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I met a friend/brother for breakfast this morning. During the course of our reciprocal conversation he asked this question, 'How do you know when the Lord is leading you away from one church to another?'
To give you some background, this brother and his wife are part of a conservative, Brethren congregation which adheres to a larger, conference minded brotherhood of congregations. This particular brotherhood is experiencing quite a bit of dissention and confusion among its ranks thereby leaving many wondering the same thing this brother asked. One interesting note, based solely on my own personal experience, questions like this seem to be unique to conservative Anabaptist congregations. (I could be wrong in this, but that's another debate for another blog post.)
As we continued our conversation I felt like the Spirit was saying that often the Lord doesn't give us specific direction regarding 'church'. I went on to explain that denominationalism was never God's idea for his people therefore for Him to lead us away from one denomination into another is to endorse something that is outside His perfect plan. Instead He has given us His mind regarding fellowshipping with other believers and coeporately worshipping together and expects us to gauge our current experience by His word. If our experience does not align with our understanding of His word, then the time to move is now. If our experience does align, where else would you go? Further, I felt like the Spirit was saying that if we cannot endorse the creed of our current congregation then how can we continue the pretense.
However, recognizing the possibility for me to have a slanted opinion regarding this specific situation; and recognizing that the spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets, I ask each of you reading this if it seems consistent with God's character. I don't ask this because I need to get 3, or 5, or 12 of you to agree with me so I can pat myself on the back, but because I want to make sure that I haven't given dangerous advice. Also, I am fairly sure that this friend will frequent this blog and may benefit from input other than my own.
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7 comments:
B and I would totally agree with you here! some thoughts to ad.... The scriptures say that we no longer need man to teach us but that the Holy Spirit speaks to us through His word. With this in mind, what is the point of setting in a service being taught a mans interpretation of the scripture when God wants us to fellowship together and worship and praising God with our whole hearts. Denominationslism I believe has warped the Christian mind and taken our eyes off of Jesus.
Many denominations call their services worship services. But when you study scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to show truth, you find that it's not worship, it's a teaching service. Worshiping is lifting holy hands unto the Lord, singing a new song from the heart, or an old song, pouring out our hearts to God and glorifying His Holy name. Praise God for the freedom to worship and praise Him without condemnation of what we are or are not doing right!
Maybe I should clarify a little....I'm all for sharing the good news of Jesus with unbelievers, but denominational teaching to people who already know and have a Bible for themselves should not need someone to teach them.
brother_barabbas
Hi I believe you gave good advice. Since I have come to know Christ I have trouble setting in church listening to preachers telling me how to be a better christian. I have no problem with teaching on how to make wiser choices in life. I believe it is God's Spirit within that causes the unrest. I know of a number of family's that this has happened to. In understanding scripture there is nothing I can do to more righteous than Christ, and I have Christ's imputed righteous as a gift. By believing this and living your life accordingly is how you become a slave of righteousness.
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous
Even the righteousness of God [which is] by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
K. Martin
This post is not intended to be an 'anti-church', 'anti-assembly' sound-off. I am very pro-assembly (probably even more than many of my peers). The intent of this post was to address improper assembly. Healthy church vs. abusive church. Strong church vs. weak church. Rightly motivated assembly vs. assemblies with wrong motives.
This post was intended to address the challenge when one finds oneself aligned with a church in which you cannot endorse it's official creed or doctrinal position.
I strongly encourage the assembling of believers together, regularly (more often than once a week) for the express purpose of worship, fellowship and teaching. The question still stands, where at and with whom shall we gather?
ok, because you asked here are my thoughts...
a) i remember you telling me that your conservative brethren movement which is governed by a annual meeting used to regularly speak against a world wide church based out of rome with a pope...yet would never call it by name. are you now doing the same? call it what it is. i doubt anyone reading your blog (or cruising the links, for that matter) is ignorant to your church history.
b) not sure where your denominational comments are coming in...unless the person was looking to leave one denomination to join another. however, i don't think being in a denomination is a problem, but a blinded loyalty to an organization, with no regard for how it is being lived out in the daily life of the local congregation is not wise. personally, there are a number of churches i could see myself attending from a number of denominations...but there is no denomination i can think of where i would blindly join any of their churches just because of their association. perhaps that's what you meant.
c) it's got to be based on more than just a subjective reading of what you think the Holy Spirit is telling you to do or you personal understanding of a text. perhaps you are ignorant to a text or are misapplying it? leaving the decision just to yourself could be neglecting the maturity and leadership God has appointed (biblical elders) for your "own wisdom."
for this reason, i think a person must go through the channels of their church. 1) is there a clear disconnect between what the Word of God says and the way it is (not) being applied? i'm not talking vague understandings of contested issues, but is there a clear defiance to what the Word says. if so, i think the person must go to the elders. 2) how did the elders respond? go with a humility that they may know the situation better than you and may have their reasons for their actions. perhaps they know of the same problem and are slowly trying to work through it so as to not harm any sheep. if they can show you that your understanding is not accurate, or if they are working on the issue and see your concern...i think Scripture would suggest you should pray for the leadership and do all you can to support them. 3) if they don't agree with your assessment yet you are confident you are right, you should ask the leadership how they handle this. do they suggest you go? are they ok with you sharing your perspective with others in the congregation? if the leaders want you to go, go. if they think you could stay but must remain silent, you have to go before the Lord to determine if you can remain silent. if you determine you cannot remain silent, you should inform the elders of this.
couple of thoughts on the comments left:
Berylla--Consider what John was saying when he told the church in 1 John that they would not need anyone to teach them. This was a letter, written by John to teach the congregation...a congregation that your understanding of the text would suggest did not need teaching. it just doesn't make sense.
John was not saying we do not need teachers. Otherwise, John's message contradicts Paul's encouragement to Timothy to preach the Word and instruct the congregation. This violates Paul's understanding of the gifts and their exercise in 1 Corinthians. This misses James understanding of teachers and their necessity. It also misunderstands who Paul told Timothy that elders who TEACH and lead are worthy of double honor.
The Scriptures are just too full of statements about teaching and teachers to ignore their need because of one misunderstood text from 1 John.
Furthermore, lifting hands may be a form of worship but it is not the only form of worship. Preaching (and listening) to a sermon is also worship. So is working hard for your boss as if unto the Lord. So is giving of our finances and gifts to one another. It's all worship, not just lifting your hands in praise during a song.
Keynee--Technically, the goal should not be teaching how to be a better Christian or just making wiser choices in life. The goal should be to present Christ, in His glory from the text. Then by seeing Him clearly, we both realize how to honor Him with out lives and be more consistent to the gospel we love.
Danny, thank you for your input. However you have pointed one thing which alarms me greatly. You have very aptly pointed out in the first point in your comment the extent to which I have become re-acculturated. In this same meeting referenced above I made this statement, 'Culture is neutral, but acculturation seldom is.' I am alarmed to see the level to which I have been realigned with previous acculturations. Thank you for so candidly pointing that out.
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