The Answer:  This question will be answered more from a preference standpoint and less from a “Biblical” standpoint, although one could throw a couple of Bible verses out that encourage followers of Jesus to be in community with each other.  For instance, apparently some church people 2,000 years ago had the same questions you have today, so the author of Hebrews said in Hebrews 10:25, “do not neglect the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some has become, but exhort/encourage one another…”  We’re told over 50 times in the NT to “________ one another” (whether that be love, honor, serve, encourage, etc.) and so in order to do that, we need to actually know one another and worship Jesus with one another.  Will ALL those “one another’s” happen on a Sunday morning? Absolutely not… BUT, Sunday morning is where it begins.  We’re told in 1 Corinthians that we (collectively) are the body of Christ, and we (individually) are members of the body, so when the body is missing parts, it doesn’t function fully as it should.  Think of it like team-work - when the team isn’t functioning well or when team members are missing, the team collectively won’t be as strong as it can be.

Now, as to your other questions about being welcoming, I’ll be totally up front - I went to a church for years where visitors were called out in front of everyone, and where there was a “hand shake time” to “meet and greet” new people.  It was UNBELIEVABLY uncomfortable and awkward, and I regularly thought if I were a new person at this church, after experiencing that, I wouldn’t come back.

I think some churches (not all) have gone a bit overboard in attempting to be welcoming.  They, as you’d mentioned, almost put the newbies on display in an attempt to honor them, but it really embarrasses or frustrates, or maybe even scares them.  On the flip side, I’ve seen some churches completely IGNORE visitors, and expect the newbie to make the first contact with someone, which can be just as equally frustrating.

So, I’ll speak for CommUNITY Church - here, you’ll be warmly welcomed by one or two people as you come through the doors, and will be given a program that tells a little about us.  You’ll be asked to fill out a Green Card (just like the ENTIRE congregation is asked to do every week, so people aren’t looking around for the “noobs” filling out the card) and drop it in the offering box on your way out the door after the service.  A personal letter will be sent to you, thanking you for being a part of the congregation on that Sunday, and inviting you back to hang out with us again, at your convenience.  A follow-up call or email may happen, but sometimes it doesn’t because we want friends to feel welcomed and invited back, but not overcrowded or pushed into anything.  At the end of the day, we’re honored to serve and pastor you and your family as you allow, and we welcome and accept ANYONE and EVERYONE, no matter their background or current situations.

We know that as you continue to join us and become a part of the CommUNITY, God will challenge you as He challenges us, so there’s no judgment of anyone else because they sin differently than us… we’re all on the journey together, and we want to encourage each other and build each other up and help each other… NOT tear each other down or be a discouragement, or even judgmental.

So, it sounds like you’ve had some rough experiences at churches.  I encourage you to take note, but don’t give up.  Try another and another and another until you find somewhere that:

1. preaches the Word of God clearly, 
2. helps you feel welcomed but not on display, and 
3. provides opportunities for you to get involved at your pace.

I hope this helps… and by all means, you’re welcome to try out CommUNITY Church.  Everyone’s welcome; nobody’s perfect; ANYTHING’S possible.

​The Answer:  This question is happening at a GREAT TIME, since Easter is coming up this Sunday.  As I’ve been doing, we’ll pick this apart and work through each question specifically…  So, here we go.

“Why do certain ‘Christians’ end up only coming on certain days and feel they are doing what they need to be a ‘Christian’?” - well, let’s bypass what I think, or you may think, or what anyone else thinks and go back to what God has already said.  We’ll use that as our foundation and go from there.  Titus 3:5 tells us that we are Christians (or “saved”) because God in His grace and mercy saves us - not because we’ve done or not done something right (like go to church regularly).  We don’t go to church in order to be saved, but we are encouraged (in fact, some would say commanded) in Hebrews 10:25 to go to church to worship Jesus, learn about Jesus, grow deeper in our faith and take it out to a world that is lost without Jesus. Many who go to church find the Truth being preached and taught and lived out there, and they hear about and accept the Christ around Whom and for Whom and because of Whom the church exists.

So, the bottom line is this - they only come on a few days a year because they’re either most likely not actually a Christian and are believing that just because they prayed a few words that they now have “fire insurance,” or because they may be Christians, but are not being taught or not being obedient to the teaching that Christ is to be preeminent in all parts of our lives, so that regular attendance in Church should be a priority for the glory of God and the good of those in the Church.

Now, you’d finished with “these people believe that they will be saved, and they may not be, but why doesn't the church educate these individuals and hold them accountable?”  While encouragement and possibly some admonishment can be done on a Sunday morning service, the deeper education and discussion and accountability should be happening in a smaller and more intimate setting… which, if someone isn’t connected to the church (i.e., they only attend 2-5 times per year), can be very difficult conversations to have.

That’s not to say those conversations shouldn’t happen, or that they don’t happen, but there is generally a balance that is sought to encourage a deeper ownership of their own faith that becomes evidenced in their actions… and that encouragement is to be balanced with admonishment that their current level of evidence of their faith may not be very high and they may want to consider if their faith is placed in Jesus Christ and Him alone or in their own actions (or inaction as the case may be).

This is generally where many churches (including CommUNITY Church at times) don’t do well.  Sometimes the reason is immaturity and not knowing what to do or say… sometimes it’s indifference, showing a lack of true community and fellowship between brothers and sisters in Christ.  This is where we need to continue to grow in our own understanding and teaching of those that have opportunity to speak truth into the lives of others.

So, what do we do with this?  We learn to love Jesus more… and love others more… so that we speak truth into their lives in a way that is real and authentic, and not coming across as judgmental.

And for those that do come to church only on Christmas and Easter, we still welcome them with open arms so that we can love them and speak truth to them as they’ll accept it as well… because that’s exactly what Jesus did with us, using others in our lives.

We’re on to question 6 of 11 questions that a close friend has asked me regarding things related to my faith in Jesus… If you’d like to go back and read some of the others, they can be found here:

Why is church important?

If all churches are the same, why are there so many? What’s the right church?

How can I trust someone who says they hear from God?

Why not live my life how I want and “get saved” at the end?

Are churches encouraging people to blindly follow the leader and not think for themselves?

Today’s question:

Why should churches not be seen as a cult?  They are essentially a large group of smaller sample sets of religious organizations bonded for a signified goal that could be misrepresented, misled, or misguided.  This is the same standpoint that religious cults get scrutinized for.  They are all there for a purpose, organized, and the membership is expected to follow that path.  The external world then looks down on these organizations for being unaccepting of outsiders. They keep their membership close to vest, and ensure that only the believers of the end goal are there.  Is this not exactly what a church does?

Today’s answer:

I’ll start by saying this - I apologize on behalf of everyone who has led you to think that a church discourages those who attend from the ability to think, study, and challenge the “status quo” for the purpose of gaining wisdom… that a church denies those who attend from being more open about their faith and the place where they worship Jehovah God… that a church directs those who attend to be exclusive in their views of themselves and “outsiders” and secretive about the goings on on Sunday mornings or throughout the week.  That’s a bunch of malarky.

So, let me clarify the difference between Christ’s Church and a cult (that is most likely led by an ignorant screwball seeking his own glory and benefit rather than the glory of God and the good of others).

Christianity vs. Cults

A definition - cults are typically thought of as a group of people who worship the devil and make obscene sacrifices (sometimes human) on the altar burning with some weird incense, or some other bizarre, evil, pagan rituals…  Essentially, while in broadest terms, a cult is a system with particular rites and customs, it’s more accurately defined as an unorthodox sect whose members distort the original doctrines (beliefs) of that religious system.  Specifically, a cult is “a religious group that denies one or more of the fundamentals of Biblical truth.”  Those fundamentals can be found here.  So, if you’re hearing about a new “church” or want to know what your current place of worship believes, compare it against the link previously shared, or agains the Apostle’s Creed, which is found below.  If the “church” you’re attending strays from these fundamentals, you may have wondered into a cult, and not a church.

​To continue in my series of Questions and Answers I’ve received, here’s the next question I’ve received, along with my answer.  I do hope you take the time to read this, and process this, and RESEARCH this - and not just accept this as truth only because “the pastor said so.”  Dig deep in the Bible.  Do your work.  Form your conclusions.  

"Be ready, in season and out of season…” (2 Tim. 4:2) and “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that is in you…” (1 Peter 3:15)

​An Answer:

"Ogres have layers… onions have layers… you get it. We both have layers.” - Shrek

​With this question, we’re peeling back a few layers of the “real person” and diving into what many find to be uncomfortable territory.  We’re challenging the “status quo” and are causing people to actually THINK and not just follow (thus, the reference to Lemmings).  Most will not read much beyond this sentence, sadly.  And it’s to their detriment.

The problem with this question is that I can’t argue with the conclusions, especially since it’s come from someone outside the church, but who has spent years observing and considering faith in Christ.  Mahatma Ghandi is attributed as saying this, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians, for your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

With this question, you’re uncovering something that lots of churches try to suppress - that many who claim to be “all in” for Jesus don’t actually have much of a clue as to why they believe what they believe, or what the Bible ACTUALLY says - they simply follow a pastor that is probably funny, somewhat trendy and current, and does a great job of engaging the audience.  The thought is that, “the pastor said it, and he had a Bible in his hand (or a Bible verse on the screen), so he MUST be right!!” and they leave their analysis there and move on to the next big thing.

To this pastor, it’s heartbreaking.  In fact, this is one of the biggest reasons CommUNITY Church instituted the “Post Script” effort - one that has all the church elders on the stage after each service to answer ANY questions people have about what they saw/heard that morning, or what they’re learning and not quite understanding on their own.  While there are a select few that are religious in attending these sessions (pardon the pun), many choose to go on their way and not challenge or ask the question behind the question… and that may be evidence of a larger problem within Western Christianity - many just don’t care enough to dig deeper than what is taught in 45 minutes once per week.

And that’s what’s heart-breaking… because those same people will be challenged by you (the one who asked this question), and they’ll look foolish for not having a well-researched answer, and you will have yet another reason that you’ll use to bolster your view that “church is a waste of my time” because no one takes it seriously.

Too often, many Christians are like lemmings - they’ll mindlessly follow, not asking questions or challenging anything outside of what they were raised to think.  Some are even “accidental Christians.”  I read a blog that said this…

​By validating your findings, I want to get to my answers for your questions… I’m not sure why churches are breeding the Lemming effect.  I’m not even sure that most churches are aware they’re doing it.  If they are aware, and continue to do so, RUN AWAY.  Any church that wants you to follow their teachings blindly and not dig deep into the Bible on your own and ask the hard questions for the purpose of growth and learning wouldn’t be considered a true, Bible-believing, New Testament church desiring to grow it’s people… it would be more like a social club that uses the name of Jesus a lot and promotes a “Christian” way of life.

I can’t speak on behalf of most other churches - I can only speak on behalf of CommUNITY Church, and the few other churches I’ve been a part of.  At CommUNITY Church, we WANT you to ask the hard questions (thus, the reason for the “Post Script” sessions we have).  We want people to hear what the pastor says and then look it up and research it for themselves.  We want people to dig deep into the Word to learn how to CORRECTLY handle it and to CORRECTLY apply it, and not misuse it for their own glory or their own profit… it should all be for GOD’S glory and the good of others.

That being said, I’ve wrestled with many teachings of the Bible.  I still am wrestling with some.  That’s a life-long process that will end one day when King Jesus reveals all the answers… but when I’m with Jesus, I’m not sure I’ll care about some of the other answers any more.

Now lets be clear.  St. Augustine said, “in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”  There’s a LOT of truth there.  At CommUNITY Church, we try to follow that closely because we’ve researched it, discussed it, and found it to be the most helpful for the most people and brings glory to King Jesus and allows for the good for others.  We rephrase it to say that we have some closed-handed beliefs (which can be questioned/discussed, but at the end of the day, the foundational/primary/closed-handed beliefs won’t change - those can be found here).  There are also open-handed beliefs (which we have, but are clear that they are “secondary” beliefs, or doctrines, that we can discuss, but won’t argue much over if you or another church believe differently).  BUT, we want to ensure that we’re discussing the PRIMARIES and the SECONDARIES with a heart of love, honor, and respect for anyone that we’re talking to.  Truth without love is brutality.

To wrap this up, let me say this - I know and have seen what you’re referring to.  But the leaders (elders, deacons, and ministry leaders) of CommUNITY Church work hard to challenge those sitting under our guidance to learn and grow themselves.  We want to teach them to fish, not just give them a fish.  Do we do that well all the time? Probably not.  But we’re trying to do it better all the time…

If you’re reading this, and want to see what that’s like, I invite you to come hang out with us for a few weeks and see what you see.  Hopefully you’ll see a lot about Jesus, a lot about helping others, and a little about us.

​The Answer:
Dear Working, 

If you’ve not heard it before, let me introduce you to a modicum of truth that carries a hefty theological impact - “Hell is hot, and eternity is a long time.”

Speaking from a pastoral point of view, I want as many to come to a faith in Christ as possible.  And it’s partly because of that statement above.  Hell wasn’t created for humans. It was created for satan and his demons.  But since humans decided to turn against God as well, and reject God’s love to go their own ways, a holy and just and righteous God will need to deal with your sin just as He will deal with satan and the demons’ sin.  But the sentence doesn’t HAVE to be that - God isn’t sending people to Hell.  We choose to go there of our own accord by rejecting the OTHER path He laid out for us - the path that leads straight through His Son, Jesus Christ (Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life… NO ONE comes to the Father, except through Me.” - emphasis mine).

Speaking from a strictly humanistic point of view, one has to wonder if that “death bed confession” is a true repentance, or merely saying words in hopes to have all the bases covered.  The Bible is clear that TODAY is the day of salvation, meaning two things. Firstly, today is ALWAYS the best day to accept Christ as your Savior and make Him your Lord.  Secondly, there are people around this globe making that exact decision today, and yesterday, and tomorrow - every day.  The question is, will you be one of those people?

Because just as TODAY is the day of salvation (as we read in 2 Corinthians 6:2, link above), it’s also true that it is appointed for man to die, and after that comes judgment.  The bottom line is that no one knows when they’re going to breathe their last and walk through the doors.

​Many of us think we still have time to do what we’d like to do - save more money, go on that vacation, buy that house, tell our friends/family how we love them, etc.  We all have plans and dreams and goals we’d like to accomplish in our life… but the one thing we rarely think of is this - “What if tomorrow never comes?”  Years ago, Garth Brooks released a song by that very title “If Tomorrow Never Comes.”  Within that song is a thought and truth that exist for us all - tomorrow is not promised to any of us, and so the decisions we make today may be the last we get to make.  Are we making the BEST decisions we can make?  The BEST decision ANYONE can make at ANY TIME is to follow Christ. (and that’s an EMPHATIC period at the end of that sentence)

So, from a pastoral view, I care less about what they’ve done in the past, and more about a true change of heart and mind towards Christ, who has paid for all OUR sins by dying OUR death on OUR cross… He paid it all - and He’s given us an amazing chance to accept His gift of salvation TODAY… because for some of us reading this, tomorrow may never come.  And if I don’t make the best choice for Christ today, I need to remember that Hell is hot, and eternity is a long time without Christ.

Now, let me deal with one other statement - you’d asked, “why is it allowed that a Priest/Pastor/Preacher save someone just before death after a life of corruptness and inappropriate behavior?”  I would again answer twofold.  First, why not? it’s always a good day to turn from that life into a new life with Christ!! (I think I made that point above)  Secondly, it’s not the Priest/Pastor/Preacher saving anyone - we are just a messenger that God puts in the lives of those whom He is already calling to Himself.  God saves us… we don’t save us.

Would I rather that corrupt and inappropriate life have changed much earlier? ABSOLUTELY. There’s a path of “collateral damage” because of those sins that may have generational impacts on many… but at the end of the day, if there was a truly repentant heart calling out to Jesus, He’ll answer EVERY TIME.

 - Pastor Jason

We’re continuing in the series of Q & A sessions, a la “Dear Abby” that I have received from people… Here’s today’s question - 

Question:
Why should someone believe a human being that states they have been spoken to by God or have a calling to be a Preacher or Pastor?  Is that not just one person’s interpretation of the Bible and what they feel should be stated?  How does one know that is the Word or the belief that if followed, and that is the chosen path of that individual, that it is not misleading, misrepresented, and will not actually be the interpretation that will provide the path to righteousness?
​Signed, Questioning the Clergy

​Response:
Dear Questioning - 

I wish more people would ask in-depth questions like this - it tells me that they’re REALLY searching and REALLY studying and REALLY serious about the steps they’re wanting to take in their faith.  Props to you.  As we’ve done in the past, we’ll break these questions apart and then put them back together at the end.

You asked, “why should someone believe a human being that states they have been spoken to by God or have a calling to be a Preacher or a Pastor?”  My answer would be that blind trust in their words is ill-advised.  Please look at the entire picture.  Words can be used for many things. Words have started love affairs.  Words have started wars.  Words have torn civilizations down and words have built them up.  Don’t ONLY trust their words - the words MUST be followed up with consistent action.  In other words, put their words to the test of their actions.  A smaller book in the New Testament called 1 John addresses this VERY thing in the beginning of chapter 4.  It says, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world…” (emphasis mine)  In other words, there will be a blindness about the faith, but there’s not a foolishness about it.  Be discerning… in fact, Jesus Christ Himself told his disciples to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves   That would apply to us as well.  If someone comes to me telling me God has spoken to them or that they’re “called by God to be a Pastor,” I’ll be excited for them and I’ll encourage them, but I’ll FIRST compare their “hearing” or “calling” from God against what God has ALREADY SAID.  I’ll compare it to the Scriptures… then I’ll watch their lives - their actions. Their words. How they carry themselves while alone and in crowds. Do they act differently depending on who’s around? Do they use empty flattery?  In other words, I’ll test them.  And once they’ve been proven, then I’m all for helping them fulfill the call of God on their lives…  to confirm their words they’ve received from the Lord that it matches with what God already said (remember, He won’t contradict Himself).

You went on to apparently assume the person began preaching the Bible and asked if one person’s interpretation should be valued as highly as someone else’s interpretation.  That’s a DEEP question that has a few levels.  One of those levels has been answered in a previous question, so I would direct you here to review the beliefs that are open for discussion and the beliefs that are settled and non-negotiable.  Given that you just paused in reading this to follow the link I provided and you’ve read it in its entirety, I’ll move on to add some additional Scripture (so we’re not just dealing with my opinion on the topic).  A guy named Peter who followed Christ was a bit volatile early in his journey with Jesus, but after a while, evened things out and became a prolific speaker and writer about Jesus Christ as the Messiah.  Since he was an eye-witness to many of Christ’s teachings and miracles, Peter carries quite a bit of weight in terms of validity.  That being said, he wrote in His second letter that there’s no private interpretation of Scripture.  Read more about it here.  He means this - what the Bible says is what the Bible says - it will be generally and commonly accepted as valid by MANY… so when some odd-ball shows up challenging it and saying that the interpretation he’s been given is the only correct one, you should raise an eye-brow.  And Peter CAN say that, because He was an eye-witness to Jesus’ words and works during His entire earthly ministry - therefore, Peter has some authority on the subject.  This is why most study Bibles and commentaries have tens (or even hundreds) of editors who all confirm that what’s being said is indeed “Scriptural” (meaning, accurate and in agreement with the Bible).  It’s when you get some “translations” (I use that word loosely) that have just a single person who has done the whole work of interpretation that you should steer clear of… the Bible wasn’t ever meant for any one person to have a private interpretation - in other words, understanding the Bible is NOT an exclusive right that only certain people who are “super-gifted” by God can do - the Bible is meant to be daily bread for ANYONE seeking life through Jesus Christ and Him alone.

The other questions fall in line and provide a good summary to the first two you’d asked, so let’s put this all back together.  If someone shows up one day saying that what the Bible says has been COMPLETELY misinterpreted for 2,000 years, and they alone have the correct interpretation, turn away from that guy.  He’s already contradicting what the Bible says, and is most likely trying to establish his own “kingdom” (build up his reputation, start his own cult, or get rich off people’s ignorance and fear).  God makes it clear that there’s only one Way to reconcile with Him and be righteous, but that Way is open to ALL who believe.  And because the same Guy who said He would raise from the dead after three days (and did it!!) is the same guy who said that His Church will continue on until He returns for her, we can trust that the Bible we have today is the same Bible the first church had in the first century, and the interpretation of the Truth are as solid now as they were then… but always be on guard against false teachers, because there are many of them seeking to build up their name and not Jesus’ name (which is why we need to read and study and learn and know what the Bible says - so we aren’t led astray by the fools). - Signed, Pastor Jason

150 years ago, there was a 13 year old boy (we’ll call him “Andy”) who was as poor as could be, but his parents scrapped together enough money to move their family of three to a new land with new adventures known as the United States.  This was quite a change for young Andy, but he became acclimated to his new home and began to learn and grow mentally as much as he grew physically.  He soon was hired to work on telegraphs, but he was fairly aware that there was more he could do.

Young man Andy didn’t brag about it - he was a hard worker.  He spoke when he needed to, but he put actions to his words.  After some time, still working with telegraphs, he had saved enough money to have some investments in a few growing industries back in the day… over the course of a few years, through God’s grace and Andy’s hard work, he was able to get to the point where he was financially stable.  He was actually fairly well off.  He grew businesses, and history has named him a “captain of the industrial revolution.”

We know him today as Andrew Carnegie.  In his life, he was able to amass a personal net worth of approximately $310 billion (in the late 1800’s).  Our modern world has not seen another individual with that kind of wealth.

“Andy” spent the last 15 years of his life giving away 90% of his wealth to charities, universities, foundations, and even churches (although we have no true record that he believed or accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior).  Andy had reached the pinnacle of what this world would term as success - built through a series of transactions that involved his personal dealings with people… daily.

When people started looking to “Andy” as a cultural, economical, and at times, even a political leader of the nation (even though he didn’t hold public office), he made a VERY interesting statement that summarizes his interactions with people throughout his life.

He said, as I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say, and more attention to what they do.  As mentioned above, Mr Carnegie’s life is well documented, and we see very little in his life about “church” - he had actually grown quite disenfranchised with religion for a lengthy time.  He had found society, and the church, to be somewhat hypocritical - meaning words and actions didn’t agree.

Mr. Carnegie’s observations 150 years ago were just as applicable then as they are today, and his thoughts on that weren’t new at all… as a race, humanity has a knack for saying one thing, but doing another…

The Bible talks about that very thing in the book of James (2:14-17).  We also see that Jesus addressed it as well (Matthew 7:21).  We see it played out daily in our news and reports. At the time of this writing, the 2016 presidential election is in full-swing and we hear very little of political platforms and issues, and we hear much about personal issues and past sins…  I’ve seen friends divided more over this election than anytime I can remember.  We see people’s words in NO WAY matching their actions.

So, what are we to do?  Examine ourselves.  Look at our words and our actions.  Are we claiming Jesus on social media but then treating others poorly?  Are we showing up at church on Sunday but not allowing Jesus’ truth to permeate our lives and our actions throughout the week?

Christianity is NOT rocket science.  Your faith was never intended to be complicated (there’s a reason Jesus spoke of having child-like faith).  Your faith in Christ was intended to be LIVED OUT DAILY… not perfectly, but purposefully.  Intentionally.  Lovingly.

So, examine yourself… ask someone to give you some feedback. Be willing to ask a friend if your words match your actions, and if they point to Jesus.  Be ready for the answer…

May your faith not be dead… but may it be alive, and may your words and your actions bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ.