What is “the church”?
Ekklésia is the Greek word from the Bible that we translate into “church”. It means gathering, congregation, or assembly. It is not a building or corporation, or 501c3 nonprofit organization. NO person alive at this time has the authority to ordain any other person for ministry in God’s church and none is necessary. You could drop a Bible in the middle of an island where there are no Christians, and they can build a congregation and appoint leaders. In addition, when a Baptist, Roman Catholic, or Assemblies of God corporation ordains a person to hold the office of pastor or priest for some new church they are planting, they are only telling people in that new area that they are building an extension to their organization (and their power) and that person is their representative. No believer or group of believers is under any obligation to stay under the leadership of any person or board of people. And a Baptist Pastor has no authority to baptize or perform a wedding for a Roman Catholic couple at the Roman Catholic building. We don’t have priestly positions as Jesus has become our High Priest.
All believers are called to gather together, but for what? Remember, the Kingdom of God IS the Gospel and it is what we are called to join, advance, and participate in. Jesus said that the foundation that He would build his congregation/gathering/church on was that Jesus was the anointed king (Christ) as revealed to Peter by God (Matthew 16:16-18), so everything we do as we gather should be based on that foundation: the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!
As we do this, we are instructed to choose leaders from among us. Leaders to do what? Tell us how to fall asleep and in what order? No! We put our faith in action to advance the Kingdom of God in every way that we can! And we sure can deselect/fire any leader who is caught with their hand in the cookie jar or who otherwise has been exposed to not be qualified to lead. That brings up another question or issue that has plagued many Christian gatherings: what authority do the church leaders have?
First of all, they are not the head of the gathering, only Christ is the head of the gathering. Any leader who puts himself above Jesus in church authority is anti-Christ. A leader only has authority to do the things they are appointed to do. Jesus told Pilot (the Roman Governor who sentenced Jesus to death) that Pilot would have no authority over Jesus unless God gave Pilot that authority. Another way to say that is “you don’t have authority to do ANYTHING except what God has delegated to you”.
The Book of Hebrews is the perfect book to read with your Christian friends to know what you should be aiming for when you gather.
When you gather, it is not the place just to read the Bible. The Bible is your spiritual nourishment and you will starve to death if that is the only place you read the Bible. You should be reading the Bible daily if you have never read it cover to cover at least once. When you gather, that is the place to talk about what you have been reading, how you can apply it, recruit each other at the gathering to join you in the good works that God is stirring up in your heart.
It is the gathering of of believers/followers of Jesus our King; church is not the place where you bring non-believers. You don’t invite your neighbor to your office meetings when you are going over projections for the next quarter. People who attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings do not invite people who have never had an interest in alcohol. In that same way, you don’t bring non-believers to a gathering of believers. If you want to share the Gospel with a non-believer, just share the Gospel with them. If you think another Christian you know would do a better job at it, arrange a dinner meeting for just that purpose. It’s not that non-Christians are forbidden to attend a gathering, just remember that you are not gathering to repeat the basic message of the Gospel that a non-believer should hear:
Hebrews 6:1-2 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
How many corporate Church organizations have you been to that are stuck in first gear? If you have never been a Christian or were not brought up in the Church, you are fortunate not to have seen the bad example of churches that have slept while our societies have been surrendered to kingdoms of evil powers.
Follow the example of Jesus and the Apostles who were overseers of the early church:
They did this
Jesus and the Apostles NEVER did this
The Bible constantly portrays Jesus having meals as He interacts with the people. There is a social bond being built as you share a meal; that’s why it is the most common first date for couples and why you take a prospective client or business partner out for a meal. It is the reason that satan has worked so hard to remove family meals from families and why the Church of the Roman government replaced the communal meals of the early church with a symbolic sip of wine with a bit of bread: quietly come up to get it and return to your seat without connecting with others of faith. Jesus said, whenever you do this (the traditional prayer of thanks before a communal meal) remember me. Make plans over a meal for our King; remember His sacrifice; respond to His love with acts of faith like the ones that are outlined in the Book of Hebrews!
Jesus and the apostles never went to the Sunday Morning Pastor/Priest Show to sit and nod silently. When they spoke, they were challenged in their teachings on the spot, and they gave such good responses that they were rarely challenged by the same people.
The early church smuggled Paul past law enforcement to escape a city so he wouldn’t get arrested. In order to do that, they had to meet, and conspire to do that (2 Corinthians 11:33). In that instance, they didn’t accept the rule of law of their local government, because they were submitting to King Jesus.
The nation of Israel had periods of great faith and also great wickedness and rejection of God, in that same way, the history of the Christian groups has periods of honor and shame.
When Jesus came, there were a few righteous in the temple like Simeon who was waiting for Jesus’ birth, Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea. But overall, Jesus condemned the spiritual leaders who were also the judges and were allowed by Rome to act as a local government over the Jews; so Jesus told the Jews this: The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach (Matthew 23:1-3). Jesus made quite a lengthy rant that I highly recommend you read, because He is God and His words are far more valuable than mine: Matthew 23
Jesus condemned them because their religion was the traditions of men, and Jesus said the system was bad and contrary to God’s plan.
That is the church today. Doctrines and teachings are judged by who has supported them in the past and people are taught to know and agree with this creed or that creed. Pastors have resigned their positions after changing a doctrinal position that their church empire holds. The pastor (who is supposed to submit to Jesus, and his job is to attend the people who gather) stopped caring for those people because, although he is still doing what he believes his King wants, he now disagrees with the creeds/traditions of the “church” empire.
Generally speaking, church government acts to ensure high attendance, beg and guilt the congregation to give money, and maintain control. They act just like the Communist party that most of them (rightfully) condemn. And they are plagued with every scandal because the format of the modern church is based on power and control. The same evil desires that corrupt our politicians are corrupting our religious leaders: sex; money; and power. What is the cure? Smaller gatherings where Jesus is constantly being looked to as the King.
Before the nation of Israel was taken into captivity to Babylon, they were guilty of the same things the church is guilty of today: divorce without just cause, women dressed like prostitutes at their gatherings, killing their babies, perverting justice, cheating each other, steeling, idolatry, and every kind of sexual perversion. Today’s church corporations prostitute themselves to the government, dethroning Christ for a tax right-off. My message to you if you are a pastor or elder of a church: if your tax exemption causes you to stumble, cut it off!
God’s condemnation against his people back then was so grotesque that I could not quote it or many people may not read any further (not safe for work): Ezekiel 23
Only God could say if He would apply this to His “churches” today. But remember that when God had sent this message to his people, they were very religious.
The Christian Church went from simple gatherings of believers to a regulated, government controlled (not Christ controlled) organization. It went from persecuted, yet dynamic and fast spreading, to a ceremonial facade that forbid the members from reading the Bible for themselves and even killed those who promoted Bible reading.
Even pastors who are devoted to God and to their congregation, and who faithfully teach the scripture, still fall into this Sunday morning pastor show format that was handed down by the Roman government’s “Catholic” Church.
Don’t we need an established church, don’t we need to be “ordained” by an established church? ALL of them will tell you that you need to be, because men crave power more than anything. But, this is just another remnant of the Roman Government’s Catholic Church: First the Roman Government was the head of the Church (instead of Christ), then bishops controlled by the Roman Government, and finally, one bishop claimed that he alone was the head of all the churches in the world: the Pope. The example we have from scripture is that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus, and He delegated certain portions of that authority to the 12 Apostles to instruct the early churches. But when you read the letters from the Apostles, it is clear that leaders in the local congregations are appointed by the members of the gathering with the limited authority for administration of local church matters; Jesus is still the Head of every local gathering, and the elders must submit to Him. Jesus never ordained a single Christian denomination.
So, what do I do to find a church? Who do I gather with?
You could visit an established church, but be very careful not to get lulled into religion that appeals to your emotions, and teachers who don’t teach their students do anything to build the kingdom. If that is what you find, get out. Run away from anyone who tells you that they do not sin because they are blind and self-righteous. The least sinful person you know, is the one that you know the least.
The Bible tell us in James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
You don’t want to confess your sins to someone who you don’t trust or who pretends that they don’t ever sin and will condemn you instead of encouraging and praying for you and keeping your confession private. You don’t want the entire gathering confessing only to the leaders that you appoint, or else you will puff up their heads and they won’t have time for all of you anyway. It is far better for everyone to form close loving friendships and then confess your sins to those who you trust as you mature in your faith and self control. In this way, you will become a preserving and guiding influence to the community around you; what the Bible calls “salt and light”.
Do this:
Pray that God would lead you to other Christians.
Find another Christian by asking people “Are you a Christian?” and tell them you are looking for other Christians to fellowship with.
Exchange contact info and invite them to lunch/dinner/tea.
Go through a set of ice breaker questions: What would you say is the Gospel Message?; What does it mean to be a Christian?; How did you become a Christian?; Tell me about your family and your vocation.; Do you have any needs that you would like help with?; etc.
See if they will meet with you regularly.
Repeat this with other people so that you have a group. “Where ever two or three are gathered, there I am.”
Tell each other the things God has blessed you with
Share needs
Share progress reports about God’s Kingdom
Study the scripture: agree to read certain portions of the Bible (taking notes) and then talk about them when you meet. Ask each other if the meaning you get from the scripture is all from the text, or if some of that is from things you have heard from pastors/teachers/others (traditions of men).
Learn and practice acts of righteousness that are shown in the Old Testament and summarized in Hebrews: Duty to God, duty to family, civic duty!
The example we had in the Bible was that they gathered a collection for other Christians who were in need in distant areas. Our current model is we give money to strangers in distant areas that are not Christians we take away what belongs to the children of God, and we throw it to the dogs (Matthew 15:22-26). We have Christians living as slaves in Pakistan, and being murdered in Africa, and yet we use our resources to send shoe boxes of toys to strangers.
We have a great high priest in Jesus, but in the new church model, a priest or pastor is presented to say “come to me when you need to speak to God, or when you have some deep spiritual concern”. If you face a struggle or danger, cry out to God! King David had many advisors he could have gone to, but he always cried out to God for help and direction.
Jesus never told you to bring non-believers to gatherings; this was the way He told us to make an impression on them: John 13:35 “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” Not even by loving the unbelievers, but by loving each other! You must be making very close friendships (meals are just the beginning). Your friendships must be strong enough that everyone will notice the way you love each other.
There is much more to learn about how to church, but you have to read the Bible to find it, you won’t see it in most churches today. The answer is to become it!!!
The Book of Revelation is a very mysterious book. It is a prophesy about the end times and God’s wrath against humanity. People often guess who is The Anti-Christ, The Beast, and the Prostitute of Babylon in chapters 16-19, but these things remain hidden for now. This is what Jesus says about the Prostitute of Babylon:
Revelation 18:4 “Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.”
I can’t say for sure that the modern churches are Babylon, but I can tell you that this encouragement does apply to most churches: come out of her!
In the Book of Revelation, Jesus gives messages to the congregations and He chastises them for going astray. The last thing Jesus says to the congregations of believers is often applied by preachers and evangelists to non-believers, but take this to heart if you are a Christian: Revelation 3:19-22
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The most important issue to remember about the church, is that Christ is the head of the church. When we replace Christ as the head of the church that is anti-Christ.
When the first Christian congregations needed direction they didn’t only go to the apostles they also prayed about what to do, and when the apostles needed direction they prayed to see what God would show them.
Another thing to remember about a decision to join (or stay) with an established church, or to form your own gathering of believers is that you are a custodian and steward of the time, talents, and focus that God has given you. So you must judge in obedience to God and God’s kingdom what is most beneficial to focus on. You must submit to Him as the head of the church of which you are a member and so you are directly reporting to Jesus and not to a pastor. The pastor does not decide whether or not you should be church hopping or shopping or whether you should be an example to the rest of a sleepy and faithless group, or if you should band together with believers who are diligent and who will put their faith in motion as described in the book of Hebrews.
If you would like help with this, feel free to send a contact request (Get Help link).
One last observation… If you attend a cult or heresy spreading “Christian” church, such as the ones who promote sexual perversions or false prophets, you will hear the same worship and scripture reading as just about any Christian gathering. Some of the churches with the best teaching do little to nothing to promote the kingdom of God. Below are a couple videos that epitomize the frustrations you may encounter if you try to recruit others. If you find yourself in that situation, you may need to find other Christians to gather with.