Why Church Seems Flat

How many of you have been wondering why "church" feels so rote, flat and lacking in Spiritual depth and maturity?

Perhaps those, like me and my husband, see how off track the formal institutional gatherings are from scripture and sense an emptiness and lack of love in those places people call church.

The freedom we felt when we left that system of rituals and strident patterns and cultural customs is the moment we felt a great weight lifted off of us.

God never intended the one-man pastor system nor did he intend for all the believers to sit remaining silent. That whole system is modeled after the Catholic church, not the description God gave in the Bible.

There are leaders in God's model of the gathering, but they are not authorities over; only the Holy Spirit is the Authority over every born-again believer. There were no long sermons in the gathering and the purpose of the gathering was for every believer to edify one another through participation in the Word.

When all the people are facing forward in the pews, denoting their total devotion to the one elevated at the front of the room, it sends the message that the exalted man is the one with authority. The people in the pews become lazy in their own prayer life and study of the word because that paid man up front does everything for them.

The people in the pews begin to lack confidence in the Holy Spirit in them because that man in the pulpit exudes a kind of dominance and power over those he deems "less than." He tells them what to believe and where and when to pray, which is in that building with him as the facilitator.

None of these principles of the organized church needs to be said or taught; they are inferred by the practices alone.

1 Corinthians 14:26 "What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification."

When every believer prays and studies at home on their own during the week they have something to say and share when they all come together. The purpose of edification in the word is to build up the faith and confidence of every believer as they impart to others what the Holy Spirit brought to them throughout the week.

Those in the gathering are to be led by the Holy Spirit as they pass their wisdom from the Holy Spirit to others in the group. Everyone is to communicate, and everyone becomes edified as they experience the oneness of the Holy Spirit in everyone else.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 ". 11Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing."

Hebrews 3:13 "But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness."

Romans 14:19 "So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification."

Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

Hebrews 10:24-25 "And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

All born-again believers are to be teaching, sharing, correcting and encouraging one another to think Biblically. This equips one another to be confident, bold, and full of wisdom as they move about in the world as examples of Christ's love.

This does not have to be in a special building; it can be anywhere at any time without cultural mandates that have no basis in Scripture.

Romans 14:1-12 "14 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.
3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.
4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.
8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess[b] to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God."

I am not saying someone who attends a church building with a pastor is sinning; I am only saying it is a deviation from the way God commanded and has many pitfalls. Whenever we add to God's word, making man's way the standard, we miss out on many blessings and even promote a lack of growth and understanding.

Whenever we depend on another human being to be our mentor, we are placing them above Christ and His Holy Spirit. Yes, listen to others, that is what edification is all about, but never place one man as superior to another. Listen to others but evaluate whatever is said according to the Bible, correct what is wrong, and hold onto what is true.

Exhortation and Discipline

Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?"

Those who are resistant to correction and angry at admonishment are very likely unsaved.

Revelation 3:19 "Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent."

Job 5:17 "Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty."

1 John 3::8-19 "…8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother."

We live in confusing days when the wheat resembles tares, making it difficult to discern who is saved and who is unsaved. What do we do with this when interacting with both?

God said not to pull out the tares because we might be pulling up wheat. We must address sin in the body; we do not need to know if they are authentic or not, only that they claim to be Christians but live as if they have never been transformed by God.

God made it clear to me that I cannot always clearly discern who has been born again and who is not, but I can challenge someone who is living against God's principles to ask God if they have ever been transformed by God. If they become angry and refuse to ask God, that may be the answer, that they never trusted Christ.

Matthew 18:15-20 "15 "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

Those who live sinful lifestyles and say they are Christians may be unsaved, and we treat them as outsiders because of their rebellion. Whether or not they are true Christians is up to God. As long as they claim Christianity, they are under discipline.