What A True Church Looks Like
A true church has nothing to do with brick and mortar facilities. A true church is a people not a building. In fact the word ekklesia which translates as "church" in the Bible, when read in context essentially means "a called out people of God". So all the modern emphasis on renting or building church buildings is entirely non-nonsensical, wasteful and actually causes a lot of problems and confusion. This practice takes eyes off the true church (as a people) and gives a false sense of life to a dead facility.
We see a number of examples in the New Testament of churches that met in people's homes, but yet we do not see one single example of a church meeting in a purpose-built church building. It's quite strange then that arguably the number one tradition of the modern church system is to raise funds and build a building.
Instead Christians should be facilitating informal meetings in their homes where like-minded Bible-believing Christians can grow in the faith, unfettered from authoritarian regimes and unhindered from dictators who have a hidden agenda of building their own personal empires. Any "leadership" should be operating is a non-authoritarian and non control-based manner. A true biblical pastor / elder is nothing more than a total equal with the other members, members who have differing roles and functions (as opposed to offices and elite positions), but yet where no one is more important than any other. Hint: if a pastor / elder is not your friend they are certainly not fulfilling that role.
Christians should simply be pointing to what the Bible teaches and encouraging obedience to the Word without adding man made rules and regulations. There should be NO manipulation and NO fear tactics (nor any other kind of mind control nonsense whatsoever). There should be NO tithe teaching, NO extortion of money and NO punishment for non-compliance to man made rules (there should be no man made rules!).
Church decisions that affect others are be made in loving consensus not by dictate or rule. This means that Christians can seek agreement and can seek to be of one mind and one understanding regarding what the Scriptures teach, just as the Bible commands that we should all agree. Every member has an equal voice and all are greatly valued, not in mere lip service, but in actual practice.
All members have a platform to be heard by the whole church and are all encouraged to cooperatively argue and defend any Bible-based position that they have. This is done by bringing sound biblical precedents for any views that members wish to express.
This is "church" as it was meant to be and the freedom that Christians can enjoy are immense. It is a wonderful, safe and healthy thing to operate within obedience to what the Bible teaches rather than getting all caught up in the nonsense of man made religion. This is the kind of church that can operate autonomously because they are not addicted to a so-called "leader".
Sadly however, very few professing Christians are interested in being part of a real church like this. Most are not interested in such no-cost joyful simplicity and so there are very few of us "out there". What most Christians seem to want instead is an earthly pastor-king to rule over them and they also seem to want a laundry list of unbiblical complications similar to a Broadway show, lecture hall or business disguised as a church and so that is what they typically gravitate towards. Of course there is nothing wrong with wholesome entertainment, lectures and honest businesses, but the point is entertainment, lectures and business are not part of the church. Christians (as well as everyone else) already get exposed to enough of all that in the world. A true church should be a welcome breath of fresh air and a peaceful break from all of that when they come together "in church".
So what should Christians be doing when they get together for an actual church meeting / assembly? - They should be building each other up in the faith (through Scripture reading, open discussion, fellowship, friendship, communion and song / praise and worship). But all of these functions do not have to occur at every meeting, as in some kind of formal schedule. Meetings are very free and open. Regardless, Christians should always leave a meeting edified, energized and recharged in spirit and mind, but NEVER punished, burdened or beaten down (e.g. by things like the common false pastor "you need to give more money" speech). Those are beatings not meetings.
ChristiansFree.com
A true church has nothing to do with brick and mortar facilities. A true church is a people not a building. In fact the word ekklesia which translates as "church" in the Bible, when read in context essentially means "a called out people of God". So all the modern emphasis on renting or building church buildings is entirely non-nonsensical, wasteful and actually causes a lot of problems and confusion. This practice takes eyes off the true church (as a people) and gives a false sense of life to a dead facility.
We see a number of examples in the New Testament of churches that met in people's homes, but yet we do not see one single example of a church meeting in a purpose-built church building. It's quite strange then that arguably the number one tradition of the modern church system is to raise funds and build a building.
Instead Christians should be facilitating informal meetings in their homes where like-minded Bible-believing Christians can grow in the faith, unfettered from authoritarian regimes and unhindered from dictators who have a hidden agenda of building their own personal empires. Any "leadership" should be operating is a non-authoritarian and non control-based manner. A true biblical pastor / elder is nothing more than a total equal with the other members, members who have differing roles and functions (as opposed to offices and elite positions), but yet where no one is more important than any other. Hint: if a pastor / elder is not your friend they are certainly not fulfilling that role.
Christians should simply be pointing to what the Bible teaches and encouraging obedience to the Word without adding man made rules and regulations. There should be NO manipulation and NO fear tactics (nor any other kind of mind control nonsense whatsoever). There should be NO tithe teaching, NO extortion of money and NO punishment for non-compliance to man made rules (there should be no man made rules!).
Church decisions that affect others are be made in loving consensus not by dictate or rule. This means that Christians can seek agreement and can seek to be of one mind and one understanding regarding what the Scriptures teach, just as the Bible commands that we should all agree. Every member has an equal voice and all are greatly valued, not in mere lip service, but in actual practice.
All members have a platform to be heard by the whole church and are all encouraged to cooperatively argue and defend any Bible-based position that they have. This is done by bringing sound biblical precedents for any views that members wish to express.
This is "church" as it was meant to be and the freedom that Christians can enjoy are immense. It is a wonderful, safe and healthy thing to operate within obedience to what the Bible teaches rather than getting all caught up in the nonsense of man made religion. This is the kind of church that can operate autonomously because they are not addicted to a so-called "leader".
Sadly however, very few professing Christians are interested in being part of a real church like this. Most are not interested in such no-cost joyful simplicity and so there are very few of us "out there". What most Christians seem to want instead is an earthly pastor-king to rule over them and they also seem to want a laundry list of unbiblical complications similar to a Broadway show, lecture hall or business disguised as a church and so that is what they typically gravitate towards. Of course there is nothing wrong with wholesome entertainment, lectures and honest businesses, but the point is entertainment, lectures and business are not part of the church. Christians (as well as everyone else) already get exposed to enough of all that in the world. A true church should be a welcome breath of fresh air and a peaceful break from all of that when they come together "in church".
So what should Christians be doing when they get together for an actual church meeting / assembly? - They should be building each other up in the faith (through Scripture reading, open discussion, fellowship, friendship, communion and song / praise and worship). But all of these functions do not have to occur at every meeting, as in some kind of formal schedule. Meetings are very free and open. Regardless, Christians should always leave a meeting edified, energized and recharged in spirit and mind, but NEVER punished, burdened or beaten down (e.g. by things like the common false pastor "you need to give more money" speech). Those are beatings not meetings.
ChristiansFree.com