One thing that I will never change is what I believe about "church". (My beliefs stated below have only become stronger over the past 5 months)
You don't go to church. "The Church" IS a person that is a Disciple of Christ. You will never find the "perfect church" because there was only One who was and is perfect and that is Jesus.
The church gathered is called, "The Body of Christ". There is no one, including the pastor, within any gathering of The Body of Christ that isn't flawed. In fact, "The Church" (a disciple of Christ) is so sinful that God the Father had to allow His one and only Son to be crucified because only His shed blood allows "The Church" to be fit to have a relationship with Himself.
As long as people see the church as an organization, they will always be disappointed. No matter how awesome, great, or incredible "your church" is (or was), it will fail, and one day die.
Other disciples of Christ will fail you or hurt you. And yes, even your pastor will fail you or hurt you. All of these things are flawed.
If you ever wonder why people give up on "church", just re-read what I have written above.
Sounds hopeless doesn't it?
If you see "the church" as an organization, or place others that call themselves "The Church" on a pedestal, you will be greatly disappointed. This is why the organized church is dying and will continue to die. We have made church something it was never meant to be.
We will only find and have hope when we fix our eyes on Jesus, and not on any person or organization. We must surround ourselves with other disciples that are also dedicated to fixing their eyes on Jesus. If you want to know what YOU, "The Church" should look like, look no further than Acts 2:42-47. And please note they did not call themselves "The Church" and their gatherings were small, not large. They met in homes, not buildings. They were committed to God's Word, prayer, fellowship, and remembering what Jesus did for them through the breaking of bread. People were saved because they were being "The Church". Those saved grew in number not because they attended church, they grew in number because of the examples of those that were disciples. And when their gatherings grew too large for the house they were meeting in, others would open their home to begin a new gathering. "The Church" was never meant to be an organization. Again, if it is, it will fail.
If you truly want to be "The Church" you must do the following four things...
1. Fix your eyes on Jesus only. Be a Disciple!
2. Only surround yourself with others that, like you, desire to be true disciples of Christ.
3. Stop telling people how great your church is and start showing people how great your Savior is!
4. Strive to be "The Church" as seen in Acts 2:42-47.
Acts 2:42-47 - They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
