Fear to Freedom – Holy Triage

The church show must go on… People who struggle to accept themselves run to church in an attempt to feel accepted… This is one example of how insecurity makes people selfish… Who would've ever thought the very act of going to a nice building to sing songs and study the Bible could be so selfish… yet it is… People want to feel they have an in with God… People want to feel knowledgeable… People want to get those warm fuzzy feelings that the church show often creates in them, but in the end it is nothing more than a combination of insecurity and emotionalism. If you don’t think this is you than here is the question… would you feel less accepted if you stopped going to church? How you honestly answer this question will determine whether or not you go to church in an attempt to accept yourself… I am not judging you because I cannot answer this question for you.

 

Who do I think I am?

 

I am a person who has grown to accept himself. I am not being arrogant, but rather I am being honest and vulnerable. I'd rather spend time with my kids then put them in Sunday school to be indoctrinated or taught how NOT to accept them self. The church has to beat people up with one hand, so they will keep coming back to be healed by the other. What I am saying is based on not only my personal experience, but also the experience of MANY others. Most of my friends have outgrown/graduated from the so-called "church". I will be forever thankful for the years I attended church and the fact that I even graduated from Bible College, but there comes a time where you have to move on. Spiritual growth demands that we grow from attending church into being the church. For me sitting in a pew listening to someone else's "interpretation" of God is a waste of time.

 

Is God going to punish me if I stop going to church?

 

I seem to remember a man who built a whip and then ran through the church angrily turning over the money changers tables… this man was Jesus. Jesus rebuked the church of his day for robbing people… for becoming an obstacle between people and God. If you read the scriptures God's wrath was most often poured out upon "religious" people and basically "politicians"… all people who didn't accept themselves so they went around "trying" to be like God. Basically idol worshipers who created gods in their own image and political leaders who tried to be like God. The everyday sinners that followed Jesus did not experience such wrath.

 

The evidence against church as we know it.

 

I have studied theology for over 25 years and can find no good reason to go to church. The Bible does not tell us to go to church, nor does it even provide a model for conducting church. There were no church buildings for over 300 years after Jesus was crucified. All people have to go on is that verse in Hebrews that states "do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together as a body of believers"… but that could mean anything. Jesus Himself said where 2 or more are gathered in His name that He would be in their midst. That whole law of Sabbath day thing is equal to the law of circumcision… it is no longer required… just like tithing 10% is no longer required. We are God's bride, so we are one with Him and share in all that is His. I don't give my wife only 10% of my paycheck and only visit her on Sundays. The legal relationship with God was over a LONG TIME ago.

 

Reasons not to attend church.

 

First I guarantee most of your offering goes to paying the expenses of your church… in other words it never even reaches the hands of those in need. Second if your church is like most churches you are endorsing a system or institutionalism that is more about maintaining its existence then it is about love. Third if you have kids you are risking them being taught they are unacceptable sinners rather than God's bride. Fourth church in general is a waste of precious time that only distracts us from what really matters… such as family time. Some people feel as if when they watch a game they are IN the game, so the church show must go on. It would be far more beneficial for people to figure out the self acceptance issues that make them exploitable. What most people don't realize is pastors often become pastors due to their own self acceptance issues. If people would stop and be honest with them self they'd be shocked at the real reasons they go to church. I honestly can say my heart was overwhelmed with compassion for myself when I finally saw the motivation behind my outer search for God… all along He was within me… never was He in those buildings we label churches. People go because they think they need to in order to be an acceptable “bride of Christ”. If my wife had to work for my acceptance I'd be a no good husband, so why is it any different with God? My groom (God) lets me sleep in on Sundays! Haha!