The "local church," is often understood to be a local, man-made, physical, building. But an assembly or gathering needs no requirement of such structure. Furthermore, this structure can potentially be a source of great calamity - due to financial expenses such as construction, electricity, alarm systems and maintenance. These expenses lead to demand for money. And how is this money obtained? Often through cleverly persuading people (though they may be poor) that they "please God" by contributing to offering collections. This is one reason why people are wise to avoid so-called "attending church." In avoiding this physical, man-made, frequently underutilized, building, they avoid potential mischief of leaders. And the "Catholic church" is a prime example of obvious calamity. Although Luther made some progress in reform, there was never really a clean break from Catholicism.
And why are things what they are today? This is a challenging question I like to ask. How could the Catholic Church be accepted by the government of the Roman Empire? I think because of wish to control people. Control religion and you can control people. Clever leaders have understood this for years and have used it for gain. With slight adjustments, early Christianity was fit for political motives. Avoiding the Jewish roots of Christianity, the Roman Calendar was fitted with new "holidays" such as Easter. I think Paul would have been disheartened if he were still alive when such changes took place, because it is known that he, being a Pharisee, practiced Mosaic Law. So Sunday became the "Christian Sabbath." Yet there is no commandment in the Bible that Sunday is to be a holy day, or even a day of rest.
Every Sunday, when I attended church, I have understood to wear my "Sunday clothes." Because I work, I'm not used to wearing such clothes - and sometimes I feel rather uncomfortable wearing them. If I feel uncomfortable, I will have trouble communicating well to people.
What I've been told pleases the Lord, seemed rather convenient. Once-a-week gathering, listening to some hit-and-run preaching... then left alone to face a drastically different, real, world. Instruction and words smoothly told, yet in absence of real-life acts and experience. If a pastor or preacher does not have to work, it becomes rather easy to instruct other men to "...endure hardness..." (2 Timothy 2:3 KJV). Further, he may even borrow cliches from the study of crafted pastoral books, for insight about "wisdom."
The pastor or preacher preaches. But does he work like I do? Does he know what it's like to be poor?
I'm told that God loves me and will help me. But I've known that all my life. And there is said concern about my "relationship with God," but no concern about me as a person? I find this strange.
The friends I have who care most, appear to see my potential... spiritually and athletically. They do not, for example, advise me to become a missionary in a far-away land.
So I've had to overcome a lot, just to be free from unusual and thoughtless comments made by non-examining Christians - who do not seem to be concerned about my "whole being."
I appreciate morals, but I'm greatly disheartened by "love," in which the evidence, action and proof are greatly lacking.
Consequently, the assembly and fellowship I enjoy is informal and without calamity. I'm alone at times. However, I note that a righteous man, John the Baptist, was away from conformed people. Living humbly off locust and honey, and wearing humble clothes - I'm interested that people came willingly to him in the wilderness.
Today, I do not see "pastors," "preachers" and "church leaders" living with such humility... nor even the humility of Paul, the tentmaker, who faced real physical discomforts, laboring physically, understanding industrious performance, human pain, and real-world-challenges... he could relate to common people. As a result, I understand that most of today's "church leaders" are spiritually strange at best - and at worst, quite possibly grossly fraudulent.
Sadly, rather than uphold the two greatest commandments (that make no mention of attending church), our great challenge and commandment of loving our neighbor is mistakenly escaped when we merely schedule his or her time of "assured ministry" to convenient, hourly, Sunday services. Adding to nonsense, self-examination is mistakenly escaped, when people merely say that they are "unworthy" and fail to examine how they might be more caring with evident action.
I write being a man who knows work, pain and performance, judging not without self-examination - not only working, but understanding a certain level study, health and physical fitness also, as evident by the completion of my University Degree and Phys-Ed Diploma.
