Frank Peretti questions how we do Church

Novelist Frank Peretti may be known for his tales of spiritual warfare, but the New York Times bestseller delivered a lighter rhetoric to the crowd at Liberty University Convocation on Monday, using a surprising amount of energy, humor, and silly voices to ignite conversation about the state of today’s church.

Peretti’s message unofficially kicked off Church Planting Emphasis Week at Liberty.

Johnnie Moore, Liberty's vice president for executive projects who manages Convocation, said Peretti did not even know it was Church Planting Week but his message fit perfectly with the theme and was a great way to get things started.

“It is amazing the way the Holy Spirit works,” Moore said.

Peretti said the church has become more concerned with “the enterprise, with all the organization, all the customers and the executives and the technology, that we don’t have time to be focused on Jesus, really focused on Jesus.”

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aceituna

Yes, God often uses things we say or do to make his will known and done, whether we realize it for not. Some might say this is coincidence, but truthfully, coincidence does not explain it at all. God's finger in what is happening does.
- Evermyrtle
  
  I think you hit it squarely! GOD does use such things to fulfill HIS will, I beleive!!
Blondie

Oh he's so right….I no longer "do" church.
http://www.missiontoisrael.org/ Ted R. Weiland

Church (ecclesia) was never meant to be four-walled building thing. The Greek word has primarily to do with a civil body politic. It's a much more encompassing word than how Christians today view it, supported by passages such as Romans 13:3-4, 1 Corinthian 6:1-6, 2 Corinthians 10:4-6, and 1 Timothy 1:8-10. The present view has produced what Christ identified in Matthew 5:13 as salt that's lost its savor, good for nothing but to be trampled under the foot of man.

For more, see Chapter 19 "Amendment 10: Counterfeit Powers" of "Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution: The Christian Perspective" at http://www.missiontoisrael.org/biblelaw-constitutionalism-pt19.php.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Patton/592034163 Andrew Patton
  
  Hypocrite, you refuse to be judged by your bishop, yet you accuse us of rebelling against God's order? First get the beam out of your own eye and submit to the authority of your bishop before trying to replace the Constitution.
  - http://www.missiontoisrael.org/ Ted R. Weiland
    
    Proverbs 26:4
Justme

This is so true! I have many friends who don't attend church regularly and they say that when they do come the message is about money and the number of this or that. Sadly, they are right, as I wrote down every time they came and the title of each sermon on each Sunday. By the way, I love Frank Peretti's books!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004047180339 John Adams

He seems to have forgotten the FACT that Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." We MUST put every possible effort forth to "keep the rules". That's one of the problems with the emergent church; they want a "faith" with no responsibility.
- Evermyrtle
  
  You are correct! That is the second very important requirement in our lives with Christ, Accept HIM as SAVIOR, follow HIS commandments. "If you love keep my commandments being the third requirement.
- Robert Alexander
  
  Matthew 11:30: For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
  
  I John 5:3: For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
  
  Harmonize that with the whole Word and it casts away the darkness making the salt renewed.
John J Flanagan

Some of the language today, even from so called intellectuals (perhaps, especially from intellectuals), is annoying. I have never used the term "do" church. I do not "do" church. I attend church, worship at church, but I do not "do" church. I do not "do" lunch. I have lunch. I eat lunch. What is in the mind of some people who wish to reinvent grammar and destroy the English language? On Facebook, there are Christians who post scripture verses and refuse to use the words "to" or "are", instead using computer gibberish slangs like substituting "2" for "to", or "r" for "are". It is really stupid, stupid, stupid…………………!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=58215905 Wesley Woods

the church is to focused on the individual instead of the body. every person is called to some sort of ministry even women as St. Paul tells the church of Corinth that like a human body is made up of different parts so is the church made up of different parts. reading through the New Testament you can see how the New Testament church was the church, the body of Jesus Christ to the world. as the church grew, there became a conflict between the Hellenistic believers and Jewish believes over how the goods were being distributed, and the apostles decided to dedicate seven men among the body who were filled with the Holy Spirit to be in charge of the distributing the good. one was St. Stephan who holds the honor of being the first martyr for Jesus Christ for living out his faith in his life. it took just one man of God to end the gladiator games in Rome to stand up for the truth that those fighting were made in the image of God. he was killed for doing so, but afterward the eyes of those in attendance were opened and that was the last time that there was gladiator games held in Rome. Jesus told his disciple in front of the cave in Caesaria Philippi called the "Gate of Hell" that not even all the forces of darkness would ever overcome his Church. when the church is the church societies can be transform, evil empires will fall, and social evils will be eliminated. God's Holy Spirit is on the move the question is will the church of Jesus Christ which withstood ten waves of persecutions by the Roman Empire live out what it means to be the church.
Winston

“We pride ourselves in being under grace, not under the law, and yet we lift up our own laws,” Such a very profound statement because that is exactly what has happened in the "American" churches. Pastors (these young "youth pastors" turned "Senior Pastor" overnight, put more emphasis on a uber-structured and required membership program than considering loving Jesus as He loves the Church. Such legalism is more akin to Pharisitical and Nicolaitan activity-based organization than what the first century church example set for us to follow. Also, most of those "logos-minded" young pastors lack spiritual discernment and maturity by outright restraining the work of the Holy Spirit today amongst those in the church. We've grown weary of leaving these apostate churches and are eagerly seeking a "home church" to attend… What about you, are your in a "church rut" and unaware of it?