We hope you hear our heart for Jesus & His Ekklesia

Actually I am not telling anyone to do anything.  I am just asking you to search scripture to find God's definition of His "church", (Please see last FAQ to explain why church is not the right word to use) and not just assume your church experience is right because "it works" or because "we have always done it that way."  There are thousands of church denominations out there, and hundreds of thousands of churches.  I AM NOT MAKING A JUDGEMENT ON ALL OF THEM.  If you look at the evidence on this website you have to admit church can be a hurtful and deceptive place.   My heart is for those who have been deceived, and find themselves confused and struggling spiritually.  I am simply saying, you might want to examine scripture and seek His design and desire for His Church (The Ekklesia).   Don't let a bad representation of church side track you from following Jesus.   

I do believe that a few decades ago it was the immature believer or non-believer who would leave the church because they lost interest or maybe because they felt convicted.   I believe today more and more mature believers are leaving the institutional church because they are sensing something is off, or they begin to question some of the unscriptural practices they see in the church.  If you are a genuine follower of Jesus and you are questioning what you have experienced at your church, or religion in general, I hope this website helps you continue to follow Jesus while you seek His answers to your questions. So keep going to the building called "church" on Sunday morning until God calls you away to something better.  I don't think it is a good idea to just leave something, without being called to something better.  

There are four categories of materials on this website.  1. Materials I have used in my research.  This includes books, websites, articles and other peoples thoughts on topics concerning the church.  2. I also have a litany of videos, articles and websites documenting the problems and abuses of the church. (It's pretty gross, and in some cases rated R)  3. I have also added some writing of my own. I would encourage you to start with "Coming Out of the Closet" and "The Sand and the Diamond".  I hope to add more articles in the near future.  This website was birthed from years of study, questioning and time following Jesus.  It includes a wide variety of resources I have been influenced by, mixed with my own conclusions and convictions. 

Well, I tend to get three reactions.  My pastor friends are not thrilled, especially when things hit close to home.  I kind of know how pastors think because I am one.  I also know that good men, who love Jesus can be compromised and conformed by the religious system in which they do ministry.  Overall my pastor friends somewhat agree with some of my stances, but many times the practical implications overwhelm any sense of theoretical agreement they may have.  It's confusing because my goal is to point to scripture when making my case, but sometimes scripture is not enough to convince people.  I want to have thoughtful discussions on these matters, but usually the conversations are short and more confrontational than I desire.  

The second group of people who visit my website are mature believers who have already seen something is wrong with the institutional church, but either they did not know the extent of the problem, or they just did not know why they felt the way they did.  This was me for 30 years as a pastor.  I did not become a pastor on purpose.  I was a school teacher and coach who was following Jesus the best I could, and next thing you know I became a pastor.  I had been in the church long enough to know I did not want a pastors life, and I especially did not want the life of a youth pastor.  To sum it up I felt like most youth pastors in the 1980's were poorly paid, micromanaged and had little job security.  Fortunately I was sheltered in a great family of believers, and that made all the difference.  We operated like a family, and even though we were an institutional church, we kept the hierarchy, politics and religious B.S. to a minimum.  Back then I was like that believer who knew something was wrong, but I just could not put my finger on it, so I tried my best to do what the Bible said, but after much study I see more clearly what I always felt.  These types of people tend to agree with me, and the website confirms things they have felt for years. 

The third kind of person is just confused, abused and had it with the churches hypocrisy.  THESE ARE THE PEOPLE I CREATED THIS WEBSITE FOR.  This website is for all of the people who are questioning their faith, and even loosing their faith because they cannot recover from their experience in the institutional  church.  When people allow the institutional church to be the center piece of their spiritual life, and not Jesus, it usually does not end well.  This website is for my family members and friends who have given up on Jesus, because they have given up on the church.   I am hoping to give these people hope that Jesus and the institutional church are not one and the same.  My goal is to help people who have been abused, deceived or disillusioned with church, walk away from institutionally corrupt religion so they can more authentically embrace Jesus, and find a more biblical expression of the Church in which to grow as a Jesus follower.  

I only suggest my website to three categories of people.  People who have serious questions about the nature of the church.  People who have been hurt or abused by the church and are  questioning their faith.  Lastly, people who are mature enough to do their own study and research for themselves.  This website has everything you need to start that research.  I have documented the many forms of church abuse, as well as, the scriptural basis for my convictions about the problems we see in the institutional church.  I also have written some articles on various issues in the church.  I hope you will check it out and come to your own conclusions.  I have not included anything in this website lightly.  I have studied extensively, asked for learned people to check my work, and asked God to direct my writing.

I started this website because I had friends and family who were struggling with their faith.  They had encountered some shady dark stuff in the church, and started heading down the deconstruction road.  Many of these people ended up questioning more than just church, they also began to question their faith in Jesus.  I have felt disappointment in my experience with church as well, but a long time ago I was able to separate my experience in the institutional church and my faith in Jesus.  Unfortunately, many people have allowed their spiritual lives to be fully captivated by their church experience.  This is dangerous territory, because if your journey with Jesus depends on your church experience you may end up seeing your journey cut short when your church experience does not live up to its billing.  

We must discern between false teachers, and false teaching.  False teachers are dangerous.  They are purposely leading people astray for their own personal gain, and Paul refers to them as wolves.  False teaching can occur due to errors in understanding the Bible, or the acceptance of commonly held man made doctrines.   False teachers and false teaching need to be identified to protect the Church (Ekklesia).  Paul had much to say on this topic.  In II Corinthians 11 he says,  "For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it way too easily."  Here Paul is saying we should not put up with deception in the Church.  

There is danger in NOT identifying the wolves among us.  In fact, Paul went so far as to say Christians should NOT judge the world, but they should judge those who claim to be Christians, especially if they are false teachers.  I Corinthians 5:12 Paul says, "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked person from among you.”  I think there is enough evidence on this website alone to understand the need to protect fellow believers from false teachers, and false teaching.  

In 1st and 2nd Timothy Paul names names of false teachers at least 6 times.  Remember a false teacher is NOT a brother in Christ, he is a wolf who devours the faith of those who follow him.  Jesus never backed down from false teachers, or the religious elite.  In Matthew 23 Jesus uses the strongest words possible to call out the hypocrites and false teachers of His day.  (Read all of Matthew 23) Of course we must be able to discern between a simple disagreement with a fellow believer and identifying a false teacher.  In I John 4 it says; "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world."  I believe false teachers abound today, and due to mass media they are able to influence large numbers of people.  I believe it is our responsibility to discern the messenger, as well as the message.  Scripture is clear, false teachers will come, and they will flourish if the Body of Christ does not protect itself by identifying unbiblical teaching.  Investigate for yourself. 

https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/False-Teachings

You probably already know my answer, NO.  However, each resource I have posted has helped me in my journey to understand why things are so messed up in the church.  I hope this website will help those who are questioning things regarding the church, and how that relates to their own personal relationship with Jesus.   I would encourage you to do what I have done which is study, pray and discern.  I really hope this website speeds up your journey.   If you dig into any one of these authors, or speakers I am sure you will find things that you will question.  In those cases I would hope you would go to scripture and investigate what God's Word says.  The most important book you need to read when it comes to the Church is the Bible.  I hope these resources help you in your journey, I know they have helped me.  As you go through these resources do as my dad always said, "eat the meat, spit out the bones."

I believe our religious vocabulary is not very biblical.  An example is the word "CHURCH".  This is one of the worst mistranslations in the KJV Bible, and almost all other translations.  The actual word in the original language is EKKLESIA.  It means those who have been called out to gather or assemble for a specific purpose.  It is not a religious word at all.  When Jesus said "On this rock I will build my Ekklesia" the word Ekklesia, which appears 115 times in the New Testament, was mistranslated by order of King James.  

In 1611 King James had the Bible translated into English.  This was a landmark event because up until that time people were persecuted and killed if they possessed any English translation of the Bible. King James gave the translators 15 instructions when doing this ground breaking work.  Many of those instructions were inconsequential, but number three on the list was a big deal. He required the translators to use the word "church" whenever translating Ekklesia, instead of the correct English word, which is assembly or congregation.  

Why would he insist the translators use the word church?  Because he wanted the focus to be on the building, the institution and his authority as head of the church of England.  The word "church", which emphasized the place of worship and the institutionalized church, was the reality of church for the 1,000 years preceding.  By this time in human history the church was established as a building you go to, leaders you obey, give money too, fear and depend on for access to God.  This word church still influences how we envision His Ekklesia today.  The true Ekklesia are simply people who have been called out of the world to know Him, and serve Him.  There are many other unbiblical words we need to change as well, to truly use a biblical vocabulary. I still selectively use the word "church"  in my writing because I do not want to confuse people who are unfamiliar with the word Ekklesia.  

That's a great question.  I don't actually know how to find a house church.  By nature they are hard too find.  Just to be clear, there is nothing magical about meeting in a house.  It's well documented that cults and other abuses can happen in a house, as well as a church.  The issue is not the location or even size, but the religious institutional system.  We call our Sunday morning gathering a house church, minus the house.  This is because we have met in a YWCA, a restaurant, a garage, a barn, a furniture store, an office building, a sumo ring ,and under a tree next to the ocean in the span of 6 years.  Presently we meet under a large tent at a horse ranch.  The best way to find a "house church" is to start one yourself.  You do not need a seminary degree, pastoral experience or most of all, permission.  Where 2 or 3 are gathered in His name He will be in your midst, and He will lead you by His Spirit.  Maybe it's time to put your big boy pants on and step out in faith.  He has promised He will build His Church (Ekklesia) and I think He has already proven He can do that using anyone.  My interaction with the church, or Ekklesia" has been extended to brothers and sisters online, as well as, people I meet with regularly.

Probably the first obstacle you need to overcome is the word church.  The word church is actually much different than we may think in the New Testament.  Without getting into the original language too much you need to know the word church is actually Ekklesia in the New Testament.  It occurs 115 times and refers to the people who have been called out of the world.  It has nothing to do with a steepled building, or a religious organization.  It has everything to do with the people God has called out of the world to know and serve Him.  So, you can gather at anytime and anywhere with others who have been called out to know and serve God.  Remember Acts 7:48 The Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord, or where will My place of repose be? Has not My hand made all these things?’