, the government is not a Christian. I do however have a problem with Christians joining in and supporting war and violence. I have a problem with churches promoting a system of violence and greed and calling it righteous because of political affiliation. Jesus called us to love our enemies and do good to those who hate you. I have a problem supporting any war after hearing my savior say that.

Pastors

The Bible has the word “Pastor” occurring once or twice depending on the translation. It doesn’t ever lay out what a pastor really is supposed to do. The way it seems to talk about it is a function not a position. What I mean is that the Bible says there are people that have the gift of helping people out like a shepherd helps out sheep. There is guidance and leading but it doesn’t say it is an office and we should follow them as Jesus’ proxy. Jesus is our shepherd and it says so many times in the Bible. Jesus never set up all these offices for us to follow; he set Himself up for us to follow. Why would he go to all that trouble of living on earth and dying to be our savior and leader if he was just going to set up some hierarchy of men to lead us anyways? I believe pastors and leaders should exist but not as a title and with a paycheck. If you read the New Testament without the modern bias you’ll see it was lived out like a relationship. They were a bunch of people who believed in Jesus and got together and lived it out. They didn’t build a bunch of buildings and start paying a staff and hunkering down for the rest of their lives. Additionally, pastors are basically paid Christians. They are doing what the body of Christ is meant to do. We pay someone to be a Christian for us and it is killing them.

Rules

I believe that God gave the Jews a whole bunch of rules in the Old Testament because He was setting up his nation. These rules should not be what modern day individuals set their lives to. Christians sometimes seem to think that because it is in the Bible it has to be obeyed. There are things in the Bible that were written to specific people, not to everyone, everywhere for all time. Just because God told the Jews or a specific person to do something doesn’t mean we have to. Sometimes God said He would bless someone, this does not mean God has to bless you in the same way. The Bible records things for us, but it is not a menu for us to order from or a law book to live our lives by. Another reason why I have problems with rules is that Christians elevate them above a relationship with God. The focus is not on loving God and people so life is reduced to following rules and keeping track of who follows them best. Christ died because we couldn’t follow them. Now we should be able to relax and live life but instead we get paranoid about following rules. It isn’t that I am against following rules. I am not saying people should be able to do whatever they want and get away with it. I am saying if you focus on following all the rules you are a Pharisee. The way I look at it is God gave people rules to follow like parents give children rules to follow. When they are young they need guidelines to protect them. When they grow up they aren’t still in the same kind of relationship. When the child grows into an adult it is more of a friendship. It is about love and respect, not rules and regulations. If a parent still bosses their adult child around like they were four years old it is not a healthy relationship. Christ came and said, “No longer do I call you slaves …but I have called you friends,” Another example is a marriage. When people get married there are rules about fidelity and people follow this because it is the rule, but what happens after 30 years of marriage? Do they stay faithful because they have to follow the rules or because they love each other? From what I’ve heard from people that have been married longer than I have they love each other more than when they first got married. I’ve heard one man say they didn’t even know what love was. Now after being married so long they love each other enough to do the right things. Not because there are rules to follow. Follow whatever rules you want, but do it out of love and relationship with God, not because you have to. Anything else seems fake to me.

This Temple by Kameron Messmer

This Temple

Every week countless people go to buildings all over the world and call it “church”. I don’t doubt their sincerity and I don’t think they are necessarily doing anything wrong.  People that go to these buildings will even say, “The Church is the people in the body of Christ and NOT a building”. I find this very interesting because the more I look into the tradition of having a building for worship or a service the more I question its necessity. As for myself I have left the institutional “church” but I do not try to talk people into believing what I believe. People make their own decisions based on their own beliefs, and I know I can’t make anyone do anything. I am just pointing out my reasons and my findings on the subject.  I received a lot of information about the traditions in the church from the book “pagan Christianity” by Frank Viola and George Barna so if you would like more information I would recommend that. This however is some of my own findings and opinions on church buildings and similar traditions. When I started to question the traditions of Christianity namely the need for a building to worship, I received loads of opposition from well meaning Christians. Some pastors and long time Christians were violently against the idea that we do not need a church building. It goes against the Bible according to them, but the more I look into it the more I see it goes against hundreds of years of human tradition and that, to them, is scary. It threatens jobs and comfort and the status quo so I understand why they are against the idea. I talked to one person from the church I was leaving and they were so angry they shook and cried and yelled and personally attacked me when I said what I believed. They later told me they had never acted that way to anyone in all their years of ministry. That says something to me. They were livid when I told them I was leaving the institutional structure of church to try and follow, in my eyes, a more biblical model. That means that person did not act with as much passion towards people who have walked away from God altogether as they did when I told them I wanted to do “church” differently. I didn’t tell that congregation that I hated them or God or that I wanted to live in sin and sleep in on Sunday mornings, I told them I see in the Bible we should be living in a closer community rather then put so much time and effort into a service or building.  I would rather spend that time and effort and money and space put to better use in serving the poor and the outcast. How would the world see Christians if instead of showing off their gaudy television studios dipped in gold and asking for more money, they sold their buildings and cars and possessions and fixed many of the world’s problems? I’ve heard a statistic that says cross-denominationally 2.6 billion dollars are spent on maintenance and upkeep of church buildings alone. I don’t know if it is accurate but what if it is even close? What if others started believing we didn’t need the buildings anymore and sold them? What if we took that money and put it towards feeding the hungry and curing diseases and getting fresh water to people in third world countries? How then would people see Christians? How many people would WANT to become a Christian after seeing that we collectively came together and forgot our differences and sold our precious buildings to serve the world? This all is speculation of course and pointless to many Christians because they believe that we should have these buildings according to the Bible. The one verse they point out to me is “Acts 2:46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.” For a while I was very confused. I had read lots of research about this and many very smart people were saying we should not have these buildings because it was not intended to be this way. Jesus didn’t set them up and the apostles didn’t set them up and the early church did not set it up. Why was this verse in the bible then? Why did they go to the Temple if we are supposed to get together in homes? Then one day I actually read the Bible. I took it in context. I read on. I thought things out for myself. In Chapter 3 Peter and John were going to the Temple and on the way in, they healed a crippled man. They started preaching Jesus and then things started to happen. They didn’t get to the next part in the song I learned as a kid. The priests and the captain of the Temple guard and the Sadducees got angry and threw them in jail. They took them out and yelled at them and said to stop preaching about Jesus. Peter and John said no, and apparently the Sadducees have a hearing problem because they just shook their finger at them again and let them go. The apostles went on healing and preaching like they said they would and the Sadducees threw them in jail again. An Angel let them out and told them to go preach in the Temple. Again. So they did. And they were beat and let go. Again. Finally it says in Acts 5:42 “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.” This all really got me thinking. The verse they use for legitimizing the body of Christ having a building to worship is based on this Temple. The temple they kept going to kept giving them trouble. Then I thought, “Who is this temple for?” It was a Jewish temple. Why did they keep throwing them in jail? Because they were preaching that this Jewish carpenter guy they just killed is God and he was preaching that the way you Jews do things are wrong. He told them they were missing the point! He told them to stop worrying about the rules and start worrying about people! They were all about rules and being “right”. So the question is, why would the Apostles keep going back to this Jewish temple to preach about a guy the Jews hated when they have a new religion to start; a movement to found! Then I realized. They were starting it. Romans 1:16 says “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” They were supposed to reach out to their fellow Jews before gentiles. When they went to the Temple they were not going to church, they were on a missions trip. They were trying to convert Jews out of their Judaism and into this Christianity. So that cleared that up for me, but what other proof might I gather to at least prove I’m not crazy in my new found beliefs? John 2:19-21 says “Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?”But the temple he had spoken of was his body.” I believe Jesus was talking about his earthly body in the resurrection, but I also believe it could also mean his body the church. Col 1:24 “…his body, which is the church.”  1Cr 3:16   Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 1Cr 3:17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. Eph 2:20-22   “We are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also joined together as part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.” These verses point out that we do not need a building to worship God because we are the Temple where God lives. Church people will say this as well but I would like them to put their money where their mouths are. If you truly believe we don’t need buildings to worship God why do it? Why spend all the money and time and effort? John 4:21 says “Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.”John 4:23   Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” We can worship anywhere regardless of what it looks like. Homes, coffeehouses, sheds, wherever you are you can worship. The greater point is not that, but the fact that we should not “go to church” but BE the church. The church is the body of Christ on earth not in a building. We do not go to the house of the Lord like in the days of old. We do not have to be shackled down to the temple or the Holy of Holies. When Christ died the veil was tore away to let us worship God wherever and experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit always. God living inside of us, not us going to God. We try to sew the veil back together and put it back up. We try to put religion back in front of us. We try to set the rules back up and follow them. The Law is there to prove we can’t follow it. Rom 3:20 “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.”  We must rely on Christ and not religion or ourselves. Religion is trying to get to God on our own. Going to church puts us in a mode of requirements and checklists. We go because we have to, or we go to fulfill our religious duty instead of realizing we are supposed to be living a life mirroring Christ’s. We are HIS BODY and HIS CHURCH. WE ARE THE TEMPLE. Instead of making people follow all the traditions and rules WE made up we should teach them to serve all and to act like Christ all the time. We do everyone a great disservice when we over emphasize a building or set of rules and traditions over the lifestyle we should live. I know many will disagree with me and my reasons. I may be wrong, but for me I was making “church” a god. It was overtaking me and I did not want to live like Christ always, I was just squeezing by, by serving in the “church”. I was so busy with teaching and being on the worship team and helping with different ministries I was missing the point. Now that I don’t “go to church” I realize I am a Christian everywhere and always. I am to serve all wherever I am. It is freeing to know I don’t need to fill up my schedule with “church activities” I just need to be the body of Christ to people around me. From now on I won’t “go”, I will just be.

ALL-AMERICAN JESUS by Randy Gallagher

ALL-AMERICAN JESUS

The Gospel According to Uncle Sam

Congratulations, now that you have recited the sinner’s prayer and are fully assured of your eternal destination it’s time to apply the principles of the Christian faith to your new life. With your ticket to heaven firmly in hand, confident that you won’t be left behind when that final trumpet sounds, it’s time to move forward as one of God’s soldiers of truth in the war against evil. As a new believer it’s important that you do not fall into the trap of taking Holy Scripture too literally. Many new believers eagerly begin reading their Holy Bible with the desire to apply its’ lessons to all areas of their lives. While this attitude is commendable one must be careful not to take this ‘Jesus thing’ too far.      In America we have the unique advantage of God’s blessings of prosperity and worldly power to confirm our modern, correct interpretation of the Holy Bible. As a Christian nation our religious institutions are the driving force of our political system, in fact they are often the determining factor in our country’s elections and policies. At no time or place in history have Christians been more rich or powerful, which obviously is confirmation of God’s blessings upon us.     We have the most educated theologians from the finest universities who provide us with the best commentaries available. We are able to interpret Holy Scripture far more accurately and logically than any generation before. Our knowledge of the Holy Scripture and God’s will even surpasses that of the Apostles! They would have greatly benefited from our wisdom in their ability to influence the Roman government and society. With this in mind you should be supremely confident in the modern American Gospel’s ability to transform your life into one of abundance and happiness without restricting your lifestyle. You are now a member of the richest, most powerful association the world has ever known. We have every right to be immensely proud that God has rewarded our humility with the role as His beacon of light upon a hill that illuminates a world of darkness. Just as the Hebrew people of old vanquished the Canaanites, God delivered this great nation into our hands as we vanquished the naked heathens who foolishly squatted here until He led us to discover this great land.  Sit back and enjoy all of the comforts this world has to offer as you await your final reward.      As a child of God you should expect to command the respect, honor and rewards of this world as you journey through life. It will be a small, mean spirited minority of pagans who do not defer to your status as one of God’s favorite chosen. In these exceptional cases of persecution we have the authority and power of the Church that is willing and able to rain down the fire of God’s judgment. Under the mighty power of the Church, most, if not all enemies will be vanquished. For the persistent and most offensive opponents of our great Christian nation we will not hesitate to invoke God’s wrath and release the dogs of war. Compliance to out will, at all cost, even to the point of their death is the most loving response whereby we can demonstrate God’s glory. We have proven time and time again that we are more than willing to sacrifice the very lifeblood of our youngest, best and brightest (or at least the poorest) of our future in order to secure for ourselves the freedom to enjoy an abundant life now. This is a double blessing, in that our poor and under-privileged are able to realize a greater meaning, purpose and livelihood, far beyond their appointed station in life through military service to this great Christian nation. God has promised to always protect us in our endeavors as we share with the world His gift of democracy.      You can enjoy your best life now as a believer if you will pragmatically apply Holy Scripture by relying upon the examples set by more mature Christians. At first you may think that these Christians are not taking their faith seriously, even to the point of being hypocrites. Don’t be deceived. The accusation that the preponderance of hypocrites in the Church demeans the Gospel has been around for ages. People who use that excuse for not submitting to the righteous authority of the Clergy and attending Church like they are supposed to do are just looking for an excuse. When one is looking for loopholes any excuse will do.      Much of what is known as ‘radical discipleship’ is obviously too difficult or just plain inconvenient to apply in all areas of our lives. It is important in American Christianity that we learn to select Kingdom principles that don’t compromise our status as good citizens and world leaders. It is only in our identity as American Christianity that we can truly be blessed and then convey those blessings of abundance wherever and to whomever we choose.     This selective application of Kingdom principles is known as compartmentalization. It was first introduced en-masse by the Emperor Constantine at the beginning of the 4th century. It has served the Church very well and for seventeen hundred years it has proven to be the most effective method of Church growth. Almost anyone can become a good Christian with minimal effort or personal cost utilizing this method. Objections to the faith are washed away because there is very little lifestyle change required. With just a few minor concessions to one’s normal daily activities you can become more successful and comfortable than you ever imagined. This is due to the blessings that God is required to shower you with as you invoke His covenant. God is at your disposal to do as you desire whenever you call Him into your service!      Compartmentalizing is the method of  selectively applying Kingdom principles to individual areas of your life. It is really quite simple. Only in the areas of your life that you permit Jesus to rule and reign do you grant Him that authority. He does not belong in any areas where His rule and reign would compromise your comfort or standing as a good person, acceptable and approved of by other good people. It is not His will that any believer be labeled as radical and thereby be forced to suffer for His sake. His rule and reign in your life should absolutely not result in any physical, emotional or financial loss to you. Remember, God is here to bless you, not to cause you any discomfort or loss.     Some examples of compartmentalizing Holy Scripture include the words of Christ Himself. For instance, Jesus said that instead of returning blow for blow ( an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth) we are to turn the other cheek. Obviously the full application of this would be ruinous to your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Beware of so-called Christians that tell you to apply this principle literally. I want to ask these radicals, if your sister were being raped, would you turn her over and say, ‘Do her on this side too.’? I thought not. Just where in ‘love your enemies’ does it say not to kill them? I am quite confident that if Jesus were here in the flesh today he would be a good citizen and join the army in order to destroy our evil enemies in the Middle East. Now obviously Jesus’ words make no sense if taken literally, so what could He have meant? He meant that when you, as an individual, are being insulted, you are to turn the other cheek. Everyone knows that a bully will continue bullying until he is stood up to, so this doesn’t even apply in most circumstances.     I think that only Jesus could actually do this because He is God. Just try to do your best and when you give in and retaliate with disproportionate injurious actions, simply confess, be forgiven and go about your business. Remember, it’s easier to ask for forgiveness that to ask for permission. You can always choose to sin (break their face) knowing that God is required to forgive you if you just admit what you did. It is important to love them even when you have to hurt them to teach them a lesson. Perhaps if you proclaim, ‘Praise Jesus’ with every blow, this will help you to focus on Him and at the same time deliver to the miscreant the message of God’s unconditional love along with a foretaste of His Divine Wrath. In conclusion, compartmentalizing turning the other cheek would require that we only apply the principle when it will not result in any physical, emotional or financial loss or distress.      It is vital to balance all Holy Scripture involving Kingdom principles. On the one hand we are told to never take our own revenge but return evil with good while on the other hand we are told to submit to earthly authorities. How may we resolve this paradox when our Christian nation requires our duty in its’ many and varied just wars? Well again, only because Jesus is God and He had to go to the cross to pay our sin debt so that we could go to heaven could He actually return evil with good. Since we are told to submit to earthly authorities and our earthly authority is the United States of America government, which everyone knows was built upon Christian principles, therefore when our government has determined that it is our Christian duty to kill our enemies in order to protect our God given lifestyle we are obligated to zealously obey with the love of God driving us to victory. Sure, some innocent people may have to die in the process, but we are to be obedient to our earthly authorities, no matter what. Nobody is really innocent anyway and they all deserve to go to hell. If we kill some other Christians who are obeying their earthly authorities we are just sending them to their reward, therefore it is a blessing in disguise. And if we kill some pagans, they were going to hell anyway so what harm have we done? Whether they go to heaven or hell we have obeyed our government. We are good citizens and therefore we are good Christians. We have the assurance of God’s blessings because America always wins. Well, except for the War of Northern Aggression, Korea and Vietnam. ( Afghanistan and Iraq aren’t looking so good right now either.)     So how does this principle of returning evil with good apply in our own lives? Only in some minor way. Maybe you could apply it within the confines of the local Church, but even then, once word gets out that you will turn the other cheek your opponents would be on you like sharks in a feeding frenzy. It’s probably best to delay applying this until you get to heaven. Remember, your physical, emotional and financial well-being are of paramount importance. You must, at all cost, protect yourself, your family and your nation, because if you don’t, who will? Maybe it would be good to turn the other cheek in some inconsequential circumstances, just to be a good witness. I would still use extreme caution as it may be seen as a weakness and therefore harm your witness in the long run. Unbelievers must be convinced of God’s power and His impending wrath so it is your Christian duty to represent Him in a mighty way.      The same argument will apply for many other Kingdom principles like giving to him who asks. ( if he asks for your coat, give him your shirt; if he asks for you to go one mile, go two, etc.) Where does it end? There’s really no way to tell what Jesus meant when He preached the Sermon on the Mount. Fortunately we have an abundance of learned scholars that can explain away all the difficult sayings of Jesus so it really doesn’t apply to us in any meaningful way.     It is important as you learn to compartmentalize your faith that you remember that Christ died for your sins so that you may have the abundant life now. He promises that you are to have everything that you want, just for the asking. Praise Jesus! Don’t let anyone or anything restrict the flow of His blessings into your life. The American Dream of health, wealth and prosperity is founded upon Christian principles as outlined in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution. These divinely inspired documents are totally compatible with Holy Scripture and should be revered as such. Fortunately, our children are required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily so they are compelled to focus on what is truly important. It also serves as a reminder that America is the true source of blessings and freedom.      Probably the most important Kingdom principle to apply in order to receive the full measure of God’s abundance is that of the tithe. Tithe is the gift of money that you give to God, and in return God blesses you for your gift. Tithe means ten percent. You don’t even have to ask God how much you are to give, If you make $1000.00 you simply move the decimal point one space to the left – $100.00. Isn’t that easy? No prayer ever need be uttered, just give ten percent and you too will be a good Christian. This can be tough trying to feed your family if you only make $20,000.00. per year, but just think about when you make $100,000.00 per year. You can be a good Christian with a leftover, discretionary income of $90,000.00 per year and God will be obliged to bless your $10,000.00 tithe. Think of the fine home, shiny cars and big boats that you can enjoy!      The tithe works like this – for every dollar that you give, God is obligated to bless you. He is required to pay returns of up to100 times your original gift. That’s far better than any Ponzi scheme. It’s perfectly legal and the original investment is tax exempt. I know, it’s almost too good to be true. The trick is you have to give it willingly, not out of compulsion or just to get Him to bless you. Some people deny that He blesses you based upon your tithe but in the same breath they will testify that He blesses based upon your tithe. It’s nuts, I know, but that’s how it works. Ask your pastor for details, there is no prospectus but he can confirm everything I just told you.     The tithe began in the Old Testament in order to support the Temple, the Priests and the poor. Some scholars interpret that there were three tithes but if there were it was when Israel was a nation so it was like an income tax. No reasonable Christian would expect God to require that much from us today, especially on top of our taxes, even if we are the richest nation in the history of the world. Remember, your own comfort comes first and that’s why we tithe. By tithing you are insuring your continued comfort through God’s obligatory response of blessings. Now there is always the question of tithing on the net or the gross of your income, but that’s a no-brainer. Of course you tithe on the gross so He will bless you more. You just don’t do it for that reason.     You are required to give with a cheerful heart. So, what about when your heart isn’t cheerful? Especially in the beginning, possibly before the flow of blessings begin gushing, may be the most difficult time. Your actions are far more important than your heart so you must give in obedience until you feel like it. ‘Fake it until you make it’ is a good rule of thumb. Remember, the right action always overrides a wrong heart.      Now don’t make the mistake of thinking you can just give your tithe to the first needy cause that comes along. It must be given to the local Church or it does not count. When it does not count toward the blessing than it actually counts against you. This is a good thing because you don’t ever have to pray about what God wants you to do. Who can really know His will anyway? What if you gave to the wrong thing? The safest way is to give your tithe to the local Church and let believers with more experience who are chosen by God make those decisions for you.     The purpose of the tithe may help you to understand its’ importance. The way that God’s glory is most evident to the world is by our wonderful Church buildings. We must present God in a magnificent and powerful manner therefore we must not scrimp when we build Churches to honor Him. After all, everyone knows that the Church is God’s house and He wouldn’t  want to live in a plain or dumpy house, would He? The more ornate the buildings are, the more evident are His power and blessings. The more appealing His Churches are, the easier it is to get new people into Church. You catch more flies with honey so we must do all that is within our power to make Christianity attractive. Also, the more people that we can attract to our beautiful Churches, the more tithes we can collect to build even nicer Churches. Isn’t it wonderful how it works?     It is also important to build luxurious churches for our own comfort. We cannot be expected to be willing or able to worship God if we are not comfortable. It is a very encouraging trend that most Churches recognize these needs and are providing venues far beyond the traditional classrooms with a coffee urn, a box of donuts and a simple sanctuary. Modern audio/visual systems enhance the worship experience to the point that most services can now effectively compete with anything that Hollywood has to offer.                Attracting the youth of today requires the technology of today. At the bare minimum one must offer banks of  ‘state of the art’ gaming systems with high speed internet access. Vending machines that dispense energy drinks along with a ‘Starbucks’ type coffee bar are a must for the youth as well as for the adults. Family Life Centers and Gymnasiums round out the Churches ability to provide the family with everything it needs throughout the week. There are enough activities to keep one so busy within the sterilized bubble of Church Family Life that they don’t even have to risk interaction with sinners in the evil world.       These expanded facilities require additional staff to coordinate the activities and many visionary Churches now employ an entertainment pastor. A Church that wishes to remain competitive must employ a pastor for every group within its’ Church family. Any group such as children, youth, college, young married, middle aged, senior adults, men and women may require an individual pastor to cater to their needs. In addition  any activity may require its’ own or multiple pastors, for example, missions, music, outreach and inreach. These various group and activity pastors will also require a company of secretaries if they are expected to function with efficiency and effectiveness. As you can see it takes a lot of tithes to operate a first class Church, fit for the modern American.             We cannot attract the best staff members without gilded offices to reward them. Central to the American Dream is the continued rise is stature within one’s profession, therefore we are helping to provide God’s blessings to those select few who are called as the real professional ministers of the gospel by providing them with the best.      This brings to mind the next use of the tithe. Any Church that is worth it’s salt will hire the most educated and qualified staff that they can afford. Doctoral degrees should be required of all senior pastors, after all, you wouldn’t go to a surgeon who didn’t complete his degree, would you?  Currently we draft them straight out of seminary and use the small Churches like a minor league farm system where we are able to weed out the non-producers. If more people would tithe we could afford to remove the unspoken salary caps and get competitive for the best professionals available. Once we have elevated their salaries sufficiently we wouldn’t have to worry about God ‘calling’ someone to the ministry. They would come running for the money without even being called. Wouldn’t that be great!         The final and probably least important use of the tithe is for missions and to minister to the poor. I say it’s the least important for several reasons. Primarily because it’s always the least amount budgeted, so obviously we don’t consider it very important. Usually a good indicator of what one considers important is revealed by how one spends their time and money. Our Christian government is already busy spreading God’s glorious message of democracy and freedom to a dying world, so what more do they need? Before they can respond to the Gospel it is always best if they are able to exercise their God given right of freedom of choice in government. Once a democracy is established we know that most people will eagerly respond to the Gospel if it is presented in a non-threatening way.      Also the portion of the tithe used for charity is less because Jesus said that those people would be with us always, so what difference can we really make anyway? Everyone knows that God helps those that help themselves so they must take responsibility for their own lives. Sometimes our help merely interferes with their ability to do it themselves. Isn’t it better to teach a man to fish so he can feed himself for a lifetime rather than to just give him a fish to assuage his hunger for a day? The best way to learn is by doing, so our lives of comfort are the most effective and inspirational lessons we can give. Anyone that is willing to work hard can become successful and self sufficient in America. With the myriad of opportunities in this modern world there is absolutely no excuse for poverty, it is a self inflicted state of laziness. The only lasting cure for poverty is to overcome the sin of sloth.  Most poor and needy people probably like their lives just as they are or they would go to work and pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.      That’s what we did in America, and just look where we are. We didn’t go around crying about this and that, we just declared ourselves independent from the authorities over us, went to war and made it a reality. We proved to the whole world the righteousness of our cause by our victory which was ordained by God.     Hopefully this essay has enlightened you as you embark upon your journey of faith. These principles will insure that you become the best American citizen and good Christian that God desires you to be. As you continue to learn to compartmentalize your faith more effectively you will discover that your new found faith will never impede your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness in this great nation that so generously bestows upon you the very freedom that God intends for you. The blood of Jesus purchased your place in heaven but it is the blood of American soldiers that gives you the freedom to enjoy Christ here and now. Remember, freedom is not free. It cost us dearly to obtain and maintain this religious freedom that can so easily be taken away. Our soldiers willingly offered their lives as sacrifices, just like Jesus did, for our comfort and freedom. We are the home of the free, because of the brave

The Least of These by Jackie Mac

The Least of These

The other night I had a dream. A man came to me, there was nothing special about him, he had shoulder length brown hair, a scraggily beard and brown eyes. Yet there was something strangely familiar about him. I could not put my finger on it at first. Then a memory of a painting I had seen when I was a child came to me. It was the picture of a man hanging on a cross.
I was never a religious man; I was what I would call your typical Catholic. I was baptized as a baby, force to go to mass as a young child but, when mom died all that ended. I looked at the man and said, “You, are Jesus, aren’t you.” “Yes I am” he said “and tomorrow I am going to come see you, so be prepared.”
The next morning I woke up wondering what the dream meant. Maybe it was the spicy taco’s I had for dinner, I don’t know. But there was something so real about it. Oh well, it was just a dream, after all why would Jesus come see me, what had I ever done to deserve a visit from a deity. I had not been to mass or confession since I was a child. Still there was something so real, as if I was not dreaming at all, as if I had spoken to him face to face. I thought, why not, after all I was on vacation and had nothing else to do today.
I looked around the house; everything seemed to be in order. No dust on the shelves, the floor was swept and mopped. I had mowed and weeded the flowerbed yesterday. Everything was as it should be, oh yeah, food what kind of host would I be if I did not have food and drink for my guest. I could ask him to turn water into wine but that didn’t sound very appropriate. I jumped in the shower for a quick once over, this was the Son of God after all I didn’t want to stink. When I was finished I got in the car to go to the bank.
I would like to take time here and say how much I hate banks. Thirty years ago I could take my check to the bank and as long as I got there before 2pm the money went in my account that day. Now thanks to modern technology it takes 3-4 working days before I see anything, but I digress. As I suspected my check had not cleared yet, I guess $50 would have to make do.
I was driving to the grocery store when up ahead I could see one of those vagrant guys, you know the kind that like to hang around freeway exits with their signs, homeless, will work for food, you know the kind. He was probably a drunk, or a drug addict. What ever got him there had nothing to do with me, I didn’t have time to mess with people like this today after all Jesus was coming to see me. As I approached him all I could think was, light please don’t turn red. But it did.
I tried not to make eye contact with him as I pulled up beside him. Too late, I looked into his eyes and saw years of despair and the countless times he had been rejected by people that had just wasted more money on video games and junk food than he spent the last month. I guess when you live under a bridge, in a cardboard box you kind of become invisible to people. As I looked closer there was an old tattered Bible by his money jar, I thought boy, this guy is good. Maybe it was the visitor I was expecting or something else I’m not sure, maybe it was the tacos again, but I was moved. I decided to do something but what. I know I’ll show him I’m not going to give him money so he can go buy booze or drugs with, no he’s not going to trick me I’ll go across the street, buy him a meal and bring it back to him but I have to hurry because Jesus is coming to see me.
So I go buy him a 2 piece chicken dinner with 2 sides and water to drink. Remember I am on a budget. I take the food to him, as I rolled down to hand it to him a tear rolled down his cheek. “Thank you sir” he said, “I haven’t eaten in days and no one has given me a single penny to go buy some with.” “You are welcome, but I must go because I have guest coming over and I still have a lot to do.” Then some thing strange came out of his mouth, “Bless you I am sure your guest will be very proud of you.”
Then the light turn green and I took off with hast, after all Jesus was coming to see me and I must be prepared.
Then out of nowhere bam. Something hit the side of my car. I pulled over and there was a little boy about 10 yrs old lying on the ground holding his knee. It was skinned and bleeding, not very bad but to a 10 year old any blood, especially their own, is traumatic. Kids and their skateboards, I thought they had skate parks for stuff like this. Any ways I went back to the car, got my first aid kit cleaned his wound up, put a band-aid on it and he was good to go. The little boy looked at me and said, “My daddy would be proud of you.” “Ok, what ever, just be more careful next time.”
Then I looked at my watch, oh no I must hurry because Jesus is coming to see me. So I ran through the grocery store throwing stuff in the basket as quick as I could because Jesus was coming to see me, now it was getting late and I might miss him.
As I drove home I could see a car that was pulled off to the side and a pregnant woman was standing there looking at a flat tire. Great of all days, I can’t leave her there that would not be right. Here we go, I pull over and get out of the car and walk towards her. “Sir, thank you for stopping as you can see I am in no shape to change a tire,” she said. “No problem lady it has been one of those days for me too” I told her. So I change the flat for her. As I finished I told her I really had to run because I had a guest coming over and I didn’t want to miss them. “I am sure your guest is proud of the person you have become,” she said to me as she drove off.
As I stood there I looked at my clothes, there was grease from the chicken on my pants. I had blood on my shirt from the little boy and dirt all over my hands from changing the tire and, oh no the time.
I raced home as fast as I could, went running up the sidewalk to the door. There on the door was a note; “Thank you I had a wonderful time today” signed Jesus. What was this, I had not been here all day he must have confused me with someone else. So I sat down and began to cry because I really did want to see Jesus.
Then I heard a voice say “Why are you crying?” I looked up and said “Lord I really did try to be prepared when you came but all these things came up. There was this vagrant man, then a little boy got hurt and last but not least a pregnant woman with a flat. I’m sorry I really did try to be prepared like you told me.”
“You were prepared,” he said. “I don’t understand,” I replied.
Then Jesus said “When I was standing on the street hungry you fed me, when I was hurt and bleeding you bandaged my wounds, when I was left in distress on the side of the road you stopped and gave me aide. Don’t you remember, when you do it to the least of these you have done it to me.”
So next time you see a man with a sign begging for food, or see a child that needs your help, or someone broke down on the side of the road remember they ARE the least of these.

The Blogosphere…The FINAL frontier…

Maybe it’s because my wife and i had a fight about Star Trek last night… That’s the last time she’ll challenge my knowledge of 7 of 9…

ANYWAYS.

In an effort to save time and…well effort, i am going to start posting my fellow heretics relevant blogs and articles on this blog. They will still have their own regular outlets, but i will re post them here to have a “collection” as it were and i will link from theheresy.net. This is just far easier than making a new page for every article. I am working with one hand behind my back technologically so I’d like SOMETHING to be easier… Thanks all! Please e-mail me at kam@theheresy.net with any articles related to heresy, christianity etc.