The reason I like using the word Church with a big C only is because I wonder if we could ever just be together with Christ as the head of his Church instead of having all these divisive little c churches all over the place.
Can there ever be a community with…
No “church” service
No singing, unless someone is led to want to share
No preaching
No teaching, unless a person wants to share
No asking for money
No paid pastor or employees
No doctrinal statements
No “What we Believe” statements
No programs, no classes
_______
Church to me is just living life together in community with one another being the hands and feet of Christ. (You know Christ has no other way to have others see Him then through us)
Can we help others physically, spiritually, and financially without all the above BS.
Lets have a meal, go to a ball game, cry, laugh, and grow together in Him so together we can show the Allness of God (Christ) to the world.
By the way… where is everyone? It seems like I am wandering this post-institutional wilderness all by myself?
Allergic to BS 
Brian – I’m learning to love the same thing for His Church….coming from a new contemporary church expression…..only made me long for all that you mentioned in this post.
Tom – Thanks for stopping by Brother.
It is a tough one for me as I walk in this so-called “post-institutional” wilderness. But, I do believe the Church is out there as this enormous invisible force that can only be seen when we all are in unity together with Him.
No your not out there alone. Looking forward to your posts;
Jack – Thanks for stopping by… I am looking forward to enjoying the discussions
Checking in Swanny. You aren’t alone–I’m out there with you in that “post institutional” wilderness. I’ll be trekking with you on your journey. Loved reading your thoughts…
John – Welcome aboard!! I am glad I am not trekking alone!
I will be out to check your blog later tonight.
Good questions, Brian!
I concur that you’re not alone. I’m attempting to navigate the system as a student in seminary, and I have to say that this journey is more difficult than I imagined it would be. There are many reasons why I have branded myself online as “theological zombie”. Part of it is a wake up call to my fellow Christ-followers, part of it is because I love zombies, (and I think Jesus does too, otherwise why would He have come and interacted with the broken system back in the day?) and part of it is because once you read a hand full of books in theology, a lot of the arguments throughout history start to blur together and sound the same.
Many of your questions are similar to my own ponderings. I’ll probably work on a response post on my own blog later this week. I look forward to getting to know you a little more in our online journey.
Peace be with you, brother!
Trista – Thanks for coming by a checking things out. I am really interested in checking out your site soon.
The book I am writing is called I-Zombie (where the “I” stands for Institutional), it is about the systems that hoards of people follow just because.
I wont mark it against you that you are in seminary 🙂 Just kidding… looking forward to some great discussions!
Peace!