Seeking God outside the Traditonal Church

[nebula]

What do you think about the statements made in this report?

Worshiping Outside the Traditional Church Walls

Church, as most of us know it, may shrink more than 50 percent in the next couple of decades.

That's one of the major findings that top pollster George Barna focuses on, in his new book Revolution.

But what is most surprising is that it is not that Christians will be fleeing God, but instead, leaving to find more of Him elsewhere -- to have personal experiences with Him, to serve Him.

Barna, the head of Barna Research Group, said, "For a large share of those people, they're saying 'I've tried to get that out of a local or conventional church, and I just can't get it.'"

Barna's researchers are finding that some 20 million Christians are looking outside traditional church walls. They are developing new forms of fellowship and new ways to worship, such as marketplace ministries, homeschool communities, and mass worship gatherings that blow away denominational walls.

"It's these kinds of people who are saying 'I'm even willing to buck the established church if that's what it takes to honor God with everything that I do,'" Barna explained. . . .

(Click on link to read the rest)

[ayin jade]

Sounds good to me. Does it really matter how people come to fellowship with the Lord? Where is it written that all fellowship must be within a church sanctuary? If someone who attends church on Sundays has lunch time bible studies at work, and gains from it. Isnt that better than just going to church on Sunday with no weekly fellowship otherwise?

Pastor Mark Dever of Capitol Hill Baptist Church is a

[ayin jade]

Barna remarked, "There are now literally millions of people who are saying they want more of God in their life, and they're willing to do whatever it takes to get that."

This seems to sum it up. People want more of God in their lives, and this is a way to accomplish that.

[ted]

I think it's a combination of "itching ears" and a failure of modern churches to preach what the Bible says, the way it's meant to be.

Two things are going on, for the most part:

1. The Bible predicted that people will be followers of themselves, and that they will fall for false doctrines before the last days. Clearly, this is demonstrated by people leaving the church houses and forming what they feel to be better ways to worship our Lord.

On the other hand, many feel like they are not getting the truth from churches and preachers anymore. They feel like they need to have a smaller setting with a few believers that they feel comfortable with. there is good and bad to that.

Good: A smaller, more intimate setting where focus on prayer and sound teaching can be established.

Bad: It kinda limits the ministry, right? If they do invite others, it may grow to a point where they have to move out of their own setting, and thus, they are right back where they started, correct?

2. Many modern churches are relying on tactics to pump up membership. Many of these tactics are nothing more than carnival-like atmospheres designed to bring them in. The bad part is, to keep them there, some feel like they must tone down their message in order to not offend anyone. This produces a watered down message of fluff and fancy.

A fine line of discernment and faith must be adhered to in order to give people the truth in a way that leaves no doubt that they can walk out of a church and know that the Lord has blessed the service.

In summary, if we remain faithful to the Bible and God's message of salvation, the people will come. It is the truth they seek, and they shall know the truth when it touches their ears. If the truth is given, they will take it every time. We know that God remains faithful to those that love Him, and He will never let us go.

I have no real way to positively prove this, but I don't think God is too hip to fads and tricks. When a church's main focus is profit and lavish lifestyles for it's leaders, the truth will come down on it like a ton of bricks, and I don't think it's foundations are secure enough to handle the wrath of God.

By preaching the truth, we can keep God's Blessings firmly upon a church's door, and all that enter seeking Him will surely find Him.

t.

[InternalFlame]

I've been told that the smaller an acedemic class is (that being the volume of people) the more they learn because they can all personally interact with each other and the teacher.

I think this is true as well for worshiping and learning about God. I find that I get so much more out of a one-on-one discussion or a small group discussion than a preacher at church. Sure, the preacher often has good things to say, but I don't get to talk to him about it, and I also don't get to talk to other's about it. By involveing people in discussion, they are sure to get their brains active and start thinking about God .

[angels4u]

I think it's a combination of "itching ears" and a failure of modern churches to preach what the Bible says, the way it's meant to be.

Two things are going on, for the most part:

1. The Bible predicted that people will be followers of themselves, and that they will fall for false doctrines before the last days. Clearly, this is demonstrated by people leaving the church houses and forming what they feel to be better ways to worship our Lord.

On the other hand, many feel like they are not getting the truth from churches and preachers anymore. They feel like they need to have a smaller setting with a few believers that they feel comfortable with. there is good and bad to that.

Good: A smaller, more intimate setting where focus on prayer and sound teaching can be established.

Bad: It kinda limits the ministry, right? If they do invite others, it may grow to a point where they have to move out of their own setting, and thus, they are right back where they started, correct?

2. Many modern churches are relying on tactics to pump up membership. Many of these tactics are nothing more than carnival-like atmospheres designed to bring them in. The bad part is, to keep them there, some feel like they must tone down their message in order to not offend anyone. This produces a watered down message of fluff and fancy.

A fine line of discernment and faith must be adhered to in order to give people the truth in a way that leaves no doubt that they can walk out of a church and know that the Lord has blessed the service.

In summary, if we remain faithful to the Bible and God's message of salvation, the people will come. It is the truth they seek, and they shall know the truth when it touches their ears. If the truth is given, they will take it every time. We know that God remains faithful to those that love Him, and He will never let us go.

I have no real way to positively prove this, but I don't think God is too hip to fads and tricks. When a church's main focus is profit and lavish lifestyles for it's leaders, the truth will come down on it like a ton of bricks, and I don't think it's foundations are secure enough to handle the wrath of God.

By preaching the truth, we can keep God's Blessings firmly upon a church's door, and all that enter seeking Him will surely find Him.

t.

Yes, I believe too if we have to go back to the basics to be powerful christians for the Lord.

I wonder if its possible these days to come even close to this anymore

Thats why I believe these group meetings can be so powerful that they really see the Lord working and see people getting healed and other miracles.

Can it be that God keeps so many blessings from the Church because of hidden and open tolerated sins?

How many born again Christians you know around you are really so filled with the Holy Spirit that they shine ?

I don't know too many who are really getting exited even talking about the Lord.

They rather talk about other things

And many churches are so busy with always redecorating their church...

But don't forget we never find a perfect church here on earth, but I do find myself not being so upset anymore by not going to church then lets say some years ago.

And thats problaly not good either.

[Iryssa]

*nods* I think house churches are a great idea...so long as there is accountability maintained, especially in the leadership roles, whatever forms those may take. Of course, that goes for "traditional" churches as well.

I am neither anti-house-church or anti-trad.-church. So long as there is real Bible teaching, learning, accountability, ministry, prayer, and fellowship going on. I've found those things in the small Anglican church I go to, and to a lesser degree, the bigger church I used to go to...I also know of people who have found these things in house churches. So long as no one tries to be a lone ranger Christian (which is one of the dangers of this trend of moving away from churches...though it's easily avoided).

[nebula]

I really appreciated this bit on what is called "worship gypsies" -

Another interesting revolutionary form many believers are taking advantage of, is mass worship happenings.

All across the country, people Barna calls "worship gypsies" come together by the thousands to network, rock out, and extravagantly worship God.

Jason Rodriquez said, "All over the earth, God is calling people to 24/7 worship."

Rodriquez is a budding worship gypsy, going from house to house, church to church, spending hours pounding the keys and cutting loose in worship.

CBN News caught up with him at a Maryland home, where the family living there was hosting dozens of believers -- young and old, from all sorts of churches -- coming together just to praise and fellowship.

"Man, the manifest presence of God...it's a weighty presence,