So you’ve followed the Lord’s call unto something deeper and you’re finally meeting with people outside of the institutional church system. Everything can only go up from here, right?

Andrew, Carrie, Tyrone, Alison, R.C., and Bridget are back at it, this time sharing from testimonies and experiences working with people why some groups meeting outside the institution break apart or stop meeting altogether. It’s not particularly easy to talk about, but their desire is that it will be beneficial to those meeting now and in the future by giving them an idea of what to be watchful for and to encourage them to hold fast to the Head!

SO REALLY…What went wrong with us?

* We all just couldn’t find the time to commit. I know we all live in the same city, but traffic and schedules and young kid duties precluded us from getting together on weekdays. And peoples schedules on weekends are full, too.

* We can’t agree what church should be. Such as some want a couple songs then a pure preaching/teaching format while others long more for sharing and praying.

* We let false teaching (or distractions) seep into our meetings and no one stood against it. Before we knew it, these false teachings were taking over the meetings.

* We have unresolved issues. (This can be so many things and may be different in each group.)

* Example #1: Some in the group had offenses with one another that were not dealt with. They could not worship in the same space as the offender. (Or they had offenses with a believer outside the group–either way, it hurts the group.)

* Example #2: Our group had issues with childcare. We would never come to a consensus about what to do with the children during the corporate meetings. Eventually, some stopped attending because of the unresolved issue of childcare.

* We were not spiritual, evangelistic, wholistic, veganistic, etc., enough. Basically, it’s not what I want it to be.

* We have all been “caged lions” for so long and forgot how get own spiritual food and share it with others.

* We are the only ones bringing spiritual food to the meetings, so it is too difficult to meet with the others.

* We can’t agree on asking for outside help (from experienced and trusted groups/workers).

* We have became jaded by our difficulties and are unwilling to commit anymore.

* We made a “church made for man” instead of understanding who the Church really is. And then it failed or fell apart when we couldn’t agree on how we would even like for it to be made, or how it would work for us.

* CHURCH MADE FOR MAN by Pam Stroud (Thanks, Pam!)

We meet together as the church for the Eternal Purpose of God. Simply put, the Eternal Purpose of God is “a House and Family for the Father, a Body and Bride for the Son, and a Temple for the Spirit” (Milt Rodriguez). The reality of the church is that she is the manifestation of this purpose. Any group meeting outside of the institutional church system that deviates from this purpose will be functioning on the effort of man, not the strength of God, and it will be difficult, if not impossible, to maintain.

We’ll go into more on what it looks like to live out this purpose together while holding fast to the Head in “What Went Wrong With Our Group Part 2.”