The Trouble with Churches
By
Gary Primo
December 22, 2010
I have officially been a member of two very different churches. The first was the Anglican Church which I now know is little different from their Roman Catholic counterpart. The rituals, traditions and customs are basically the same. Their agenda was to keep the congregation wrapped around their customs and traditions, rather than teach any real biblical truths (if they ever knew any). The second church I belonged to was the Worldwide Church of God, then a Sabbath/festival/law keeping assembly. Following the death of Herbert w. Armstrong, the leadership of the church was taken over by Joseph Tkatch, who led that group down the road to apostasy. Although these two churches were uniquely different, the basic problems with them remained the same.
Problem # 1
Group Think
The biggest problem with any such church is the “group think” philosophy where everyone in the group is supposed to be in agreement with the leadership and follow blindly, having no opinion of their own. When people start such groups, they are not looking for people with different points of view; they are looking for individuals who will come on board their way of thinking and seeing things. Any dissenters will be cast out of the group. They are in effect saying that they have all the truth and that they are the only true group of worshippers on the face of the earth. I used to think that of the WCG but was fortunate enough to see through their guise and make the necessary changes in my spiritual life. Many members did not see what I saw and remained loyal to that church throughout its apostasy. That church is now a Sunday keeping, pagan festival keeping, lawless church just like almost all of Christendom. Those whose roots were planted in rocky soil were soon uprooted and cast onto the fire pile. They clung stubbornly to the claim that the WCG was the only true church on the face of the earth and that was all there was to it. The church itself maintained that if there were anything wrong with the church, God would fix it. I have news for them – sometimes YHVH wants us to fix things ourselves.
When the WCG first started making these changes to their doctrines the membership left in droves. Once boasting a membership of close to 144,000, it numbers quickly diminished down to 1/3 that of their glory days. Two main churches developed out of the ashes, the Global church of God and the United Church of God. The Global Church is the only one operational today in the UK. The problem with them is that they tried to carry on in the footsteps of Herbert W. Armstrong rather than Yahshua HaMashiyack’s and strike out in search of new truths. They thought they already had all the truth, which is a fatal mistake for any religious group. If we had all the truth, we’d all be perfect replicas of Yahshua, which we are not.
The rest of the people branched out into many living room churches but sooner or later they all broke up over different doctrinal disputes. Many went back to the non-religious lifestyle they had known before. Others went along on their own path to spiritual perfection and discovered that they did not have all the truth while in the WCG after all. For me it has been an amazing spiritual journey, and I believe the reason for that is that I try to remain open minded to new truths and I am of the firm belief that I do not yet know all spiritual truth. Therefore, I encourage all to “join” me, not “follow me”, in searching out all truths. This is a job that is too big for just one individual. That is why YHVH has called so many from so many different walks of life to participate in the resurrection of the truth – so as to add a host of different perspectives on the subject.
Problem # 2
Tithing
Churches basically seek to control people, not to nurture them. They first seek to control the individual’s mind and then their bank accounts. If excommunicated, the individual rarely gets their money back. Many of the individuals seeking to start their own church think very highly of themselves. They want others to think highly of them too. The first thing they do is start their own website, start a news letter and writing articles, and start asking for tithes to be paid to them. One of the first questions many ask when leaving their former church is “Where and to whom do I pay my tithes?” And as fate would have it there are plenty of people out there ready and willing to take them off your hands. Can they all be the “one true church”? No! Are any worthy of receiving tithes? No! Were tithes ever commanded to be paid to anyone outside of the Levitical priesthood? No! Were the tithes ever paid back after any of these churches dissolved? No! So who could these church leaders be, but frauds and imposters? The best thing is not to have a single individual (dictator) in charge but a group or board. Then there is room for debate and for all opinions to be heard. While they can ask for free will offerings and sell their literature if they desire, they have no legal claim to a tithe of anyone’s income unless they can prove they are Levites.
For those who simply must spend their tithes somewhere, I would suggest they use it to buy spiritual study material. Donate it to homeless shelters or other charitable groups. Give it to a poor widow or orphan that you know. I am sure the YHVH would rather us give it to someone who can rightfully use it rather than some self-deluded fraudster who thinks he is the only one that YHVH is working through.
Problem # 3
Social Ostracizing
Once in a group or church some people tend to look down their noses at people outside that group. If Yahshua or His apostles ever did such a thing the church would have never grown. In fact that is exactly the route the Jewish faith went and are still going in today. We are to be a shining example to the entire world, not just those inside our churches or groups. How is the world going to know who we are if we do not have any communication with them?
Again, Yahshua is our example. In spreading the word of the glorious gospel, He went straight to the places where the sinners gathered. Since there is no shortage of sinners, there was no shortage of places to look. He ate with adulterers and drank with drunkards. He Himself was labeled a wine bibber (wino) by His critics. He had only one agenda – to save the world from the penalty for sin and light the path to eternal life. His own salvation was at stake as much as those he was preaching to. Don’t forget, He had not yet completed the salvation (creation) process Himself and technically could have, at any time, forfeited His own salvation. Yahshua was totally focused on His Father and the Kingdom. He allowed no thing or person to stand in His way. He didn’t care what His critics had to say, but only worried about YHVH’s desire for Him.
Yes, when YHVH calls us out of the world, He wants us to set ourselves apart from her sin, but also wants us to call others out of her. He had the prophets of old do some pretty odd and dangerous things to get the attention of the worldly people in their day. Some of the prophets were so scared by what YHVH asked them to do that they tried to run away – like Jonah. None of us today want to stand on a soap box in the middle of town and preach an unpopular message to unresponsive strangers. None of us want to walk up to a king or other worldly dignitary and tell them that they are headed to the Lake of Fire. Yet we have no problem talking of the Way of YHVH to other like-minded Believers. We feel safe in that environment. Yet, YHVH wants us to step outside our comfort zone and prove our zealousness for Him.
Problem # 4
Busybodies and Gossipers
Wherever and whenever there is a social gathering one will find busybodies and gossipers. And what better environment is there to load up with fresh gossip? The biggest problem with gossip is that the story changes with each telling and eventually turns to lying slander. During my last year in the WCG, even the minister’s wife ended up in hot water for gossiping. My last two Passover feasts with that church were totally ruined because of gossip. I wanted to get up and leave, but did not want to insult my host. I did excuse myself at the earliest possible convenience.
Busybodies are those who are not content controlling their own families lives but need to control the lives of others as well. They think of themselves as the spiritual police. They want to keep everyone on the straight and narrow. If you want to make a quick enemy, tell that person to mind their own business and they will turn on you like a ripe banana. These people are “blemishes” at our assemblies and should be chastised and/or put out of the assembly.
Even though Yahshua was a man, the women in the assemblies need to see that they are required to follow His example as well. It is not just a man thing. I have seen too many women in the assemblies throwing themselves into the menial work but not so much the spiritual. It is like the story of Mary and Martha. Martha was busy doing all the menial work while Mary sat at the Master’s feet learning of spiritual things. When Martha complained to Yahshua, He basically told her that she should be more like Mary, putting her spiritual house in order first.
The reason people talk about others is because it makes them feel better about themselves. However, they should be more concerned about repairing their own spiritual state than focusing on the shortcomings of others. This condition has a very selfish motive at its core and is very counter-productive to overcoming the world.
Problem # 5
Cliques
In any type of social setting you will find a natural human tendency to form into cliques or small groups of people who are comfortable with each other. Typically, married people stick with married people, unmarried people stick with unmarried , teens stick with teens, etc, etc. When I attended the WCG I had the distinction of being married, having a non-believing wife and bringing my infant daughters to services with me. I did not fall into any of the normal categories, so I often stood alone just waiting for someone to notice me.
YHVH is not a respecter of persons. That means that He is not impressed by one’s social standing, wealth or worldly accomplishments. The only thing He looks to is one’s spiritual standing. And everyone’s spiritual standing can change in an instant, if one is not careful.
YHVH is the only one we should be trying to impress and we all know how to do that. All members of the body of Yahshua are brothers and sisters in the faith and are to be treated equally. That means there should be no cliques. You should be able to walk up to anyone and start talking of YHVH’s glory with them. We all have that topic in common. Invite strangers home for a Sabbath dinner. Get to know them. Glorify YHVH for your new-found friendship. If we wish to become one with YHVH, then we must look at all in His family as equals with whom we certainly have one thing in common with, our love for YHVH.
Problem # 6
Infallibility of the Leadership
This is perhaps the most common problem within any church – thinking that the leadership is infallible (incapable of making a mistake). This is simply not true. One only has to study the history of Israel to discover this truth. Even the spiritual greats like Abraham and Moses made mistakes. Abraham laughed and did not believe YHVH when he was told that Sarah was going to give birth at age 90. He had sex with Sarah’s handmaiden instead and gave birth to the Moslem nations, the natural enemies of Israel. Moses struck the rock out of frustration and anger and did not get to enter into the holy land. The leader of my former church did not have all the truth and picked an apostate leader for a successor. The church that he worked a lifetime to build fell apart in a very few, short years following his death. There is no such thing as an infallible church leader and one should keep a very close eye on them. Even the apostle Saul (Paul) praised the Berians for not simply believing him but for searching and proving all the things he said, if they were true or not. If a church leader starts introducing strange doctrine into the assembly, he should be stopped in his tracks and questioned. Just because someone has some spiritual doctrines right does not mean that they necessarily have all their ducks in a row. One should do some careful investigating before joining any group.
Problem # 7
Exclusivity
Most people who start their own church honestly believe that they are the only ones with a complete knowledge of the truth and the only ones that YHVH is working through. They will try to sell this concept in all of their teachings. A lot of times they will come across as judgmental and condemnating in regards to the beliefs or understandings of others. We have to keep in mind that we were all called at different times and from different areas of the globe. We are at different spiritual levels and were all at the same place the other person is at one point. Therefore, we are to be tolerant of the beliefs and understandings of others, while striving to gently guide them onto the right path. If you approach them with a challenging attitude they are naturally going to go on the defensive and an argument will ensue. I have been charged twice in my spiritual walk for not having the understanding to properly interpret Scriptures. Both times the charges came from groups claiming such exclusitivity. If I had believed them, I would have remained at the same level of spiritual stagnation that they are at or left off following YHVH altogether. I wonder how many others were so affected. We do not seem to realize that we have the power to discourage someone from following YHVH, and if the case their blood will be on our hands. I believe that all groups start off with the best of humble beginnings, but somewhere along the road they get into a comfort zone where they feel they have reached the crest of their spiritual walk and there is nothing else new to learn. That is a totally false assumption. There is always something new to learn or to improve upon.
There is no such thing as “the only true church on the face of the earth”. YHVH calls His family from all nations and all walks of life. In YHVH’s eyes all of us are equal, even if we are at differing spiritual levels. Those churches who think they are the only true church are sorely deceived and a closed book as far as spiritual growth goes.
Conclusion
The points I have touched on here are all the negative aspects of belonging to a church. There are, of course, some very positive aspects as well, and I do not believe in throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Some of the positive aspects are fellowship, comradary and a sense of not being alone in the world. It also makes keeping the Sabbath and annual holy days more pleasant. We have to watch out for churches where one man makes all the calls. Even the 1st century counsel in Jerusalem relied upon feedback from all members. Each church should have such a counsel and should not be afraid or too proud to make changes when necessary. None should claim exclusivity. None should claim to have all truth.
I am sure that there are many Believers out there, who, like me, have become discouraged with organized religion and simply spend their Sabbaths studying on their own. There is nothing wrong with that, but it does get a little lonely. Some people need the structure of an organized religion. Some do not. What I would propose is something like a forum for independent Believers to meet and (peacefully) present and debate different views, meet on Sabbaths and keep annual holidays together. The only doctrines that should not be accepted are those antinomian doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolatians. I would love to hear from anyone interested in such a forum.
Well that is my two cents on the subject. Perhaps there are others out there who are similarly discouraged with organized religion who would like to comment on the subject. Feel free and include your permission if you would like me to post your comments. Meanwhile, I would like to take this moment to wish all readers the greatest success in their spiritual journey and freely offer my fellowship if wanted.
YHVH Bless
G. P.