Write The Author
By Neal Griffin
This is truly the age of churchanity. Much these days, too much, is said about churching, having church, going to church, doing church, the corporate church, church organization, church authority, officers of the church, the work of the church, church treasuries, church buildings, church life, church planting, church attendance, church joining, church membership, church giving, church worship, church fellowship, church singing, church this, and church that, none of which can be found in the Bible. It has come to the point where it is the church that is being promoted instead of the Christ. Jesus plays second fiddle behind the church.
The church of the Bible is the called out of God. It has nothing to do with denominated religious organizations. They are but schismatic representations of brotherhood divisions. Paul was not, and never intended to be, a church planter as some would claim. In fact, he emphatically denied having had any part in the birth of schisms at Corinth. Every denominated religious organization that calls itself a church is a schism. It exists, primarily, for the purpose of distinguishing itself from other denominated religious organizations. In fact, Paul was grateful that he preached only Christ and Him crucified. Paul may have been a "Christ" planter, but it is not recorded once that he ever went anywhere for the purpose of planting a church.
The church of God does not exist in the organizational, hierarchal sense that men perceive it. There are no positions of authority in the true kingdom. Matthew 20:26. It exists only to the extent that Christ dwells in the hearts of born again men and women. If we are going to use the term, "church", we should use it in the correct sense. The denominated religious organizations of our day are not the church. They are, every one, man made and man ruled institutions. The true church is one. It is not parceled out among over three hundred (300) denominated (separate) man made organizations. Christians in a given locality were referred to as the church in that region. The term had nothing to do with an organizational entity. It can be established that most Christians in localized areas assembled in the name of Jesus, but they did not assemble as the corporate representation of an organization. They were simply Christians meeting together out of a common love for Jesus and one another, and that's what should motivate us to assemble. The assemblies of the early Christians were participatory. They allowed for every participant to engage in building up one another to love and good works. Their assemblies were not spectator events where performances were observed.Their promotion was Christ and Him crucified and so should ours be. They did not promote denominated religious organizations. Please make this application: If you can join "it", go to "it", give to "it", work for "it", or be a member of "it", you won't find "it" in the Bible.
What are you promoting? Are you promoting only Christ and Him crucified? He was Paul's only promotion and so should He be with us. Instead of promoting the church of our choice let us all together promote the Christ of the church.
Please consider these thoughts. I believe them to be in keeping with the Word.
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