Posted by Bigfish69 on 2:03 pm | Categories: 4walls, church health, churchianity, dysfunction, membership
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.
