Living In the Relationship
Living in the Relationship is designed to encourage people outside the box to go on and thrive in their personal relationship with God through Jesus. Brad and Wayne also tackle the difficult question, "What do you do when you feel like God is asking you to do something you're not ready for?" and comment on some recent letters from listeners. If you have questions or subjects you'd like them to address in future shows, please be sure to let them know by commenting on this blog, emailing them, or calling the question/comment line at (805) 626-4212.
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Hey Guys, just found your new webcast site! Enjoying listening to the recent and archived webcasts. Keep up the great work.
Wayne and Brad, Continue to enjoy the webcasts and the articles. Very encouraging. Finding a healthy relationship with Father and other believers on the journey.
But I continue to remain confused about the role of leadership in this view of relational church. In Acts it speaks about Apostles and Prophets visiting the church and having a role in the encouragement and direction. Speaks about the appointment of elders.
My question concerns the expression of the gifts and graces of believers. If a believer has the gift (Ephes 4) of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Teacher, Pastor, how is that grace shared with the body? Is it relational referral? Is there a more formal recognition of the gifts including an ‘ordination’ of sorts? How, for example, are the gifts shared in a local area or outside? And what about church discipline? Wouldn’t there need to be recognition of a local group of believers to exercise areas of discipline?
I can’t go back to the way I used to ‘do church’ and I say thank you God. But I still am sifting through some of my former doctrines and seeing how they fit in the new paradigm.
Thanks. You are touching and impacting many people.
I ran across your website through House to House and then reading through “Why I don’t go to chur ch anymore”. I have enjoyed listening to these webcasts and I wonder where the Lord is leading my family and I. I haven’t enjoyed “going to” church for a long time and we have “attended” from a user friendly church to an expository oriented church to a cell celebration church. I am a PK and a EK and a former associate pastor. But I see people just drift through the organized church. It is so easy to go to a big church (yea, I do know that you cannot go to a church and that we are it) and slip through the back door and listen to a great expository preacher and leave thinking that you have performed ytor duty. I was talking to a friend of mine from Bible college and I was telling him about the 10 million or so people that call themselves follower of Christ but do not regularly attend a local church. His reaction was livid about how can they call themselves “Christians” when they are not obedient to the “not forsaking the assemblying of ourselves together” and that verse where it says that “whenever 2 or more are gathered together, there am I in your midst” can’t mean just that. I was not expecting such judgment on these people. It sadden me to think that is the reaction. It is hard to break free of “churchianity” and look to realtionship. I truly want that. I am sick and tired of the church that Jesus called out being ridiculed because of we don’t love each other.
But, I do wonder with Dwight above on how the church’s administration works out and setting people free to serve. I am also sick of programs as being the answer for everything instead of liveing out the Christ life and sharing that journey together.
Thanks for all your hard work and the stuff you are doing.
I found this by accident but wanted to respond. I am the mother of 4 adult children with only 1 now going to church. My older son is rebelling against the change of Praise music instead of traditional hymns. The other son “can’t find” his dream church. My one daughter has never pretended to be a church-goer but knows she needs it. All of their excuses are just a covering for the real reasons. You get out of anything what you are willing to put into it. Right? My other daughter goes to church with me and seems to be happy with it.
I happen to be the part-time pastor of just a handfull of people left behind a split church. But we are a family of dedicated lovers of Christ. Big churches aren’t for everyone. Our church seems to serve the remnant – those who are alone and would feel out of place in the usual family-oriented church. We are our own family. All are needed, wanted and loved. We support one another. God has led us along and kept us going. When I first started there as pastor, they expected the church to close and that was 16 years ago! Sure, the organized church has its weakness and I do get frustrated with them but after all, we are not serving “them” but Jesus Christ! It’s not what we are getting out of it (the church) but what the Lord is getting out of us (his servants). We gave our lives to him when we accepted the Lord as our Savior.
By the way, as far as I know, I am not related, closely that is, to the above Dwight Pond. The name of my great-grandfather was Dwight Pond, coming to Nebraska in 1880 from NY.
I started listening to this website because on an interview you had with Pastor Greg. I am a member of the Worldwide Church of God and I lived 3 1/2 years under the old covenant, then in 1995 the doctrinal change took place. I learned that all the things my former brethren did was to earn there way into the kingdom of God. I was really suffering under the impression that God was about to spit me out of his mouth because I was lukewarm and not hot or cold. I am slowly learning that God has and will continue to love from before time. So thank you for your comments to baby christians such as I am.