Do You like an Old Testament Flavored New Testament?

I find little to no justification for a weekly "service" as defined today by whatever denomination (or non-denomination) you can find. It seems to me that so many have chosen to play out a New Testament flavored version of the Old Testament temple rituals. We have come up with our own rules and our own religious culture and imposed it upon ourview of New Testament. It distorts and colors the way we understand our life as the Church in Christ.

The church is not a place it is really my relationship with God and with others. Church really has nothing to do with the ceremony and procedures of organizations. We ARE the church. I really have to come to the conclusion that the church was never meant to be an organization. Not in the sense that most think of a "church" today.

Today we have "worship and praise" which is mostly just a concert. with people being "led" in worship by a special man-made priesthood which has musical abilities. When in fact worship has precious little to do with singing. (singing can be a part of worship... but it is not worship) Worship as defined in scripture is a life of service to God and showing love to others... a continual prayer to Him... and we sure don't need a "worship leader" to lead us in it.

Having a single man -- a "pastor" -- lead a group and being under his "authority" is not really something I can see clearly in scripture. at best we should simply be a part of group led by multiple elders... but I don't think it has to even resemble an organizational chart. We are all priests, we don't need a figurehead shepherd. We already have a Chief Shepherd -- a "Head Pastor" if you translate that phrase. We are to be sheep of HIS pasture, not someone just calling themselves a head pastor.

I am not saying that we should not be gathering with other believers regularly. I am saying I find no definition of a "Church Service" in scripture that looks anything like what we see today (or as the defined way to gather with believers), nor today's definition of "pastor", nor "worship", nor justification to collect "tithes" by which to support an organization. Instead I see people freely giving to help those in need.

I feel like the Book of Hebrews really lays it out -- that we should stop looking to the old procedures and letting ourselves be strangled by our 'religious culture' and comfort zones. The rituals were shadows of the freedom there is in Christ, That is, entering the REAL holy of holies boldly rather than letting a priest go into a man made replica of it.

If Jesus had intended we set up more religious rituals and structure I think he would have told us about it. All this religious stuff... for what it is ... it is fine (if it helps some) but I feel it does the same thing in many cases that the Jewish rituals did to the early Christians. It was an old way of life that they clung to for their own security. It kept them from progressing to Christ (or in Christ).

How much time, energy and money do we waste on the gyrations of "doing church" when we should be spending our time energy and money to BE the church?

I think that maybe the church as Jesus envisions it, was much more like the description he gave Nicodemus in John 3:8, rather than the tangible program based and ritual rich organizations we see scattered around the world today. We should be and act more like the wind, and less like a business corporation or a religious tradition.