Re-thinking how we do Church

The following was written by Ross King on Jan 8 2004. it is long, but well worth the read.

REASONS TO (perhaps) RETHINK YOUR church SITUATION:
If you judge your community of faith primarily by the preaching and the music on Sunday morning, you might want to rethink the way you're doing church.(1 Corinthians 1-3, esp. 1:17, 2:3-5, 3:4-15, and 4:6-7)
If the whole of your involvement is from 10 to 12 on Sundays, you might want to rethink the way you're doing church. (Acts 2:42-47 and4:33-35)
If you are a member (or whatever you call it at your particular faith community) of your church and you've never actually had a real conversation with the primary ("senior") pastor, you might want to rethink the way you're doing church.(see above)
If the teaching pastor of your church has become an across-the-nation celebrity, be careful. That's all I'm going to say about that one. Be careful. Oh, and pray for him. His job (and his responsibility) will get tougher as he gets more famous and in-demand. (James 3:1, Matthew 23)
If any of your pastors drive $60,000 cars (an admittedly ambiguous, but certainly not unfair figure), you might want to rethink the way you're doing church. (1 Timothy 6:3-21, 1 John 3:16-18, 1 Thessalonians 2:6-9, Luke 6:20-24)
If you’ve known your pastor for a significant period of time (an intentionally ambiguous phrasing) and you’ve never heard him admit that he is wrong or was ever wrong, you might want to rethink the way you’re doing church.
If you find that you're consistently criticizing your church and/or its leadership, but you never lovingly share those frustrations with your pastors, you might want to rethink the way you're doing church. (Acts 2:42, 1 Timothy 4:1-6, 2 Timothy 2:23-26 and 4:2-5, Titus 2 and 3, Ephesians 4:25-32 and 5:21, Matthew 5:23-25)
If you find that you're consistently criticizing your church and/or its leadership, and you have lovingly shared those frustrations with your pastors, but nothing has changed and you're still frustrated, what are you doing there in the first place? And don't give me that "God has called me to this church to help get it straight" business. That's a crock, and you are part of the problem, not part of the solution. You're probably driving your pastor crazy. You're probably in sin. If you want to change a church, pastor it. Or at least, pray for it. Serve it. Love it. But don't pester it. (same passages as above, plus Psalm 133, Colossians 2:1-5, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4)
If none of your closest friends are part of your church, you might want to rethink the way you're doing church.(same passages as above)
If you don't trust your pastor(s), or if you are always suspicious of their actions and/or words, please rethink the way you are doing church.(same passages as the last three, not to mention Romans 13)
If your pastor consistently gives cheap tips (or, God forbid, plan-of-salvation tracts instead of tips) to waiters and waitresses, you might want to rethink the way you’re doing church. By the same token, if your pastor is always trying to get a cheap deal, you might want to rethink. There’s a difference between stewardship and stingy-ness. (1 Timothy 6, Jeremiah 22:13-14, Isaiah 58:1-7)
If you don't consistently, sacrificially give money to your church, you might want to rethink the way you're doing church. (Matthew 6, 2 Corinthians 8)
If your church has a congregation-wide vote to make all of its major decisions, you might want to rethink the way you're doing church.
If your pastor’s teaching/living never confuses or frustrates you, you might want to rethink the way you’re doing church.(John 6, Luke 6:22-26)
If your church is so big that you begin to see the Acts 2 model as impossible, impractical, or irrelevant, you might want to rethink the way you’re doing church.
I think that’s enough for now. As always, dialogue is welcome. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I hope to provide you with a few questions that I think deserve a Spirit-filled, biblical answer. And I realize that it's difficult to find a church home that really fulfills the biblical mandates as you understand them. I feel very blessed to be in a church situation where the leadership and membership are honestly seeking the Truth. I pray the same for all of God's children. Blessings!
1/8/2004