The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of modern day church

The Good.
Having hung around 'church' in the UK for 20 years or so, its interesting to reflect from time to time.  There's a lot of good happening in Christianity today and its always amazing to see people just living to please God and getting busy doing things to be his witnesses in this dark world.  Projects that get loads of people focussed  on Jesus can only be good, and when they become Christians it is fantastic news. My own journey is day to day educating the hard to reach in communities in the UK for TLG a Christian Charity.  I share the desire to see people repent and follow Jesus.  I also take my hat off to anyone who steps up to the plate and gets involved in God's work.

The Bad
Most church leaders are not at all aware of the following information:  The practise of meeting in a hall with a central leadership directing the meeting is not what God intended for Church.  The model where leaders preside under or over the congregation is anti-scriptural and leads to a separation amongst equals.  This in turn leads to people following people instead of following Christ... the whole point of being a disciple. Paul the apostle meets these issues head on in 1 Corinthians and goes on to underline the practise all the apostles taught and agreed upon - a fellowship meal - a family environment - leadership but no hierarchy - open and equal sharing.  Historically the church can be seen, starting with the early church fathers, to stray from what the apostles taught about meeting together.  Having great social action programs is Good but if the hub of the activity is not biblical, this creates a problem for good people who want to genuinely out-pour their lives for God.  Our example of rejecting God for some human-leader is 1 Sam 8 and the first 4 chapters of 1 Corinthians.

The Ugly
Some church leaders are aware of the above and do nothing about it.  And that is ugly.  Knowing scripture warns of mixing 'the done thing' with 'my agenda' should be enough.  However this isn't enough.  If you aren't doing God's thing then you are just doing what Man does.  Didn't we see all that before?  Didn't we repent and turn from wicked ways?  Yet many live in two worlds, the world of wanting to please God and the world of ugly self promotion.  The separation among leaders and the congregation is allowed to become the springboard to polish the narcissism which all humans are plagued by.  If we understood what it took to have all authority, power and dominion handed to Jesus so he could be our leader and head of the church, we would be on our face with our crowns offered to him.  But alas... so many get caught up in the 'self,' missing that 'Bless' has 'less' as the main point.  Some church leaders need to study the one thing Jesus hated - the practices of the Nicolatians.  The word means 'suppression of the people.'  So many leaders are presiding over the people and this makes them subject to that leader, especially in this institutional society we live in.  If you are reading this and feel it strikes a chord then do get in touch.

Yours in the fight for truth.

Gary Ward