What do I mean by freedom from Church? If you have followed aquietwater in the past you know that I spent a fair amount of time talking about the value of Church. We make the point that church plays an important role in connecting to God in our distracted world. We as believers in Jesus Christ are part of the body of Christ.

Have we changed our minds in rejoicing in being free from church? “Certainly not” as the apostle Paul would say. We are however recognizing, and are rejoicing in thankfulness, that we are under the authority of the Word of God and not living under “the thumb” of every person or group that puts up a sign claiming to speak for Jesus no matter how “old,” new, well financed, hip, or “semenaried” their institution is.

The visible earthly church can sometimes be a bad thing, even sometimes ones that are theologically correct, and we need to be aware of that. One needs only to start reading the first part of the book of revelation to see that the earthly visible church has been, will be, and will be until Christ returns inconsistent and problematic.

I want to talk for a moment about a type of church that has had a particular negative effect in our family’s life. Even more importantly,  I want to express my thankfulness that we can be free of the effects of it, and even the church itself has the ability to repent and be forgiven.

I call this type of church “heavy” church. A lot of time these churches are branded legalistic, but that is not really the case.  They are theologically all correct. Maybe think of these churches sort of falling into the category of the church of Ephesus in the book of revelation. One that lost its first love. They get mixed up a bit and seem to forget it is all about the wonder and love of Jesus Christ. Here is the key problem: Success in a heavy church is the preconceived approval of the congregation and more importantly the church leadership.

I want to share some signs your church just may be a heavy church.

Control… it is all about control. No one is ever good enough. We found endless sermons about the qualities of church leaders, but no one was ever qualified enough except for relatives of the leadership and their closest lifelong friends.

Questioning of your salvation? Really are you sure you sincere when you asked Jesus into your life? They asked this type of question all the time. Constantly asking the congregation if they are really saved, creates the idea that there are those who really got “saved right” and those who well…just weren’t genuine enough when they said the sinners prayer,  walked the aisle, or called out on Jesus name etc.…

Outside influence is dampened. A heavy church’s emphasis is to look inwardly into the church instead of outward into the community. The greater Christian community is always not quite good enough. Yes, it is good to have church distinctives. Yes, it is good to be enthusiastic about what your church is doing. Yes, there is wrong theology and practice and worldliness among the visible church…we are collections of sinners, but it is probably wrong to think that there are no other good Christian groups in your community to join with that could speak truth into your congregation.

Finances are hidden. In heavy churches, the belief is that the money belongs to the leadership not the congregation. Want to follow the truth then follow the money. Now I don’t believe that every Christian church needs to disclose every salary dollar of every person to the entire population of the United States, but heavy churches tend to want to keep things hidden because it goes back to rule number one…control.

There probably could be more things we could pick on, but it is important to remember that all churches are flawed, and even “good” churches can have bits and pieces of these problems in them. We are sinners and are in need of grace. Ultimately, heavy churches make us feel like loving and following Jesus is a weighty “heavy” burden that we must carry, and it dangerously makes the secular world appear lighter and more carefree when the truth is the opposite. Sin is imprisoning and weighs down. Jesus Christ is freeing.

We are not advocating for worldwide uprising of Korah coups against Moses. Yes, some folks probably need to leave their church tomorrow and never go back. But our hope for all heavy churches is that the thankfulness, joy, and wonder of Jesus Christ shines through and control is replaced by trust and openness with the Word of God is the center of attention and the backbone of the church. That pleasing Jesus Christ and not the leadership is the emphasis.

We should not forsake gathering together, preaching the word, fellowship, holding each other accountable, sharing communion, baptizing, and evangelizing  but we should do it in joyful obedience to Jesus Christ. We should not do it only for others good opinion of ourselves or a positive place on the church hierarchy. The Church is the body of Christ and is good.