I lOVE JESUS BUT NOT THE CHURCH

by admin | 29th July 2010

Lately, I have been around what I would call a heightened amount of church bashing. There is nothing new about church bashing, it is honestly just all the same. This time I think I’m just getting really tired of it. I know the church isn’t perfect and it won’t ever be perfect on this earth. I have heard far too much that the church sucks at this and the church doesn’t do this, etc. Yes, we can be honest and say the church has work to do but look how far the church has come.

We have all heard people say they love Jesus but not the church; it seems people want to be dissociated with the church. But if we say we love Jesus but not the church aren’t we saying that we don’t like Jesus as well? I know that by stating this, most people are probably saying they don’t agree with the institution of church. Since the church is the Body and bride of Christ then aren’t we saying we don’t like the church and Jesus?

When Christ left this earth, he gave us a responsibility and a commission. Knowing we are responsible for the church means we shouldn’t turn away from it. It’s really easy to run away from the church and to do our own thing. That’s where I feel it becomes less of a church issue and more of a ‘me’ issue. We want the church to provide for us and our needs and if those aren’t met, bitterness sets in and often times we tend to find another church that might meet the needs another church failed to do. The church wasn’t put in place so we would be given a nice message every week and be entertained. Sadly, some of this has happened but I am more confident and excited than ever that the church is moving and God is moving in the people.

I feel when most people bash the church it is really out of a selfish nature. The conversation stems out of selfishness and what the church is providing ‘me’ instead of the opposite; how can ‘I’ help the church? I think if we all changed our ideas from how the church is failing us as individuals and asked what can I do with the gifts God has given me to help the church; we would all help the church and each other as the body by doing this.

This leads to another issue in this whole conversation someone might say; I can’t use my gifts at my church. At surface value you could probably argue your gifts can’t be used, but I bet if you were to sit down with a church leader and ask where those gifts could fit in I would guess there would be a place for you to be used. Maybe your gifts don’t fit into the “church” but there are plenty of para church organizations and ministries outside of the church your gifting could be used.

I feel that as a culture we need to get out of the dangerous idea of what the church is providing us and instead, start asking ourselves how we can serve the church. Paul’s words are so clear about how the body is to operate and until we start looking past the failure and starting looking towards the success; if we don’t start doing this we will still just keep loving Jesus but not the church.

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3 Responses to “I lOVE JESUS BUT NOT THE CHURCH”

  1. Thomas Omega

    Jul 31st, 2010 :

    There does have to be a separation between what you termed “The Institution of Church” and the true body of Christ. You stated that those who are against this institution of church are also against the “body” and therefore Christ. I disagree. The true Church, literally is nothing more, and nothing less than the Life of Christ, being expressed corporately. That is the Church. Paul never called a building, the Church, or an institution, or a movement. The church is synonymous with The Body of Christ. It is literally His body, on earth, in action. With Christ as the brain, telling each part of His body what to do, and to the extent that a finger, or a foot, or a mouth, does, or says what The Brain is telling it, there you have the Church. We MUST get outside this box of viewing the church as our local assembly, or particular denomination, or institution etc; and we have to widen our view to simply a worldwide life of Christ. No separation between Greek or Jew, no dividing of denomination, race, creed, etc. Wherever 2 or more are moving under the direction of Christ, there is the church, period!

    So in regards to the earlier statement, that being frustrated with the institution means you are frustrated with Christ, I don’t think that’s the case. The institution is NOT Christ. Paul was VERY frustrated with many of the “institutions” of his day and wrote many sad letters to them about that frustration, yet at the same time he did love Christ, loved the body, and yet did NOT love the “institutions” that were happening here, and there. So yes, we should NOT bash our body, but it IS a healthy thing to point out, (if the discernment was given by Christ), what the issues of today’s Church are in hopes that all will be refocused to Him. The church today, in America, is almost everything BUT Christ. It is this doctrine or that, it is this type of music or that, it is the way the pastor runs around the stage and excites me, it’s what programs we have and how they help us, it is all these things, as substitutes for Christ. We hold on to, and rely on all those things instead of relying on Christ. And as much as we don’t want to be negative about our “church”, I believe that this state is a very dangerous thing; and I in NO way want to settle back and say, “look how far we have come” and settle down and say “this is the best we can do, let’s make the most of it.” I would much rather say “Look how far we have strayed from a corporate moving of Christ’s life. Look how far we have strayed from being the true body of Christ”. And once we acknowledge that, we take a step forward in faith to recover the body of Christ. We say “Lord, this isn’t it, things are in a sad state, and we need you to come in and recover your people to your body, that you might once again be able to move through us, as members of your body, wholly devoted to you, and nothing else!” not any institution, not any type of service, or music, but YOU alone Lord. May we once again, in this genetation, discover YOU and be moved by YOU no matter what the cost!

    Paul recognized the unhealthy state of so many believers in his day, and was moved by God to take steps to expose them and offer, in all love, a recovering of Christ’s life; so must we today return to the head of the body, Christ. And nothing less!

  2. admin

    Aug 1st, 2010 :

    Thomas thanks for words.

  3. Joy Eggerichs

    Aug 10th, 2010 :

    Great post! I feel very passionate about this topic as well. Glad to know about your blog!

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