That my friend was an exhortation I will not soon forget. I remember going through a phase in my Christian live when shopping on line for spiritual food and Christian fellowship. Although it does have a wide range of incredible teachers available throughout the, mostly North American Church it still lacked the importance of being together as messy as that can be. I have throughout my life been apart of different church bodies and as I reflect upon that life the most important part of my Christian life was Church attendance with the Saints. “ I rejoice with those who say to me, let us go to the house of the Lord” Thanks again brother. Blessings on this coming Lord’s day
Great article Michael, I heard a preacher say years ago “as bad as it must have smelled an all the issues being closed up with all the animals on the ark with all the animals, it was still the safest place to be”. The church is like that, full of imperfect people, who make mistakes, say things that may be hurtful, but in spite of all the problems and issues it is still the safest place to be!!! Thanks for the article!
Even in monastic life, community is the basis of the monastic vow of a continual commitment to living the life of a monk (conversatio morum). The Incarnation grounds us in this world because God saw fit to redeem it, and nothing says "World" like one's neighbor, whom we are commanded to love. Thank you for your words of inspiration.
Great points all through the article…now the tougher question. Would St Ignatius or any of the other fathers or the apostles be ok with us calling both the independent evangelical megachurch and the Presbyterian reformed church and its hundreds of offshoots, and the other 1000+ denominations all members of one visible church? The answer is definitely no. Church hurt may drive some to the invisible church doctrine, but the biggest driver of the heresy is the impossible dilemma the reformers and subsequent Christians found themselves in, separated from the one historic body, as part of an ever expanding constellation of discreet institutions that continue schisming ever further outward. So the question now becomes which body is the true body, the true visible church. Because Paul says we must “have the same mind”. What church shares the same mind as the one church that the fathers belonged to. There are honestly only a few potential options. My road and my search Les me to the holy Orthodox Church. Blessings to all who seek Christ!
That my friend was an exhortation I will not soon forget. I remember going through a phase in my Christian live when shopping on line for spiritual food and Christian fellowship. Although it does have a wide range of incredible teachers available throughout the, mostly North American Church it still lacked the importance of being together as messy as that can be. I have throughout my life been apart of different church bodies and as I reflect upon that life the most important part of my Christian life was Church attendance with the Saints. “ I rejoice with those who say to me, let us go to the house of the Lord” Thanks again brother. Blessings on this coming Lord’s day
Great article Michael, I heard a preacher say years ago “as bad as it must have smelled an all the issues being closed up with all the animals on the ark with all the animals, it was still the safest place to be”. The church is like that, full of imperfect people, who make mistakes, say things that may be hurtful, but in spite of all the problems and issues it is still the safest place to be!!! Thanks for the article!
Even in monastic life, community is the basis of the monastic vow of a continual commitment to living the life of a monk (conversatio morum). The Incarnation grounds us in this world because God saw fit to redeem it, and nothing says "World" like one's neighbor, whom we are commanded to love. Thank you for your words of inspiration.
Great points all through the article…now the tougher question. Would St Ignatius or any of the other fathers or the apostles be ok with us calling both the independent evangelical megachurch and the Presbyterian reformed church and its hundreds of offshoots, and the other 1000+ denominations all members of one visible church? The answer is definitely no. Church hurt may drive some to the invisible church doctrine, but the biggest driver of the heresy is the impossible dilemma the reformers and subsequent Christians found themselves in, separated from the one historic body, as part of an ever expanding constellation of discreet institutions that continue schisming ever further outward. So the question now becomes which body is the true body, the true visible church. Because Paul says we must “have the same mind”. What church shares the same mind as the one church that the fathers belonged to. There are honestly only a few potential options. My road and my search Les me to the holy Orthodox Church. Blessings to all who seek Christ!