Leaving the church……

These are all quotes from Jollyblogger’s great Christian blog

Jollyblogger begins by talking about a time he discovered meekness (although he didnt use that word).

-Since that time I have found it very hard to be disappointed in another Christian or another group of Christians. This doesn’t mean I don’t have disagreements with other Christians, nor does it mean I refuse to stand on my convictions. But it does mean I am always among my equals or my betters.

-While it is true that God is always with us, there is some sense in which He is present in corporate worship in a way He is not present in private worship.

-our preference for personal devotions over corporate worship in the church has more to do with the individualistic spirit of the age than it does adherence to the Bible. I am not pitting the two against each other – personal devotions and family worship are vital, but they cannot replace the worship of the gathered church

-God wants us to be in a place where we are linked together with people whom we may naturally be uncomfortable with

-in the New Testament, the ultimate step in church discipline is excommunication – removal from the gathered body of believers.

I find it curious that, in our day we value that which God calls a curse. Biblically, it is a horror to be separated from the people of God gathered to worship. Now, it is a virtue for some.

-the church is a whore, she has frequently been unfaithful to Christ, but she is the bride He chose and He has not forsaken her and it is not for you to forsake her

-Christians are unrecognizable as Christians apart from the body

I couldnt agree more with Jollyblogger and sadly less with this aspect of Messy Christian’s blog reply “So, Jollyblogger is right. We don’t have the option of leaving the church because we are the church. The only way to leave the church, is to stop believing in Christ and the mission He’s given us.”

You see, in my view there is no way of expressing our unity with the body of Christ without us playing an active part in a local expression of it. You cant demonstrate to the world ‘I am in the church’ without being in a local church.