Ok Bonnie,
There’s a lot you have to say and I like your honesty and being upfront. No need to play games here. So with everything you wrote, (and didn’t write) we’ll just tackle one point at a time.
As I noted earlier, there exists a counterfeit church today which is quite foreign from the real deal. But there is always an element of the real CHURCH in the world no matter what kind of institution is being propagated. You can read more about the authentic church here in Kingdomology under the CHURCH page. But in short, the Church has nothing to do with buildings or institutions. The authentic Church is more about God’s people called to him. When it comes to people, yes, you are quite right, there are a lot of people who make great claims about being good “Christians” but don’t seem to be any different than the rest of the world other than just being a religious pain in the rear because of self-righteousness. I get that. But here are some other points to consider. Read the rest of this entry »
Well it’s obvious that I’m nuts about following Jesus and wouldn’t have it any other way. As for me, I arrived at my convictions about Jesus not because I simply grew up that way kind of like a cultural thing, but because of a point in time where I was presented with the clear evidence of Christ, and then chose to accept it and follow him. But that does not mean that I think I’m any better than anyone else or even those who have chosen not to accept Christ or his teaching. In fact, there are times when I prefer to hang out with those who would consider themselves “outside” of the Church and even joke about themselves as being “pagans” or something like that. They’re at least honest in the sense that they’re not trying to fool anyone by being more spiritual than the rest of humanity. This is one of the many things I liked about living in CA. 
We’ll I’m just about back into a consistent “blogging” saddle again as we’re finishing up our transition from the church plant back in CA to a work in the Houston area. We’ve landed with an exciting bunch of folks in Cypress, Texas where there are some real needs and huge opportunities for Kingdom advancement. This past Monday night we had a group of leaders over at our house to watch the movie 
I got a 
Well I was planning on getting to this issue sometime this year, but the Germans beat me to it. Last week in Berlin, the Lutheran Church of Germany announced that it had elected 
Ok, for those of you who really thrive on reading blogs with controversy, here’s a big one for you. At least when it comes to boring theological stuff. Baptism has become one of the most hotly debated issues in the history of Christianity. Though the apostle Paul included Baptism among the “elementary teachings” in Hebrews 6:2, the subject continues to be divisive some twenty centuries later. The theological interpretations of baptism today are as numerous as the denominations among the Protestant wing of Christendom. The Roman Catholic church elevates the act to such an extent that there is no need for faith prior to baptism and thus baptizes infants. Other groups do not adhere to physical baptism at all and merely spiritualize baptismal texts in the Bible. So what’s the answer? Is there a connection to “Church Admission”? 
To start with I want to clarify that when we’re talking about “church” in this section of Kingdomology, we’re talking about the CHURCH universal. We’re talking about the connection that all Christ followers have across the world and for all time. We’re not talking about a local body of believers like First Christian Church in Liverpool, NY. In other words, these are the folks who live in different parts of the world and from different time frames that may or may not have slightly different scriptural interpretations than me, but are still in the same family of God by grace alone. We’re still Kingdom of Heaven Citizens. I do believe there is a place for local body church membership. But that’s another post. For now though, there is another point which the Bible includes as being part of the admission to God’s Church, and that point deals with ‘repentance.” 
Ok, it’s been a while since we’ve talked “Church Talk” so I’m a bit over due. So here we go and I’ll try not to make it too heady. Now, we’ve seen that the CHURCH in its truest form is a lot more than just showing up to some building on Sunday morning. The Church is a gathered body of Christ followers, called out from the world for Him. They then act out His mission on earth today. They are part of Him; or, in him. So the question for today, actually for a few days, is how does one become part of such a revolutionary group of folks?
Ok, show of hands here. How many of you had the burden of memorizing seemingly useless poetry in Junior High School? Yup, me too. But to this day there are a few of those old classic jewels that still stick in my head. One of those was by 
I love the Church. In fact, next to Jesus, my wife and kids, I can’t really think of anything that I care about as much as I do the Church. I’ve had a lot of experiences with churches and church people over the years. I’ve been part of church gatherings that have really rocked and some that have quite frankly made me yawn. I’ve seen living churches and others that should have been buried long ago. But how do we know which ones are which beyond just liking or disliking a style or observing external signs? I remember reading a Time Life book years ago about the Soviet Union and particularly paying attention to a section describing the Orthodox Church there. The opening caption simply read, “The Living Church.” Having lived in the former Soviet Union for a while, I really question that statement. Sure there was a lot of priestly activity going on, and incense flowing around. But does that mean it’s alive? What kind of church were they really talking about? Though the state authorized church provided ceremonies and rites under Communism, their existence resembled more of what Paul described as “having a form of godliness but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:5) So what is the church anyway and what’s it supposed to do? 