the way out

adapted from Churchianity Today by Chip Brogden

The one right way to leave is by way of Christ.

To leave because of hurt, bitterness, dissatisfaction with the status quo, rebellion, or anything short of seeing Christ is to be in a precarious situation. If our experiences drive us into a depression and unforgiveness, then all meaning and purpose for the experience is lost. On the other hand, if our disenchantment, disillusionment, and despair drive us deeper into Christ, we will find healing through Him and we will be enabled to extend grace to those who persecute us.

To stop attending church services, or to stay, apart from revelation, apart from seeing Christ and his body, based only upon the word of some man or group, no matter how true, is not sufficient to escape.  Others may bring us out, but they cannot bring the institutional lifestyle out of us.  This is God's work.

With an awareness of the Body, fellowship is no longer restricted to time, place, church, or denomination, thus opportunities for fellowship abound. But with no consciousness of the Body, only an awareness of our personal pain and harsh treatment at the hands of a few, our defense mechanisms will prevent us from seeking out fellowship or risking further hurt by engaging other believers.

When we enter this Body consciousness we will not find it necessary to stand guard continually and purposely resist all attempts to institutionalise us in the name of God. We don't have to fear what man may do to us. When we have seen Christ and his church, anyone attempting to lord over, corral, enclose, intimidate, manipulate, unlawfully influence, or exert his or her spiritual whims on us is rebuffed with a calm, quiet spirit.

This experiential knowledge of Christ will also enable us to recognize him in others, and call upon us to enter into fellowship with brothers and sisters of all backgrounds. We will not be overly critical or unnecessarily suspicious. The anointing will teach us and lead us into proper relationships with others in the Body. No more will we judge others or restrict ourselves to our little home group, church, or denomination. Our basis for fellowship is Christ, and with him as our common ground we will not be uncomfortable or threatened by people of different philosophical or doctrinal nuances. Either the life is present, or it is not. If it is, we must not call unclean whom God has called clean.

Read More

institution is a lifestyle choice

adapted from Churchianity Today by Chip Brogden

To truly come out of organised religion requires more than deciding to meet in homes or resolving to do away with the external trappings of Churchianity. Many claim to have escaped because they no longer attend church services.  But the reality is they are still living an institutional lifestyle. They have only exchanged one form of religious bondage for another.

Freedom cannot merely be reacting to the obvious wrongs perpetuated in the name of God by organised religion. It is quite possible to be out of the system but still be bound by it, still chained by bitterness and fixated with all that is wrong with the body.

Our whole goal should be to look beyond the external characteristics of how and where people worship. The only way to do this is to have an all-consuming revelation of Christ and the ecclesia, the Body, his church. Once we see that, we will understand that the external accessories of organised religion can neither help nor truly hurt.

Perhaps the fear is that once we are escaped from Churchianity we may be deceived again.  Not so with the one who has seen Christ and his church. Anyone who attempts to lord over, corral, enclose, intimidate, manipulate, unlawfully influence, or exert their spiritual whims upon us will be rebuffed with a calm, quiet spirit. Knowing the truth means seeing through the false.

Do you know something is wrong, but are unable to express what it is?

Rejoice!  This is alright.  God is not silent when something is said or done in his name that he doesn't support (e.g. a televangelist begging for more money, pastors who treat people with contempt, or prophets who speak out of personal imagination).

Are you a member of a local church and accept all that goes on there without being troubled?  Are you able to shrug it off or lightly dismiss it?

Sorry, you are far gone.  Your heart is hard.  Your ears are dull. You are blind like the Pharisees.  Your christianity may be nominal at best.  Even if you are part of a perfect local church, sorry.  The fact the church is isolated from all the others indicates a level of dysfunction.

Are you troubled by all that is proclaimed, confessed, bought and sold, taught, prophesied, promoted, and prayed about these days in Jesus’ name?

The Lord does not take it all in stride, or shrug it off. The responses of Jesus to the organised religionists of his day were many and varied. We find him ...

• Driving the merchants out of the Temple with a scourge of cords
• Engaging in public rejections of the Pharisees, holding them up as shining examples of what not to do
• Being silent, hiding or departing

 

Read More

financial support

adapted from Churchianity Today by Chip Brogden

Financial support ... establishes the right to expect members to make donations in the form of tithes, offerings, love gifts, fundraisers, pledges, building funds, etc

The motivation for all financial support should be “as the Spirit leads”, not as the rules of membership dictate. That sort of giving cannot be legislated, no matter how hard you try, through teachings on tithing, “sowing and reaping”, “love” offerings, “faith promises”, etc. Yet this is precisely what organised religion attempts to do.

Ours attitude should not be “I don’t owe you anything”. But once our freewill support is legislated or expected as a condition of membership it ceases to be spiritual and philanthropic.  Instead, we are giving in order to receive or maintain the privilege of membership.

In addition, anonymous giving should be encouraged, for if not someone in authority will have access to the information may use it against you if necessary. For instance, when you’re being considered for a leadership position, or when the church board wants to determine the active voting membership. Of course, if you aren’t a member, none of that will matter. But it again demonstrates that your value as a church member is being measured in dollars and cents.

Jesus did not advocate anonymous charity in order to make us paranoid or fearful of being caught doing a good deed. He did it to liberate us, to enlarge us, to help us experience the pure joy of a no-strings-attached gift, to ensure we would not become proud, and very importantly, to prevent others from rewarding, manipulating, regulating, or expecting us to give to them on a continual basis apart from His direction (see James).

Read More

leadership support

adapted from Churchianity Today by Chip Brogden

Leadership support ... creates the right to expect members to agree with the stated mission of the church and the pastor

Support of the pastor and his vision cannot be mandated.  Either the Holy Spirit bears witness with what is happening or he doesn’t. Authority based on perceived rank, status, charisma, spiritual gift, or popular appeal is a fantasy.

The philosophy of organised religion is to maintain the distinction between clergy and laity.  This is achieved by inserting the pastor (or priest) as the spiritual head of the church. As a result pastors often see the local church as an extension of their own personal ministry and calling, causing the congregation to be made in their image.

And yet, God’s people belong to Christ alone, no one else.  Moreover, the church is his church, not ours. All authority is given to Him, and whatever influence we as individuals have over others is due to our depth of knowing Christ and our willingness to love and serve one another. Hence elders are just that: those who are older and more experienced in the things of God, more conformed to his image and are thus gentle, loving, kind, and able to instruct and encourage the younger.

In contrast, leaders of organised religion are those who have been elected to fill leadership positions.  Surely there is something wrong with a process in which a pastor can be voted into and out of the position of spiritual leader by a certain majority of the congregation.

Spiritual processes and God’s holy call and selection cannot be reduced to search committees and paper ballots. Once the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, they stopped drawing straws and started praying towards a consensus. The Spirit made it evident who He wanted.

Finally, in most local churches, there is no mutual submission. Instead, submission is a one-way street from bottom to top. Indeed, calling attention to one’s supposed “authority” is a sure sign of an absence of  authority. Real authority doesn’t have to announce itself and demand others be subject to it. God’s authority never defends its rights or demands capitulation. Real authority is a steward, not and owner, of what God has given.

Read More