I am so sick and tired of people saying "We are a Bible believing church" and going on and on about how they are doing things "right," etc. I am mostly sick of it, because when you really start to analyze the conduct of the church that is tooting its own horn, it isn't.
For starters, if you have a woman leading a Sunday school class, or a bible study, or an anything where men are present, then you are NOT following the Bible. If you are constantly saying how the "Pastor" is so great or is leading the church correctly, etc etc, then you are not following the Bible. Scripturally, the church is not "led" or "owned" or "controlled" by anyone other than God (if the Holy Spirit has actually condoned it). Scripturally, we are not to call anyone teacher or leader (or pastor if you want to throw that in to the mix), because we only have ONE teacher and ONE leader: Christ. Additionally, women are not to speak (in a church setting) with men present. That is pretty darn clear. It's not sanctioned if their husband is included in the "taught by" category, or if their man is approving it. There is no instance in the Bible where it says: A woman may lead men in biblical study if her husband is attending the class and agrees with what she says. It isn't allowed.
It also ISN'T a biblical church if it is not constantly, unceasingly, and outpouringly reaching out to, and caring for, the homeless, widows and orphans. You can't sit there from your pulpit, or your air conditioned building, and say "well we send people on mission trips to Africa..." and think that is enough to be obeying Christ. American churches have so allowed their focuses to be thrown off. The focus has turned to rock style "worship", butts in seats, and tithes in offering plates, and has been turned away from what Christ repeated over and over and over again: take care of the widows, orphans, and the hungry.
I am so disturbed by this reality that I am ashamed. The lobster and I are so disgusted with the self indulgent, pride inducing, "comfortable" attitude of Christ in American churches. Do you really think you honor God when you pour vast amounts of money in to your savings accounts, your jewelry, your clothes, your children's toys, your grown up version of toys, your fancy cars, your enormous house, your tattoos, your activities, while people are starving to death!? We "save" for emergencies, well is starvation not an emergency!? Is my kid having the hottest new toy more important than someone having water?
Start researching it...what is your "church" really doing to obey Christ? Or is it actually just saying it obeys God's word, while ignoring what Jesus Himself said time and time again. Has your church turned Christianity into a Sunday morning ritual, or an establishment of unified people working together to make the greatest amount of change in the lives of the suffering? Is the building more important than the poor? Where are the priorities? Is your "church" focused on making you fit a cookie cutter status quo of what they believe "Christians" look like, or is it pushing, prodding and encouraging you to give up your comforts in order to save others EVERY day? Is the "church" sacrificing niceties in order to give of itself to the needy? Is the church practicing what it preaches?
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