Escaping Churchianity
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Bait and Switch
"Are you a Christian?" I used to love it when someone on a plane asked me that question. "Absolutely," I'd answer, proud to be on the side of all that's good and right in the world. But over the last fifteen years, answering that question has become far more difficult.
Why I Don't Go to Church Anymore
If you are happy with the status quo of organized religion today, you may not like what you read here.
Spiritual Burnout
When a believer burns out, it's his own human resources that have been exhausted. God's infinite zoe can never be depleted. If He lives in each of us and is our life, then spiritual burnout is caused by the believer's failure to rest in and receive the continual flow of His life.
An Urgent Message
URGENT I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to send out an urgent message to all on our mailing list, and to friends and to bishops we have met all over the world. An earth-shattering calamity is about to happen. It is going to be so frightening, we are all going to tremble, even the godliest among us.
Churchianity Today
We must always be sure to distinguish between the Lord’s invisible, universal, spiritual Church (the Ecclesia) and the non-profit religious organization that meets in a building with a steeple on top. The difference is incalculable, and we dare not make the mistake of confusing the two.
Reveling in the Freedom to Follow
As I read the New Testament, I'm blessed by how much the apostles reminded the early followers that they were not offering them a religion to observe, but inviting them into a living relationship with Jesus that would allow them to know his Father and participate in his unfolding grace in the world.
Escape From Churchianity
It is important that we make a clear distinction between the True Church (the Ecclesia) and the Institutional Church, Organized Religion, or religion in general. The easiest way to begin is to discuss one critical thing that Organized Religion cannot do. Organized Religion cannot impart Life.
Gathering: But Not For the Better!
“Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that you come together not for the better, but for the worse” (I Corinthians 11:17). Jesus made it clear that “where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there I am in the midst of them.” Just two or three!
Lonely, But Never Alone
There are many in the Body of Christ who are in transition between “going” to church and “being” the Church. The more in tune with the Lord we become, the more dissatisfied and uncomfortable we become with what is being said and done in His Name.
The Crisis of a Christless Christianity
"As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him… beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily."
The Nut Test
Christianity is not another religion. It is not a code of ethics. It is not participation in ceremonies or signing some creed. Christianity is a relationship to the Risen Christ, his Father and the Holy Spirit.
The Perfecting of the Saints
“And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God.
The Real Question
Spontaneously and simultaneously believers all over the world are rethinking what it means to live in the life of Jesus and how the body of Christ takes expression in our world. They have wearied of religious systems that permeates much of our congregational life and are looking for more effective alternatives.
A Tale of Two Kingdoms
Any sense of danger or wrong seems to have vanished, as 'worldly' activities are increasingly taken up by churches, whether in the tastes and pursuits of members, or in the music and format of worship. Where have the faithful pastors gone?
Jesus is Building His Church!
Jesus the Rock is building His Church upon the foundation of Himself. He is faithfully gathering the living stones together and is assembling them into a beautiful structure of gold, silver, and precious stones.
Is Jesus Enough?
If Jesus was all you had, would Jesus be enough for you? Many precious believers are in love with the things of the Lord, but they are not in love with the Lord Himself.
Freedom is Only the Beginning
Relational Christianity is not primarily a different way of doing church. It is a different way of thinking about God and his family that will allow you to truly experience his life directly and alongside other followers.
A Father's Delight
What gives the Father pleasure? Revealing his life to people the world would have little regard for. That's the point here, isn't it? His emphasis is not who God hides things from, but who he reveals them to.
Signposts on the Journey
Christianity is living in relationship to the Living God. You can't do that if you're not free to follow him wherever he leads you.
To Trust or Not to Trust
Our attempts to make other believers, or worse yet a church institution, the object of our trust, our commitment or our accountability is to place it in the role that has been reserved for the Father alone. That sounds dangerous, doesn't it? God has invited us to something so much better.
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