billiefan2000
March 18th, 2008, 01:04 PM
Jim Elliff: Do We Still Need the Local Church?
Circus Church, Emerging Church, True Church
I agree with this piece by Jim Elliff regarding the importance of the local church.
http://www.christianworldviewnetwork.com/article.php?ArticleID=3236
Bailing out on gathering with fellow believers altogether because you prefer the quality of preaching
and music you can get from media is not a good idea for many reasons.
But what Jim doesn’t mention is that many of those who are no longer attending an institutional church are not doing so because they don’t believe in it.
They simply have nowhere to go.
They did not leave the church, the church left them.
A caller on my show recently said that he and his family drive 70 miles one way to find a church that they can just “tolerate”.
Why?
Because all the churches within closer range had gone the circus route.
Smoke machines, pastors dressing up in costumes to liven their sermons up,
(like the one who dressed in complete camoflage and decorated the entire church as a military encampment to make a point),
hot bands playing secular rock tunes to set the theme for the service,
(a reader recently told me of walking into church to the sound of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”. Can you say “irony?”)
No, indeed. These folks haven’t left the church. The church left them.
For those in an area without a biblical church, worshiping at home and availing yourself of the solid preaching available through media is sometimes the only option.
Far better, I think, is to try to find other like-minded believers to meet with you at home.
If there are so few biblical churches today, it’s time to begin some.
Perhaps it’s laziness that keeps that from happening.
It’s easier to just show up at a church someone else has poured their heart and soul into.
We cruise in, we cruise out, and it requires nothing of us.
Having godly men who object to the Laodicean churches actually seek God
about providing alternatives for their wives and children
is the need of the hour.
Are there any godly men out there who will rise to the occasion?
Circus Church, Emerging Church, True Church
I agree with this piece by Jim Elliff regarding the importance of the local church.
http://www.christianworldviewnetwork.com/article.php?ArticleID=3236
Bailing out on gathering with fellow believers altogether because you prefer the quality of preaching
and music you can get from media is not a good idea for many reasons.
But what Jim doesn’t mention is that many of those who are no longer attending an institutional church are not doing so because they don’t believe in it.
They simply have nowhere to go.
They did not leave the church, the church left them.
A caller on my show recently said that he and his family drive 70 miles one way to find a church that they can just “tolerate”.
Why?
Because all the churches within closer range had gone the circus route.
Smoke machines, pastors dressing up in costumes to liven their sermons up,
(like the one who dressed in complete camoflage and decorated the entire church as a military encampment to make a point),
hot bands playing secular rock tunes to set the theme for the service,
(a reader recently told me of walking into church to the sound of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”. Can you say “irony?”)
No, indeed. These folks haven’t left the church. The church left them.
For those in an area without a biblical church, worshiping at home and availing yourself of the solid preaching available through media is sometimes the only option.
Far better, I think, is to try to find other like-minded believers to meet with you at home.
If there are so few biblical churches today, it’s time to begin some.
Perhaps it’s laziness that keeps that from happening.
It’s easier to just show up at a church someone else has poured their heart and soul into.
We cruise in, we cruise out, and it requires nothing of us.
Having godly men who object to the Laodicean churches actually seek God
about providing alternatives for their wives and children
is the need of the hour.
Are there any godly men out there who will rise to the occasion?