Being part of a church

So sorry that was your church experience. Church discipline conducted in the spirit you describe is not the church discipline of scriptures. I wouldn't stay in a church like that either - I'm glad you didn't.

At the same time, not all, not even most churches are like that.

If I went to a restaurant that was unfriendly with bad service and mediocre food - I'd just mark it off my list - but I wouldn't quit going to restaurants. I have visited too many churches to count. Only two or three times have I left saying, "Dang - that was a rigid, unfriendly church."

Over the last 37 years I have been an active part of eight churches. There were times when I was not part of a church but I was part of a small fellowship. It never dawned on me that being part of a body of believers would NOT include accountability and discipline if necessary. Discipline is a part of body life. It is a part of spiritual growth.
 
Lloren said:
This is where the modern church fails by trying to avoid the necessity of church discipline. Paul addressed this to the Corinthians by making the distinction between those in public sin and non-repentant vs. the Body of sinners.

It's always the responsibility of the Body to discipline those in open unrepentant sin.
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No one likes being bashed. If by discipline you mean making them feel bad and being confrontational then no wonder they ran away. However I'm not sure what you mean by 'part of a church' now, must you be a member to attend? Or does the church keep track of all its members (maybe possible in some smaller churches?)
All we do here is step into a church, be there for a while and be absorbed into the community.
 
As Christians, we are supposed to help hold one another accountable. We are called to remove sin from our lives (if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better to enter the kingdom of heaven with one eye than to go to hell with both eyes...sound familiar?). That's part of being a church "family" - we help each other out.

When we are so comfortable in our sin that we would rather walk away from a church that convicts us, it shows that there is something wrong with our heart and our faith.

I sin. a lot. but I understand it's wrong, and have accountability partners that I call when I'm having a problem. I have set rules to walk away from specific things before the sin rears it's ugly head. My accountability partners are open and honest about how they have done between meetings. I am as well.

It's not supposed to be a back-stabbing kind of "hey, I saw John down at the bar last night!" attitude... it's more that you're supposed to go to John and say "hey, what can I do to help you, buddy?"
 
If by discipline you mean making them feel bad and being confrontational then no wonder they ran away.
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By discipline I mean flogging. /s

No, by discipline I mean practicing what Jesus taught and Paul reiterated. The goal of which is building up the Body (not a building, but us as believers) in Christ by love. Paul again reiterates the goal again and refers to the incident in 1 Cor 5 here in 2 Cor 2.

All we do here is step into a church, be there for a while and be absorbed into the community.
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If we just go into a building on Sunday and then head to our car when the music is over, is that really the Body? Does anyone really know you/me if we do this? We can hardly encourage each other or speak into each other's lives if this is the case.

It's not supposed to be a back-stabbing kind of "hey, I saw John down at the bar last night!" attitude... it's more that you're supposed to go to John and say "hey, what can I do to help you, buddy?"
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yes :)
 
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Precisely. If by discipline you mean support in a non judgemental manner it's good. However if John was married and doing *unspecified stuff* at the bar, I'd like to hit him with a crowbar. It would be really hard to remain nonjudgemental.
 
Just a little nudge...to get back on track. Church discipline is not the reason most people are not part of a body of believers.

What does God say about being part of a church? There were lots of scriptures in the first couple of pages supporting being part of the body, the church. I haven't seen any that suggest God saying you should or could NOT be part of the body.

I have seen many anecdotal reasons why people have left or don't want to be part of a body - personal experiences or experiences of friends - but...that is not God saying it is okay for you to be apart from the body.

Reading through all the posts:

There may be room for a distinction between "church" as a building/specific congregation/denomination and "the Church," - the body of Christ.

It looks like God says, "You need to be part of a body of believers."

People say, "I have reasons not to be."

I'd suggest - God wins.

Please - if you have more to add - that is biblically based - keep the thread going - but on track.
 
By your definition, I suppose this place can be considered a church as we are all fellow believers. Already several churches in the more wired places in the world have gone online...
 
By your definition, I suppose this place can be considered a church as we are all fellow believers. Already several churches in the more wired places in the world have gone online...
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Nope - not by a long shot.

Cyber connections are not face-to-face, skin-to-skin connections. Unfortunately some people think it is the same when it is only a poor substitute.

I enjoy my CGA, ToJ, SoE/SOE connections and friendships but they do not even compare to the level of fellowship I can have sitting with, eating with, worshiping with, serving with, and growing with a body of believers. There is a big difference between posting a prayer request online and sitting down, holding hands and praying together.

I know that for some people this may be their "church." That is sad and not at all what God intended when he said, Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)
 
Wonder how things would be different if the internet was around 2000 years ago. Today, you can be with each other miles and miles apart. Through the internet, texting and the telephone, I was able to engage a greater number of believers in prayer for my father. Are they any less a part of the body because I didn't sit across the table from them to ask for prayer?
 
A tad impresonal, as I didn't know you beyond your name on this forum. But then again I don't really know the people at church beyond their faces either.
 
I've been in a few of these mega churches where they claim to have an 8,000 member strong congregation. And to fit all those people in, they have services 8 times on Sunday and 1 an evening except on Wednesday when they have 3 services. I can't imagine that being any more or less impersonal then some sort of virtual fellowship.
 
Neither sounds ideal to me (mega church or online fellowship). Part of fellowship is personal relationships. I'm blessed to know most of the leadership and many of the families at my church personally. I love being able to chat with the senior pastor. Of course, it helps that the size of the church is only around 400 regulars. I also attribute it to my past work with the preschoolers in Sunday school. You kinda have to get to know people when you are working with their kids.
 
actually mine is about few hundred across several congregations and languages. My service would have approx maybe 100-300. My estimate, as we are in rows of about 8x10, 4 blocks plus one left empty.
 
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