Don't abandon the idea of church
Maggi Dawn challenges us to rediscover community rather than abandoning church:
So what do we with the call of the gospel to become part of the Church, if our experience of Church thus far is just too bad to overcome? The answer to this dilemma, I believe, is not to abandon the idea of church, but to rediscover what it means for church to be fully a community. This applies equally to denominational churches that have lost their way, and to new groups that are afraid of being too committed for fear of getting hurt again. The answer in both cases is not to withdraw, but to create community. And this will not come to anyone without cost and some degree of hurt along the way, because it's in the nature of creating community that it is both challenging and expensive to the individual. A community that doesn't challenge your ego and upset your equilibrium from time to time is probably not getting to grips with the faith.
amen...
i think the secret to truly love your church is in loving the community of believers that gather there. and, that's the essential existence of the early church! the first churches were not called "church" bc of the building they met in..... they didn't have a designated building! they met in homes. it was the gathering that made it "church".
we should have the same passion and dedication to our fellow believers as the early church possessed and expressed. iron can and SHOULD sharpen other iron. we should let ourselves be challenged and changed by other believers.
we don't love one another enough. we love the choir, or the preaching, or the new paint/carpet/choir robes..... but we don't love the people.
and its the people that make the church!
wherever two or more are gathered........
Great line:
"A community that doesn't challenge your ego and upset your equilibrium from time to time is probably not getting to grips with the faith."
There is also room to add, "in humility and love" after equilibrium. It's really tough to do both well which is likely why so few churches/believers ever try.