Excesses in the 'Church' Part II

I want to follow up on the thinking of the previous post, "Excesses in the 'Church.' " If you haven't read it, now is the time to do so.

Having already taken a brief look at some of the more obvious nuttiness available in a 'church' near you, I find a need to ask a few questions:
Q: Is it a sin to blow a police whistle in 'church'?
Q: Is it a sin to blow a shofar in 'church'?
Q: Is it a sin to turn on a bubble machine in 'church'?
Q: Is it a sin to wave a flag in 'church'?

A: Well, not necessarily.. I don't suppose...but....


Q: Do any of these things have anything to do with the Ekklesia of Jesus Christ?

A: No. Nothing whatsoever.


If you read the entire Charles Carrin article to which I referred in "Excesses in the 'Church,' " you will have read the following: "Thousands of conscientious Christians are leaving denominational churches weekly and looking for new places to worship. Many have seen the 'hand writing on the wall' and are abandoning their sinking ships. Even Southern Baptist Churches are on the endangered list. It is estimated at their present rate of decrease the Southern Baptist Convention will be gone in just five generations. Many Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopalian bodies will not last that long. Seekers from these declining churches are visiting Charismatic Churches. They need a safe haven. Wise churches welcome these wanderers, provide them with compassion, an opportunity to worship, give them acceptance and a safe-haven. But that rarely happens. When these new comers appear on the back row they encounter a similar reception for which Paul chastised the Corinthians. The newcomers hear no familiar songs, see nothing similar to their past, and are blasted out by the noise. In time they become 'drop outs' from the Kingdom. How tragic! Paul would be outraged. Before going farther, I must say what my heart believes: Charismatic Churches that are needlessly struggling and dying could reverse that condition overnight if they would listen to Paul’s advice. Use common sense! Stop scaring off the ones God wants you to convert!"

Folks, Charismatic or not, quiet or riotous, the 'church' paradigm has no part with the Biblical Ekklesia found in the New Testament. With all due respect, Carrin's advice may well be good and practical advice for growing 'churches', and, I will grant you, leans more toward the Bible than the alternative he describes, but God doesn't want 'churches' anyway.

I repeat, God Does Not Want 'Churches'.
If He did, He would have given us instructions on that point, and He gave none.
Instead, He gave us plentiful instruction and example of His Ekklesia.

Does it really matter if our unbiblical 'church' is slightly (often very slightly) more Biblical than the 'church' next door when they are both fundamentally unbiblical? If you don't know what I am talking about in contrasting the 'church' and the Ekklesia you can start here, but it really boils down to this: 'churches' are primarily viewer oriented with a professional pastor class, whereas the Ekklesia is primarily participant oriented with unsalaried elders-not-lords. 'Churches' are grown with artificial fertilizers and filled with artificial sweeteners and empty carbs, whereas the Ekklesia is wholesome, organic, and nutritious. 'Churches' are noisy in spirit even when they don't have noisy services, whereas the Ekklesia is tranquil in spirit, quieted like a weaned child. 'Churches' are the traditions of men, whereas the Ekklesia is formed of the traditions of Jesus Himself, given to us from His own mouth and through His Apostles.

'Churches' are cisterns, broken cisterns that you have made for yourselves that can hold no water, whereas the Ekklesia is the fountain through which Living Waters flow. (Jeremiah 2: 13)

Let's try it the Bible way.