The church institution

The problem is church.  See, the thing is, that people don’t want to be committed to an institution.  They, at least in American culture, don’t really wish to be committed to anything other than what might bring fun, power, glory, or money.  But the kingdom of God doesn’t work that way.  Those who seek power, fun, glory, or money will find it, but they will lose their life because of it.  When the church becomes an institution, there is no reason to be committed to it.  It would be like committing yourself to a particular bar of soap.  You might prefer a certain brand, but you wouldn’t go to huge lengths to get it.  Well, that may not be entirely true, but for them we can only shake our heads.
The reason this is coming up now is that we have more than ever in our lives to distract us and to bring us pleasure, so why be faithful to an institution.  Remember when Jesus says that they will know you are my disciples by the love you have for your organization?  No, because he didn’t say it.  He said that they will know you are my disciples by the love you have for each other.  But we have forgotten that these 2000 years past.  We have made the church into a business instead of a family joined by a collective will to see the kingdom of God realized here on earth.  And so when that institution—that business no longer serves as the center of community life, people back away from it.
This is not an invention since the 1950s, as some would suspect.  Christendom which placed the church at its religious, social, and political centers allowed the maintenance of the illusion that all was well.  But it wasn’t.  People broke away in droves from the church to either leave altogether or to start their own institution.  If people had been committed to each other as a natural family, this wouldn’t have happened.  If indeed the church had been the church, the protestant schism would not have happened, flawed though the Catholic church was at the time.
For a long time (I would guess since Constantine wooed the church into an unholy marriage) the people of God who are the living kingdom of God here on earth was more concerned with the institution than the people within its walls.
It is much harder to leave your loved ones.  If there is one thing that Jesus makes perfectly clear, it is that your family consists of all who call God “Father.”  But the bride of Christ is no longer a family joined by a common love and goal.  It is a group of individuals labeled into the same group for only as long as situations or preferences allow.
But this cannot be.  She must and shall go free.  The church cannot and will not remain in bondage by institutionalism.  She is a living breathing temple of God’s presence here on earth and nothing will stand in the way of her final victory.  She will be presented spotless and blameless to the son of God, cleansed by his own blood and made whole by the grace of the Father.
And these questions remain: Are we going to take the words of Jesus seriously?  Are we going to live as he would have us live instead of serving ourselves and our dying institutions?  Is God our master or is the world?  Do we believe Jesus when he promises to protect and provide for us?  Do we live our lives counting on our future resurrection to justify our actions in this part of our life?  Are we banking on the promises of God or are we, like Ananias and Sapphira holding something back in case it’s all a sham?
If we do not step out on faith, we will sink like Peter, but if we have faith we will walk high on the waves as Peter did before he began to sink.  We will laugh at the storms and waves, dance in minefields and live without fear or hesitation.  We can live this life with God if only we will believe.
BELIEVE!