From: <terryanddebbie@...> Date sent: Sat, 31 Jan 2004 22:42:59 -0000 I am an out-of-church Christian. I have been a part of 1 or 2 fairly small gatherings of out-of-church Christians for about 15 months now, and I want to flag up a concern I have for all those who for one reason or another have ended up in this position. There is no doubt that being out of the worst elements of church is very attractive to many, especially for those who have suffered at the hands of other churches. You are free to think, believe and act how you like, and no one can tell you otherwise - for me, this means not having to hide what I think on certain subjects, although I have found that wrong teaching still exists out-of-church... The problem I want to highlight is that for all of us in principle, and in practice for some of us more than others, God wants all of us to be part of a body where we (a) are accountable to someone and (b) are open to input and if necessary on-course correction from others. In other words, every Christian should be linked to an elder or elders so that (a) and (b) can operate in their lives. The reality is that many out-of-church Christians have had really negative experience at the hands of elders and/or church and the last thing they are looking for is the prospect of spiritual abuse from another elder who does not fit God's blueprint, and who has the position without the necessary spirituality that should go with it. None of us though would object to joining a church where we could guarantee the elders displayed the attributes of Jesus 99.9% (allowing for human failings). However, the only thing that matters to me is what the Bible says - I don't care what I think or what anyone else thinks - and the Bible simply does not recognise as legitimate the concept of a Christian who is not part of a church led by elders, and who is therefore not shepherded by and subject to elders. The problem for out-of-church Christians like me is that, at the end of the day, no one has authority over us. This is the problem highlighted in Jude 12, where certain individuals are negatively referred to as "feeding" or more accurately "shepherding" i.e. eldering themselves. The danger for out-of-church Christians is that they are, in effect, their own elders. Where this can especially be a problem is that some people out-of-church most definitely do need more than others some kind of ongoing correction, supervision or input - call it what you will - but no one is really in a position to ensure they get it, because there is no fatherly authority in place. The danger is that people can carry on as they are enjoying their freedom but still entrenched in problems of character or false teaching which never get tackled. -Terry. Coventry, UK. *********************