Bible Question:
Don't know if I'm doing this correctly. But this question of "trust" has come into play in our livs regarding Christians. My husband and I were brought up in a very fundamental GARBC church and know a lot of doctrine but left that church many years ago and have been members of other churches that preach the Bible. We have left many for different reasons. Today being Ressurection Sunday, it is the first time in 20 yrs we have not attended church. Heb.10:25 has always been in my mind as we sought to find another church. What do other Christians do when they find total lack of faith in the organizationn called "the church" ? I just read the thread about this vs and agree but the question I have hasn't been asked. What happends if there is no church in our area? We have been active members in 4 churches over the past 23 yrs. We have never left because of any fights or incidents like that. The first was getting out of a legalistic church GARBC then the next one was because we put our kids in school and joined the local Baptist church in the school district. We left there after 5 yrs because a Christain contractor stole money from us and never came back to do the work. Our pastor didn't do anything about it and told us to be patient. The men never came back and never got spoken to from the pastor of our church they attended. (my husband was a deacon in this church) This last one we left was a Community church that was heavy on homeschooling. Since we didn't homeschool it was difficult to get our kids involved in the ministries. Everyone was a family and we lived in another town. My husband was the music leader there until a new asst. pastor came and was supposed to be part of the group but took over (not officially) but just on Sunday he changed the music we all did on the Thursday night before. He did this on Sunday and my husband just sort of stood there and then sat down. The head pastor was spoken to but he did nothing either except talk to the asst pastor who assured my husband he was sorry and then proceeded to do it and the pastor didn't do anything since my husband in his usual way made things "look" fine up front but in the backround, the musicians and he were frustrated. Anyway, our kids go to Christian school and it is in another town so they know many other kids. Our oldest is going into the Marine's this June. They never were accepted in this church because they were in Christian school and I was not homeschooling. Naturally it made fellowship difficult. So here we are today. Now we have found out the Superintendent of our school has been "shading the truth" about issues our kids ask us about. He out and out lied and although our kids have had 4 good years here before many of the teachers left over the new administration saying if your a pastor, you can't teach in school...Many of the teachers were pastors and pastors wives. I am totally and basically tired of this stuff and our kids have watched it and it is hard to explain such stuff because we dont know what to do ourselves. Can anyone share a similar experience because we miss Christian fellowship and don't know what to do. In Jesus,Emily |
Bible Answer: Dear Emily, Greetings in the name of Jesus!! My sister in Christ, I guess it's time to pack your bags and come to Yokohama! ;-) Seriously, I am sad, and somewhat shamed by the things you have experienced. I hear of these kind of things often, and can only say that many churches seem to be more interested in serving man than serving God. Worse, serving 'man' usually equals serving self! Another factor seems to be the desire of so many ministers (thus, churches) to create large, wealthy and progressive organizations that 'can do so much for God' at the expense of the sheep. I, for one, have endeavored to 'seek after the lost sheep,' sometimes depriving the 'ninety-nine' of a 'democratic (socialist?) full church experience.' (Luke 15:4) The result is that, by grace, our fellowship is blessed with peace and love, though perhaps lacking in the 'bells and whistles' that so many churches deem necessary. So, my prayer is that the Lord would lead you to a simple, 'early church' church. One that meets the needs of ALL those sent by the Lord. Seek a shepherd who can discern the needs of God's flock, this is more important than services and programs and amenities. Strangely, the whole flock is fed when the least among them is ministered to. For those that point to 'the needs of all' and 'orderliness' as primary, I can only say these are for politics and religious institutions, not the church of God. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." John 13:34 NASB Peace to you. I am so sorry that you missed an Easter Sunday fellowship with the saints. To answer your original question, "What happens if there is no church in our area?," I say either check again to see if you have missed one, or move! For what circumstance makes you stay in an area without a church? Job? Mortgage? School? Relatives? According to the Bible, should any of these things prevent you from serving the Lord in His body? I don't think so! Please email to the address in my User Info if you want a more personal discussion. Blessings in Christ Jesus, charis |