Over the years I have read many books on God's impact on the way people think, Jesus' impact on people in a more direct way .. and then those who have a relationship with Him (verses seeing religion as a way to escape Hell) having an impact on others.
The Bible, specifically the book of Acts in the New Testament, opened my eyes to this when I was 6 or 7 sitting in a church building on a Sunday morning hearing the Dominie (i.e. Pastor - Dominie - is a Scots language and Scottish English term for a Scottish schoolmaster usually of the Church of Scotland and also a term used in the US for a minister or pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church) berate the people for not following the Ten Commandments and suggesting that everyone should seek forgiveness for each and every sin in the past week .. to think long and hard so as not to miss one. The environment of obligation, fear, performance-focus and absolutely no smiling in this 20th century gathering made me wonder how far these extended "families of God" had drifted since the 1st century when the Bible book of Acts described life then. Acts chapter 2 reads in part:
"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 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, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Of course there was no church buildings, no paid church staff, not everyone met on Sundays (since it was a work day, the 1st one of the week) and it was up to each household to save resources (and money) to share with those in their circles who came on hard times.
Other books that helped me understand the changes between 1st century and 20th/21st century Jesus followers included:
- Pagan Christianity "Have you ever wondered why we Christians do what we do for church every Sunday morning? Why do we “dress up” for church? Why does the pastor preach a sermon each week? Why do we have pews, steeples, and choirs? This ground-breaking book, now in affordable softcover, makes an unsettling proposal: most of what Christians do in present-day churches is rooted, not in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals developed long after the death of the apostles. Coauthors Frank Viola and George Barna support their thesis with compelling historical evidence and extensive footnotes that document the origins of modern Christian church practices. In the process, the authors uncover the problems that emerge when the church functions more like a business organization than the living organism it was created to be."
- So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore "Jake Colsen, an overworked and disillusioned pastor, happens into a stranger who bears an uncanny resemblance (in manner) to the apostle John. A number of encounters with John as well as a family crisis lead Jake to a new understanding of what his life should be like: one filled with faith bolstered by a steady, close relationship with the God of the universe. Facing his own disappointment with Christianity, Jake must forsake the habits that have made his faith rote and rediscover the love that captured his heart when he first believed. Compelling and intensely personal, SO YOU DON’T WANT TO GO TO CHURCH ANYMORE relates a man’s rebirth from performance-based Christianity to a loving friendship with Christ that affects all he does, thinks, and says. As John tells Jake, “There is nothing the Father desires for you more than that you fall squarely in the lap of his love and never move from that place for the rest of your life."
- Church Refugees -Sociologists reveal why people are DONE with church but not their faith "Sociologists Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope reveal the results of a major study about the exodus from the American church. And what they’ve discovered may surprise you... 1)Church refugees aren’t who you’d expect. Among those scrambling for the exits are the church’s staunchest supporters and leaders. 2) Leaving the church doesn’t mean abandoning the faith. Some who are done with church report they’ve never felt spiritually stronger. "
- The Starfish Movement "Most of us have read about the movement that Jesus launched. We just don’t know how to continue what he began, other than to imitate the American church model. What if we discovered how to fully participate in the movement that Jesus originally intended? This movement was designed to include, engage and inspire. However, somewhere along the way, Christian leaders began imitating the leaders who went before them instead of imitating Jesus. They became immeshed in church programs and issues of Christian subculture. As a result, most never experienced the power of the unstoppable mission of Jesus." [NOTE: ** Disclainer ** I do not necessarily endorse the conclusions this author comes to. I will cover this in my review of this book]
I plan to review these four books in the weeks to come.
Another book has just been released that also captures what is going on around the world .. in this book is the following statement that I relate with:
"Dr. Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope call them “The Dones,” in their book Church Refugees, published in 2015. The book is subtitled, “Sociologists reveal why people are DONE with church but not their faith” and helps us to understand this heretofore unidentified group of believers. They describe the Dones as high-capacity people, who were deeply involved in their local fellowships until they become stifling to their own journey. For years they sought to help reform it, only to find their efforts and their passion stifled by a bureaucracy that resisted change. Finally, seeing no other way for their faith to survive, they made a conscious decision to leave the congregational model and find growth, fellowship, and mission beyond it."
- Jacobsen, Wayne. Beyond Sundays (Kindle Locations 297-302). BookBaby. Kindle Edition.
- Beyond Sundays "People are abandoning our religious institutions in droves. In the last few decades sixty-five million Americans who once attended a local church, no longer do. About half of those no longer self-identify as Christian, but over thirty-one million still do and are seeking a more relevant faith beyond Sunday-morning Christianity. What do we make of this exodus and how will it affect the future of the church? Does it portend the end of Western Christianity? Wayne Jacobsen doesn’t think so. Having met with thousands of people around the world who are done with religious institutions, he is more hopeful than ever that this phenomenon might help revitalize the church Jesus is building. Whether you attend a local church or you’re done with it, how we respond will have repercussions for generations to come. This is our opportunity to embrace God’s work in a wider way than any single institution can contain."
This ain't your Mama's church .. this is Jesus' church .. without walls, with and in community AND in the marketplace, beyond Sundays .. just like in Acts 2:
"How did 5,000 strangers in the book of Acts become such a family that they cared enough about each other to sell their possessions to meet each others need? And, all that without a program to tell people how to do it? ... Real community is not something human effort can produce, but is the joyous fruit of people learning to live in the Father's love, and open enough to let others in, It is spontaneous and a pure blessing when it happens." W. Jacobsen
Stay tuned ... freedom ain't just from the government .. it is from religion as well!
2 Corinthians 3:17 "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]"
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