Ever Considered Being "Unchurched?"

[trulyconverted]

The true church is the body of Christ and every born again believer is a part of it. Therefore we remain part of the church whether we join a group or not.

I do not meet anywhere at the moment. It seems I cannot attend organized church. I haven't found anywhere to meet yet. I tried a few denominations before, but it seemed to do me more harm than good spiritually. But we are never alone because God's Spirit indwells in our hearts.

 

[benromana]

I became unchurched a long time ago, mainly becaause of church politics and dogmas untempered by love...No walls of contention. I don't suggest it as the way for others , but for myself it is great and God appears to bless it.

I bolded the words above which mirror my thoughts. Thank you.

 

[benromana]

I warn you though, they are REALLY REALLY into the grace of The Lord, speaking in tongues, praising The Lord all the time, screaming praises, all while in church. I love it though.

I've experienced what you say, and it was wonderful.

 

[benromana]

For those who want a formulaic system of faith that seems to guarantee salvation if one follows the rules, obeys its human leaders and says the right words, the Catholic Church works great. For you and many others like you it creates a huge emptiness in our souls where God should be at work.

Small world. I appreciate your response

I'm going to preach to the choir these next few lines...

What concerns me is that the RCC's practices tend to create a false sense of Christianity that can lead one to even act un-Christianly.

More than once, in faith discussions with my strongly Catholic in-laws, confession has been mentioned as the church's remedy for those who sin. The psychological effect of this mindset to the church member is profound, in my experience. And it's by no means positive.

An individual, on the other hand, whose faith is rooted in a personal relationship with Jesus, would be in a totally different place. Instead of living to "avoid sin," that person lives to "follow His will" because of his/her love for Christ.

Off my soapbox now...

As a "dis-affected Catholic," what direction did you take from a church attendance standpoint? Hopefully you've found resolution...

 

[benromana]

I have not belonged to any religious organizations since I was in my teens, and am now in my 40's. My relationship with the Lord has only become stronger, and more personal through this. Moreover, it has bred the sovereignty and freedom in my life that Christ demands... meaning "He truly is first in my life."

Cheers, and welcome to real freedom and sovereignty in the Lord.

As I did with a previous post, I bolded some words of yours that really struck a chord with me, especially "sovereignty."

After placing on the backburner all the RCC's teachings and practices, and starting to apply the purest of Jesus' teachings, which are to love Him above all else, and others as myself, I felt unshackled, confident, and joyful.

How could I do wrong if I'm loving Jesus and everyone? What am I to be afraid of if I'm turning the other cheek, being patient, kind, and unresentful? Suddenly I had the power to think and act without worry for as long as I was mindful of Jesus.

The freedom from man-made rules, and the solid assurance of Christ's absolute wisdom, cascaded into everything I did with family, friends, and business.

Maybe that's what we're both referring to as being "sovereign." It is the best feeling on earth

 

[Johnas]

As I did with a previous post, I bolded some words of yours that really struck a chord with me, especially "sovereignty."

After placing on the backburner all the RCC's teachings and practices, and starting to apply the purest of Jesus' teachings, which are to love Him above all else, and others as myself, I felt unshackled, confident, and joyful.

How could I do wrong if I'm loving Jesus and everyone? What am I to be afraid of if I'm turning the other cheek, being patient, kind, and unresentful? Suddenly I had the power to think and act without worry for as long as I was mindful of Jesus.

The freedom from man-made rules, and the solid assurance of Christ's absolute wisdom, cascaded into everything I did with family, friends, and business.

Maybe that's what we're both referring to as being "sovereign." It is the best feeling on earth

Yep. The ultimate apostasy has indeed landed, and I'm so glad to be amongst the few whom are NOT a part of it. "They will call that which is evil good and good evil" (Is 5:20).

Don't know why I was "chosen" but I know not to question, and further know to be sooooo grateful with a gratitude that is felt in my very bones (Ez 37). There is only one downside: On the narrow path, it is very lonely, because few indeed are truly on it. But it is a worldly loneliness, so it's easily reconciled by a knowledge and feeling not of this earth, via a righteousness that wants for nothing of this earth.

It's been 20+ years, and I still am getting used to the fact that my love for Job, wife, children, parent.... Seem like hate over the love I have for Y'shua... THAT HE GAVE ME TO HAVE! Unearned! Unasked for! Yet still given. He is my savior, but most importantly... MY BEST FRIEND! Discernment is rooted in how others whom claim to be his friend treat him.

They say they love his word, yet use and twist the words of lesser's like Paul, Timothy, Peter... to justify their TOTAL DISOBEDIENCE TO HIS WORD. The key that was given to me was to read those lesser's in light of Y'shua YHVH, rather than reading Y'shua YHVH in light of the lesser's to justify disobedience and lawlessness.

Unchurched??? PRAISE GOD YES. Amongst the true body? PRAISE GOD YES! Having only one Rabbi, teacher, instructor? PRAISE GOD YES! "FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST! GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY... FREE AT LAST!"

He is clear, he is simple, he is concise, he is truthful, he is righteous, he is simple. If any others contradict him and his teaching and instruction, or they seem to be offering an alternative, then the choices are few: Either you misunderstand the context of the lesser's, or you are actively are seeking to justify your sin.

 

[Medjugorje]

I haven't gone to church since 2005. I'm still a believer, I still read the bible, etc.

Jesus never commanded us to go to church. He *did* command us to fellowship with believers. So if you can do that any other way, there's no problem I see.

 

[New_Wineskin]

Unchurched??? PRAISE GOD YES. Amongst the true body? PRAISE GOD YES! Having only one Rabbi, teacher, instructor? PRAISE GOD YES! "FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST! GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY... FREE AT LAST!"

I will "ditto" this .

 

[bottomofsandal]

Yep. The ultimate apostasy has indeed landed, and I'm so glad to be amongst the few whom are NOT a part of it. "They will call that which is evil good and good evil" (Is 5:20).

This is happening more and more...Rick Warren & Joel Osteen.

There is still a remnant, and there is still God-fearing, Bible believing brethren who meet on Sunday morning, but the amount of house churches or assemblies modeled after The Book of Acts is on the increase. The world has taken over most churches, and the saints cannot stay in a place that celebrates and elevates man. The lukewarm, godless, churches of secular humanism are repugnant to God and His sheep.

 

[Albion]

I tried going that route several times in my life, but I found only that I drift when cut off from the worshipping community. OTOH, it takes finding the right community or assembly to associate with. That's what I would think you should seek out, rather than draw back into solitude assisted by a little TV and reading, etc.

 

[BryanW92]

The rise of the megachurches, followed by the rise of the house churches are both cases of the elevation of man over God.

In the first case, the megachurch created an expectation that a successful church is awe-inspiring (which goes back to medieval Catholicism). It has to have an abundance of "services"--free professional child care, campuses with huge education buildings, rock concert sound systems, Wi-Fi, professional musicians, etc. It is a place to open your soul and your wallet. It is also impersonal, so the "owners" of the megachurch often grab ahold of the idea of the small group so that the unpaid congregation can nurture each other to free up the professional clergy to work on programming and programs. Perhaps, if you give enough, you can spend an hour with your senior pastor one day. This isn't church, and people know that deep down.

So, we swing to the other extreme: the house church. We want to be like Acts, so we find a few friends and hold church. If someone disagrees, they can find another house to go to church. It becomes a place where no one is challenged or they get voted out. We convince ourselves that God doesn't want us worshiping in large groups because the Acts church was small. Well, it was small because buildings were small. Homes were the size of our bathrooms today! We don't have that limitation now. We have the buildings to worship in larger groups than they did in Acts. Lets not ignore the gifts we have because we don't want to deal with people.

We missed the real church in the middle. A place where different people come to worship. They are all human and they have differences. Sometimes they disagree and annoy each other. Other times, they share in real Christian love. That doesn't make them hypocrites to be avoided. It makes them all the steel that steel is sharpened on. The real church may not have a six-piece praise band or a pipe organ or professional child care. But it has a better chance at being authentic than the other two choices. But that church does require effort. You can't lose yourself in the anonymity of the megachurch and you can't find comfortable sameness of non-diverse home church.

Think of the small to mid-sized church as a lifeboat in a sea of secularism. You don't choose who gets into your lifeboat, but once the big ship sinks under the water, that lifeboat and those other people are the only thing you have to survive until another ship comes to rescue you. The lifeboat is small enough that you have to work alongside your fellow survivors and no one can hide in the corner and shirk their duties.

 

[Johnas]

The rise of the megachurches, followed by the rise of the house churches are both cases of the elevation of man over God.

No home "church" here. I am the "church". My body is a temple. Israel is where I stand. My prayers during the feast and festivals demanded by God to observe are my worship. My congregation is my wife and my 5 children. My fellowship is meeting with like minded heads of their households from time to time to discuss Gods word, our businesses, our families, our walk.

I have no rabbi, teacher, preacher, pastor outside of the Ruach Hakodesh. I have, nor do I need any guidebook outside of YHVH in the TaNaKh and Y'shua in the Brit Chadashah.

You are all my brothers and sisters... even those whom may be considered the least of his people, as I AM THE LEAST OF HIS PEOPLE. (Matthew 23:8-12)

Matthew 15:24 "I am sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

It's easy for me to explain the fullness of Y'shua's words here, yet it puzzles me how so many people don't hear it, and miss what really is being said.

I am NOT a Christian. I am a Hebrew whom has been called back home by the good shepherd that promised to find those that were scattered amongst the pagans.

Best I can say is, if you are hearing the call and trying to respond, then you are a Hebrew, your home is Israel, and YHVH's law and Grace are your path back also being your standard for how to successfully live in Israel with him, be it here on earth or in eternity.

So, put down Paul, Joel, Rick, Timothy... and what you think you know they are saying, and start letting GOD and his spirit tell you what HE WANTS you to know and has been screaming at you through HIS words.

I guess all I have to offer people on this subject is: "Stop going to church and seeking out a church, and start BEING the church."

-Johnas

 

[benromana]

What interesting inputs. The Acts of the Apostles concept of church, while vaguely understandable to me at best, is really something that hasn't crossed my mind.

But let me say this: to all of you who advocate staying connected with a church, I understand and appreciate the good intent.

During my church-centric years, attending services and communing with other church people were critically important. I did not have the outlook that I have now, and through the structure and predictability of church activities I had a spiritual home.

As I sought the deeper meaning of life and my faith's role, I realized that I had to take ownership of my beliefs. And that meant choosing to follow the teachings of Jesus exclusive of any other influence.

Would I have reached that point without first experiencing the slow drip of Christianity from organized religion? Perhaps not. And that would be the reason I value church membership during my "transition" period.

Today, I find myself pre-occupied with building my "Jesus muscles." From the time I wake up to retiring for the night, I find my programmed way of thinking, pre-Jesus, and my natural instincts constantly wanting to surface. Filtering these against what Jesus teaches, I'm constantly working to assess and correct my thoughts and actions.

It's work, but so far after 15 years of doing this, some of it becomes easier. During the times I don't really know what would happen by "turning the other cheek," for example, almost always I experience the joy and contentment of the results.

Why do I say all of this? Again, within the context of being "churched" or "unchurched," I've found it easier to become a better follower of Jesus by being unchurched. Yes, I've been going to Mass weekly until 2 weeks ago, but honestly I've just been tuned out to most proceedings except for the Gospel readings.

I guess that's mostly the story behind my "unchurched" idea.

Thank you for reading, and please, continue to share your thoughts in the spirit of enlightening each other.

 

[Norah63]

Being 'unchurched' (no particular building), for some years now.
Then home bible studies for a while. That is just denomination in a home setting. A five-fold thing I didn't relate to. Authority struggle, too sad an hard to endure.
Everyone that has had a true conversion wants fellowship, its most natural to love your family, and want to be around them. Families don't always get along, tell Father and He will send the Holy Spirit to remind you all the things of Jesus that you need for daily life. Read the letters that have been kept for our help and enlightment.
When oppertunity arises be among those who have a heart of agreement for our Lord Jesus. Diffrent places at diffrent times. Yes we are the church, where we go is where the church is. Jesus walked among the people.