Christ Reformation Church reaches out via an online format to many people who have been sorely treated by and even cast out of local churches. We invite any genuine Christians or those genuinely seeking to know Christ to plug into this resource, and we receive comments constantly thanking us for this ministry and outreach and how the people “out there” really do consider CRC to be their own church family.
I very much recommend to you the following blog post by Pastor Sam Powell which can be found here. It is about how making a narrow model of “church” is akin to Baal worship, and he refutes the notion that alternate models of meeting together – such as an online format – are not permissible by God. Pastor Powell believes, as do I, in the local church and we maintain that when there is a true church available that we can belong to locally, we should do so. Everyone that I know who is part of this blog family here or who is a distant member of CRC via social media believes the same thing.
But in the history of the church there are always times and circumstances that prohibit traditional meeting together in a church building on a street corner with a pulpit, pews, and choir. We live in such days, and one of the biggest obstacles to such meeting together is the condition of the visible church today. It is simply NOT better to meet physically in a place that is a counterfeit, or that persecutes Christ’s true people, or that oppresses the weak and oppressed. Remember how Billy Graham always ended his crusade messages with “And go to church this Sunday”? That was not good advice when left unqualified.
So read Pastor Powell’s article. It was a real encouragement to me. Thank you Sam.
Sam Powell
Thank you for your kind words. I hope that you are safe up there in Oregon. These fires are something else!
Jeff Crippen
All safe here. One big fire caused the area our church building is in to be evacuated. But i think things have calmed down.
Sam Powell
I’m so thankful you are safe! We are currently safe here as well.
Innoscent
Great article by Sam. Thank you Jeff for sharing.
The early believers talked about the buildings as “the temple” and the congregation was “the church”. And Sam goes even further because the church is often a few within the assembly, or others not in building attendance.
“The church throughout the world meets in yards and caves, stables and catacombs, valleys and meadows. Sometimes there are 5 people. Sometimes there are 100 people. Rarely there are even more.”
Yes many true Christians meet in homes, on the beach, in cars, in jail, in the mountains or on line.
I’m glad that the time has come when God is shaking the Baal structure of churches. Many organizations are heavy, corrupted and unfitted for true fellowship. Even small groups can be so. I stopped attending one of those last year because of their ritualistic services and the overbearing elder in charge. They accepted no suggestions for positive change.
Church for me is with God first and with true believers on line.