Tim Stafford, a CT senior writer, recently wrote in Christianity Today, "A living, breathing congregation is the only place to live in a healthy relationship to God. That is because it is the only place on earth where Jesus has chosen to dwell. How can you enjoy the benefits of Christ if you detach yourself from the living Christ?"
I have yet to find the Scripture that Mr. Stafford is using to support his statement that Christ only dwells witin the congregation of an institutional church. My Bible tells me that Jesus has chosen to dwell in the heart of every Christian who repents of their sin and puts their faith in Him for their salvation. The Body of Christ is made up of believers from every denomination, including those who the Lord has lead to worship, study and fellowship outside of the institutional church in their homes as the early New Testement Christians did.
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"A living, breathing congregation is the only place to live in a healthy relationship to God."
I know from anecdotal experiences that this isn't true. There are some spiritually sick people in churches and I'm not talking about the new believer, spiritual novices, who carry baggage with them from the past into a relationship with God. Most of them I've run across are honest enough with themselves to know they need God to transform them. No, it's the CINO (Christian In Name Only) type who thinks that they've "arrived" and there's no more change in their life needed for them be anymore saved than they are. They're the ones who obscure the vision of God to others within a congregation of believers and deter them from having pure relationships with God. They distort the truth and corrupt the "healthy relationship" that could be because of the example they display. Anyone can talk about the benefits of church life. Where are those who've talked about the scripturally sick, truthfully compromised condition of churches in America?
Sorry for the rant but you hit a nerve.
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