So You Left the Church, Now What? (Podcast–22 min)
I know the feeling. You’ve had enough! It was the last straw! Whatever the problem is, you’re not going back. You’re not alone. People are leaving the institutional churches in droves. Each of us have our own specific reasons, but the issue is much bigger than that. Yet, we are not abandoning our faith, nor our love for God, we just can no longer be part of the institutional church system. Something is drastically wrong. Church has changed over the past fifty years. But more so, it has changed from its original design two thousand years ago. Nowhere in the Bible do we see any form of church as it exists today. In fact, the early followers of Jesus would not recognize what we call “church” in any way. That alone tells us that we do not need any of the present forms, programs, services, etc., to be followers of Jesus, nor for God to recognize us as His followers. And that is the essence of what our faith is about. Jesus didn’t come to establish a new religion, but to fulfill the prophecies of the prophets of Israel that spoke of a coming Messiah. He is that Messiah! He came to announce the arrival of the long awaited Kingdom of God. He is the living begotten Son of God. He is the King who will come again to rule this earth and call forth everyone who has shown loyalty to Him and His mission and gather us together in His Kingdom. The Bible refers to this in the Greek language of the Bible as the “episunagoge” (2 Thessalonians 2:1, Hebrews 10:25). It is the “gathering to Him” that will occur at His return, when we will be all gathered together with Him—a multitude which no man can number, from every nation, tribe, language, and people group (Revelations 7:9-17). This is our hope, what we look forward to and wait expectantly for. But in the meantime, what do we do?
What About Worship?
I think the essence of our dilemma is found in better understanding what worship is. Here is our problem. We attend a “worship” service, which, by its very name, implies that we are doing acts of worship that God either expects or requires, or at the very least, He is pleased with. When that no longer exists, how do we please God? How do we express our love for him in worship? These are valid questions from someone who truly desires to seek and follow Him. In today’s worship services, we are led to sing love songs to God. Surely, He must desire this and be pleased with it. We also may pray, though led by a professional, there is a corporate sense of unified purpose. And, of course, we hear “message from God” himself, so we are told, through his “messenger,” as though it is God’s chosen way to speak to us. Hence, our modern system of religious meetings has led us to believe that God is honored by our attendance of them, and that they are a critical, even central, component of our faith. So, what happens if we don’t attend anymore? Will God be angry with us, or as displeased with us as we were led to believe by those imploring us weekly to “not forsake our assembling of ourselves?” Yet, nowhere in scriptures does God tell us to have a “worship service.” I am not saying that nothing good has come from these, but we have been misled into thinking that these meetings are designed by God, the sole, or central, expression of our faith—that this is how God works and wants things done. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. This should give you some relief. But if God doesn’t require us to attend a worship service, then what are we to do? And, how did the first followers of Jesus understand worship?
What is Worship?
The first time we see the word “worship” is when Abraham is told by God to sacrifice His son, Isaac. We see in Genesis 22 that Abraham takes his servant and his son to a mountain. He finds a suitable site to offer a sacrifice and tells his servant to wait for him while he and his son go “worship” the Lord. The worship that Abraham was giving to God involved a sacrifice—a heavy one at that—for God had asked him to sacrifice Isaac on the altar. We know that God never allowed him to do so, for He stopped him just as Abraham had raised the knife to slay his son. It wasn’t the death of Isaac that would please God, it was the loyalty of Abraham’s heart, that he would hold nothing back from God, who provided all things, especially this son who he had waited a century for. It was his willing obedience without concern for the outcome, that would bring God’s affirmation. There is usually a great bond between a man and his son. Yet, there is a greater bond to be had, and that is between a man and his God. This can be seen in every person’s life. It is what we sacrifice everything for, our time, our relationships, our money and resources, all in hopes of achieving, or attaining something. To know who someone’s god is, is to see what they are willing to sacrifice for—yes, even those closest to them. What we worship is what we live for.
Worship in the New Testament
In the New Testament, Paul picks up on this and gives it some flesh and bone. In his letter to the Romans, chapter 12, verses 1 and 2, we see how he exhorts his readers to give their bodies as “a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable.” What does this mean? Paul gets it from Jesus, who tells His followers that unless they “deny themselves and take up their cross” they cannot be His disciples. The cross meant only one thing in Jesus’ day—death. To pick up a cross meant that you were on your way to die. A dead man had no more choices of his own, no life of his own. And Paul further expands on this by challenging his readers to die to themselves. He says that our lives are no longer ours to do as we please, for we have been bought with the shed blood of Jesus. He was led to the cross to die, not to pay the penalty for his own sins, for He had none, but for ours. His purpose was to make the love of His Father known by giving his life “a ransom for many.” Jesus knew that His life was not His own. He gave unfettered obedience to His Father, whose mission He was here to accomplish. Jesus never challenged His followers to do anything that He, himself, had not already done. His followers are to be like Him, offering our lives to His service and mission. Paul said it so well in his letter to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Paul repeatedly calls himself a “bond-servant of Christ,” which is another word for slave. His choice of words was not meant to portray Jesus as a taskmaster, cruelly demanding service to himself, but rather Paul’s own decision to return to Jesus the same loyalty and obedience he had given to His Father, a life for a life.
Jesus Talks About Worship
Jesus also talks about worship when he meets the woman at the well, who asks him where the best place is to worship, where the Samaritans (her own people) said one should worship, or in Jerusalem where the Jews said one should worship. He says, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. . .Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:21, 23-24). It wasn’t about a meeting, or a location, but something much deeper. Unfortunately, much of what we call church was inherited from the Jewish synagogue or the Old Testament priesthood. But Jesus came to show us a better way. It is the Spirit that searches the depths and thoughts of every person, who knows the truth of who we are, what we think, what we value, and we are truly loyal to Him.
The essence of worship, then, is not a place or time, showing up at a worship service, and performing certain rituals, but it is our whole life expression that comes from a surrendered heart, that no longer seeks its own will and way, but lives solely to express to the world who their heavenly Father and Creator, the one true living God really is!
What Do I Do Next?
So, what do you do now? From my own experience, and from what I have learned from the scriptures, here is where you begin:
Don’t Panic. Seriously. If you have been going to church for a long period of time, or most of your life, your first thought may be “what have I done?” You may experience feelings of guilt, especially Sunday morning when you “are supposed to be in church.” But relax, these will eventually subside. Remember that nowhere does Jesus command us to go to church. There are no penalties in scripture for not being in a church service or hearing a sermon. Those penalties, usually spoken by well meaning friends or misinformed clergy, originate from the traditions of men, not scripture. You aren’t breaking any rules by staying home Sunday morning. Sunday morning services are not mandated anywhere in scripture.
Be still and listen. I found that Sunday morning, instead of my normal rushing around to get ready to go to services, and more rushing to get there in time, is a good time to simply sit still and be quiet in the presence of the Lord. The Psalmist said, “be still and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10). God often waits for us to be still before He speaks to us. Take this time, and instead of hurrying, be still. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and simply sit. Take extra time to read His Word, ponder it, listen for the Spirit’s voice. You may be surprised that God is ready and willing to speak to you (even on Sunday morning), when He has your full attention. If you like to journal or blog, it may be a time to put down some reflections from your reading or meditation. But however you feel led, slow way down and reflect. There is a misconception that extends from our culture that we need to have an “expert” tell us what God is saying. God isn’t looking for experts. He’s looking for humble, loyal people who are listening. That’s the beauty of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, of His dwelling within us. Anyone “with an ear” can “hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.” Man’s criterion for “hearing from God” was not put forth in the scriptures. In the Kingdom era, all followers have equal access to the Father. Peter reminds us that we are all priests in God’s eyes (1 Peter 2: 5), which simply means that we are God’s representatives on earth to bring him to a lost world, and them to Him. We must all learn to follow Jesus ourselves, not follow someone else who says they are following Him. We must learn to hear that still small voice for ourselves. We must hear the whisper of His Spirit as He teaches us, leads us, guides us, comforts us, encourages us, and even chastises us. It’s how we learn to be His.
Get together with one or two others. For far too long we have ignored the simple words of Jesus and have chosen to believe the traditions of men. Jesus simply said that “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst” (Matthew 18:20). This verse gets overlooked, even ignored, until it is convenient for our own purpose. But Jesus was giving a basic principle, an instruction, that because His Spirit dwells within us, He is present when we come together, even with only two or three. We have been told that we must have vast numbers, a formal meeting place, and professional people to lead us, or else we’re not connected. But Jesus never says any of that. He simply says that He will be present when even two or three gather in His name. Why did Jesus say “two or three?” We are not told, but perhaps it extends from His own experience of fellowship with His Father, and with the Holy Spirit. The intimacy of this triune communion is reflected in the Gospels, especially in the book of John (cf. John 13-17). And when we choose to meet with one or two others who are seeking God and the fellowship of the saints, we will find that He will lead and direct the time together as we submit to Him. Suddenly, all that Paul talked about to the Corinthians will begin to make sense, what he says will happen when we come together (1 Corinthians 14:26). When I meet with another brother or sister to fellowship, I always leave feeling more edified than I ever felt after attending a regular church meeting. Perhaps it is because when we do things according to God’s design, we reap the intended benefits. Could it be that God’s ways are better than our traditions?
Love one another. I remember after I left the institutional church and began meeting in my home with a small group of disciples, I made a statement at one of our gatherings, that we know how to “have church,” but we don’t know how to love one another. And that is the way it is today. We know how to have meetings, even ones that are inspirational and uplifting, but we don’t know how to live out some of the very basic commands that Jesus gave us, like “love one another.” Since Jesus never commanded us to hold meetings, but he did command us to love one another, it seems that it should be a priority to learn how to do so. It is impossible to truly love one another by a smile and a hand shake every week. Although these are not inappropriate, they don’t address the commandment to love. Love is committal. Love is sacrificial. Jesus said, “greater love has on one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). The implication within the context of this statement is that Jesus would literally lay down his life for us, his friends. He defines his friends, here, as those who do what he commands. And Jesus did give his very life on the Cross for us, the ultimate sacrifice. But it is not likely that we will have the opportunity to sacrifice our life on behalf of our friends or family, and even if we do, we can only do so once. So, how do we “lay down our life” for our friends? This phrase is like Jesus’ requirements for discipleship, such as “take up your cross and follow me,” or “give up your life, and you will find it.” This is all in relation to our love for Him. Here, again, is he requiring martyrdom in order to enter His Kingdom? That opportunity is not afforded to most disciples. But to “lay down our life,” or to “take up our cross,” is a dying to our own selves, our will, our desires, our ambitions. It is not just putting the needs of others before our own, but it is putting other’s needs in place of our own. By doing so we place our own life and needs in the hands of our heavenly Father, who is pleased with our actions, and will supply all our needs (Matthew 6:19-34). To love one another, then, is to go above and beyond the weekly handshake and head nod. It means to be involved in each other’s lives, to make the necessary sacrifices on behalf of the good of others. Didn’t Jesus do that for us? He did not come to do His own will, but rather that of His Father (John 6:38). His whole life was lived, not to do anything for himself, but for us who were lost, at the direct command of His Father. We, as His followers, His disciples, are to follow His example, and do the Father’s will. Our love for God, then, is shown in our obedience to Him (John 14:15), and our obedience to him means to love one another. Likewise, we give our lives sacrificially, not that we can redeem humanity from sin as Jesus did, but that others will come to see that sacrificial love of Christ in us, and consequently be drawn to Him (John 13:35).
Serve others every day. I had a grandiose misconception in my early years in the church, when, true to form, large ministries, large missionary works, large churches, and well-known teachers and preachers were put forth as the standard of excellence or greatness. As a young man, I wanted to do “great things” for God, so I set out to have a great ministry. But, here again, Jesus never told us to do any of this. In fact, all this “greatness” is simply an extension of our own ambitions to be great, of the worldly mindset that “bigger is better,” where individuals who build big things are deemed successful and blessed of God. I can’t help but think that Jesus’ disciples may have had similar ideas. They came to Jesus wanting to be seated on his right or left when he comes into His Kingdom. But Jesus checks them on it and tells them that to be great, they must become the servant of all (Mark 9:35). This goes against our very nature to want to be first, to be recognized, to be well-known, which is the expression of “the pride of life,” which John warns so much against (1 John 2:16-17), Exactly. You see, we’ve been duped into transferring the world’s system into the church system. But Paul says, “have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who though He was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead he gave up His divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave . . . and humbled himself in obedience. . .” (Philippians 2:5-8). He rejected greatness for servanthood. When Jesus taught, notice that He didn’t teach about church, He taught about the Kingdom. He didn’t come to announce the arrival of the church, but rather that the Kingdom of God had arrived. His teachings were all about this Kingdom. And what is valued in the Kingdom is humility. Servants are humble. They don’t bring attention to themselves. They simply serve. They rarely feel they deserve anything for their efforts. Yet, when we serve like this, there is a deeper, greater joy within us than the “greatness” of big things. We don’t need a degree or special training to serve. Anyone can serve. A big ministry or church isn’t greatness in the Kingdom. For Jesus, himself, said that “many who are first, will be last, and the last first” (Matthew 20:16). Servants are last in this world, but first in the Kingdom! Jesus even said, after washing his disciple’s feet, that he did not come to be served but to serve. Then he told his disciples to go and do likewise (John 13:15). That, my brother, my sister, is God’s plan for our lives. Let’s get serving! It can be as simple as helping a neighbor, serving your co-workers, your family, the sick, the elderly, the poor, etc. Let the Lord show you, daily, who needs served. And as you do, watch how the Lord is glorified as others see His love coming through you in your unselfish service.
Live a life of generosity. In the traditional system we are told we must give ten percent of all our income to the “Lord’s work.” The Lord’s work, in that case, is defined as the maintenance of the church system. Interestingly, the budgets of churches are all about the same. In almost all cases, 50% of their budget goes to salaries, and about 35% goes to buildings and maintenance. Another 10% goes to programs. That leaves, usually about 5% for missions outreach. So, for every dollar you give, 50 cents goes to the pastor’s salary, 35 cents to the building, 10 cents to programs, and the remainder, about five or ten cents, may go to missions, or whatever else the board deems suitable or necessary. Are the poor being served? The scriptures tell us to do so. Is the Gospel going forth to new territory? The scriptures tell us that it should. Are the elderly and widows being helped? Again, scripture shows this to be the church’s responsibility. As shown above, the majority of the money taken in goes to maintaining systems that neither Jesus, nor the Apostles, ever instructed us to have. What they did tell us to do—serve the poor, elderly, widows, and orphans—does not get done. I have found many opportunities to help those in need, and when I give, all my money goes to meet the need at hand, not someone else’s salary or building budget. Jesus told us to be generous (Matthew 6:22-23). In fact, it was one of the indicators that the Lord is at work in our lives. We can be generous because we know Who supplies all our needs. We can even be generous to a waitress who depends on tips. So often Christians are known for leaving a scripture tract in place of a tip. This is rarely perceived well from the recipient’s viewpoint. But a generous tip is remembered, and God is glorified. Scriptures abound of ways that we can help others, and God will give us those opportunities as we allow Him to open our eyes and we exercise our faith and obedience in giving generously.
Read the Word and pray daily. To some, this may seem to go without saying. However, in today’s busy culture, most churches do not encourage daily fellowship with God through scripture reading and prayer, and of those who do, it is heeded by a small remnant. Most people simply are not disciplined enough to set time aside each day to be still and read God’s Word and pray. But this is an essential component of our faith, that if left undone, can quickly lead to our apostasy. In my experience, I have found this to be a key indicator of a disciple’s desire to know the Father, and the greater the seeking, the more likely we are to remain faithful to the Lord. The Bible likens God’s word to the milk that is necessary for the existence of newborn babies. Peter exhorts us to “long for it” (2 Peter 2:2). Likewise, it is necessary “so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” Growth means more than just acquiring knowledge. Growth refers to the change brought about in our lives, from who we were before we became a disciple, to that of a “new creation” (1 Corinthians 5:17), having a “renewed mind” (Romans 12:1) that we may “become conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). Furthermore, Paul describes the Word of God as having a cleansing effect (Ephesians 5:26) upon us. He exhorts the Colossians to “let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16). He then tells us that we need to teach and admonish one another (Romans 15:14). Growth also leads to the bearing of fruit, which Jesus said is essential if we are to remain in Him (John 15:2-8). This fruit is the righteous life that we live as a result of the changes Christ makes in us. His Word changes us. I recommend that people get onto a yearly Bible reading plan, reading all of scripture through each year. By doing this, we see the whole scope of God’s plan, the context of all that he is speaking about in scripture. In addition, I found that I am never at a loss of what to read, because it is part of the daily plan. You can always read more if there is something on your heart to examine closer, to study, or to meditate on. But knowing all of God’s Word, not just cherry picked verses, keeps us from diverting into pretexts of various sorts, and stabilizes our faith as we come to know the whole story of God’s creation and see His marvelous plan unfold. This is discussed more in my article, The Whole Story.
Likewise, prayer and meditation go together with our reading of the Word. God speaks to us through His Word, as the Holy Spirit teaches us and enlightens our understanding as we read, making it fully practical to each of our lives. Meditation is allowing the Holy Spirit to zero in on certain applications from scripture that He wants us to understand and apply to our lives. Prayer follows directly in line, as we communicate directly to our heavenly Father. We learn to pray by reading the many prayers in scripture. Jesus taught His disciples to pray simply, and His model prayer is one of the most widely recited prayers, even today. But it’s not the recitation of these prayers that God is wanting, but our simple unhindered, open communication to him. Our heart to His.
Multiply. In the beginning, when God created humanity, his first command to them was to “be fruitful and multiply” and to “fill the earth.” This is considered the first of the 613 Old Testament commandments given by God. It seems that, still today, people don’t have a problem with fulfilling that command, even those who do not follow God, much less care whether He commanded it. It has been built into us to want to multiply, to leave something, or someone, behind us who will outlive our short existence. In the Kingdom, this commandment takes on a different form. Right before Jesus left to return to His Father, He commanded us to “go and make disciples.” But then he stated, “of all nations.” He wanted the Good News of His Kingdom to be spread throughout the whole world. Anyone can do that. So, what he first commanded humanity to do in order to populate the entire world, He later commanded His followers to do to populate His Kingdom and expand it throughout the earth. This is done by simply making God known to all you come in contact with, first, by treating them with love, mercy, fairness, and integrity, and, second, by taking the opportunities given you to tell them of the “hope that lies within you” (1 Peter 3:15). Next, when you find someone who apparently has a real heart hunger to know more about God, you ask them if they would like to be a disciple of Jesus. You then lay out the cost of following Jesus (Luke 14:24-33). If they agree, then tell them that you can make them a disciple of Jesus and begin to teach them how to do the very things listed here, as Jesus stated, “teaching them to obey all my commandments” (Matthew 28:20). If they do not want to be a Jesus follower, do not condemn them, or pronounce judgment on them, but let them know that if, or when, they are ready to do so, that your offer still stands.
Repeat. In other words, keep doing the things discussed above. Keep actively seeking God, to know Him, obey Him, and to make Him known to all. That has now become our lives. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God, living in a world that is destined for judgment and ultimate destruction, but we have Good News! Though destruction and judgment are imminent, there is a way of escape for whosoever will choose its path.
What about the clergy? Yes, anyhow, what about the clergy? My suggestion is to leave them be. They, like you, must be led by God, and only He knows their hearts. Some are well-intentioned men and women who truly have a heart to follow the Lord and to serve Him, and simply chose to do the only thing they knew to do, or what they were told they should do—become a pastor or missionary. I get that. As a young man I, too, received the same advice. Others do so for other reasons—power, fame or fortune. Either way, the only place in scripture where we see such professional clergy is in the Old Testament. But there is a new way put forth by Jesus and His disciples, where, as a result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit who now indwells those who are His, we have a direct contact with the Father through His Son. The purpose of a priest is to represent God to the people, and to represent the people to God. In the Old Testament this was necessary because God’s dwelling was in a tabernacle or a temple, behind a thick veil, and He was inapproachable, except by a blood sacrifice. The priests played an important role in offering these sacrifices on behalf of the people. Their job was essential to bridge the gap between God and man. But Jesus came as our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16) and bridged the gap once for all time (Hebrews 10:14). We no longer need another mediator between the Father and us. The veil of the Temple was torn in two (Matthew 27:51)! We have one, the Son, who has paved the way with His own blood for us to go directly to the Father. Essentially, the clergy, today, are not needed. I wouldn’t tell them that. They need to find that out for themselves when they are ready to bear that news, and many already have, and some will never be. As we discussed earlier, all of Christ’s followers are priests, not in offering blood sacrifices on behalf of others, that was done on the Cross by Jesus, but by offering ourselves as living sacrifices, people possessed by the Spirit of God, who strive to make Him known to an estranged creation, and to announce His Kingdom’s arrival to a lost and fallen world.
You are part of the Body of Jesus. The analogy of a body that Paul uses in His letters to describe the entire mass of followers on earth helps us to understand our role currently, that though Christ was present in this world in bodily form once, and although that body was sacrificed, died, yet was risen from the dead, and was taken up into heaven to be with His Father. But Jesus’ presence has not ceased in the world, but has actually multiplied as the numbers of His followers has grown exponentially, who collectively function as one Body with Jesus as the Head, who directs the activity of each part. That direction occurs because He inhabits his people via the Holy Spirit. It is this Spirit that connects with our spirit and gives us direct contact with our Head (1 Corinthians 2:16), from whom we receive our spiritual nourishment, instructions, and purpose. We are connected directly to Jesus. Our worship comes from a heart that is fully loyal and obedient to Him. For we no longer live for ourselves, but “for him who died and rose again,” as “living sacrifices, which is our spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1). And now we are focused on and directed by him through His written Word, and the Spirit within, who continues to “write His laws on our hearts” that we may be directed daily by them to participate in and fulfill the mission of God.
So, in conclusion, we see that it is not a meeting that God has required of us, nor any of the trappings that have been added to the faith over the years,
“He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God? ” Micah 6:8
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul.” Deuteronomy 10:12
Categories: Ekklesia Community, Kingdom of God, New Disciples
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