tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post8309102051997730398..comments2023-06-09T12:46:12.932-04:00Comments on The Voice Of One Crying Out In Suburbia: A word of cautionArthur Sidohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03848508095612688493noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post-27186165856652843602011-03-04T09:04:08.127-05:002011-03-04T09:04:08.127-05:00Don,
It was good meeting you this week. We would ...Don,<br /><br />It was good meeting you this week. We would love to get together with you and your group on a more regular basis! I certainly agree that God can (and does) use all manner of gatherings to accomplish His work. Of course I also think that some forms of the gathering are more conducive to discipleship, fellowship and community than others. My goal is and always hopefully will be to encourage other Christians to look beyond the sterile, institutionalized version of “church” that they have come to assume and start asking questions and seeking more than an hour a week with the church. Again, I try not to suggest that there is no value in any of the traditions that surround the church but rather there may be ways that are better and more conducive to discipleship.<br /><br />We should grab coffee some evening!Arthur Sidohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03848508095612688493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post-16446861684291193052011-03-03T20:33:27.328-05:002011-03-03T20:33:27.328-05:00About a week ago, I had an insight into this debat...About a week ago, I had an insight into this debate about traditional vs. home church:<br /><br />The setting does not make the people; the people make the setting!<br /><br />Interpreted: God has had His men and women of faith and "fire" in every imaginable setting, exemplifying the true faith, living out salt and light, filled with the Holy Spirit, doing exploits for the Lord. Faith is not restricted because of the setting. It is restricted by "Christians" filled with unbelief and disobedience, more motivated by carnality and fellowship with the world than by fellowship with the Father and Son Who are One and Who intend the Church to one with God.<br />God's eyes roam the earth looking for hearts who are pure, not just in homes where the "true church" meets. So many people (me, too, in the past) have disparaged the traditional church, crying out, "denominationalism" in an attempt to discredit the work just because it was organized and pointing out the many denominations as proof of the division they bring (yes, I know there are problems there). I have witnessed the "denominational" spirit and attitude exhibited by the very people who point the finger at denominations and traditional churches.<br />God is seeking for people who will endeavor to keep the "unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" and who are willing to be those who work for the "unity of the faith" (Eph. 4).<br />Again, it is not the setting that makes the people (although it can have some influence), it really is the people who make the setting. As my father-in-law has stated:<br /><br />We need to be thermostats that regulate and influence the environment rather than thermometers that only register and reflect the environment!<br />May God help us to turn up the heat!!!Don Litchfieldnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6643715.post-18585540466554766182011-03-02T23:22:47.880-05:002011-03-02T23:22:47.880-05:00I like throwing stones. It's easy and fun and ...I like throwing stones. It's easy and fun and it stirs up all kinds of wonderful anti-establishment sentiment inside me.<br /><br />I need to acknowledge when something doesn't resonate (institutional church), define it concisely, and then move on.<br /><br />I'm much more loving and humble when I acknowledge that God can use whatever vessel he wants to advance his kingdom, no matter how I feel about it. I don't have to buy in to every expression of church. I just need to confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that if God can raise Jesus from the dead, he can animate a 501c3 organization through his spirit.Joel Zehringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05760882382440451995noreply@blogger.com