What I think is that Denominationalism/Institutionalism of Religion is being challenged. How they respond will determine their outcome. God has used institutions in the past and no doubt in the present to reach people with the relational message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When Martin Luther "reformed" the church... Did the Jesus Loving...Jesus Following... Jesus acting Catholics die out? NO! Luther pointed out a flaw in the system. "Lack of good information keeps people dependent on the information giver!" The "information givers" were replaced with what we now know as the Bible in printed form. Bada Bing... Badda Boom! (Billy Crystal Quote from Analyze That) People again had first hand access to their Creator. Information about their creator flowed freely into the hands of the common man.
There are plenty of Catholics who understand that the key to living life is loving Jesus. What Martin Luther did, was expose the weakness in our systems approach of ever-increasing complexity and controls to access God on a personal level. The center of control had become "man-centered" rather than "Christo-Spirit" centered. It had become clergy driven rather than common person accessible. People and Things began stepping between man and his Creator. We established a system where the "priesthood" of all believers became subject to a priest/pastor/clergy rather than dependent on the role of the Holy Spirit and scripture in their lives. The clergy being the ones pointing people towards a relationship with God on an individual basis rather than a pulpit/positional basis. There are plenty of Catholics that still rely on the Bible and the Holy Spirit as their source of truth and strength.
This too can happen to any simple church or traditional church. It is easy to replace the Word of God and the voice or inner light of God (the Holy Spirit) with a man/ leader/ overseer/ priest/ man/ woman/ philosophy/ or church strategy. We must encourage all to participate in this glorious exchange of relationship between God and man. It is not about information, it is about a relationship with God, our families, and those we come in contact with on a daily basis.
Does anyone think they can have a relationship with their spouse through pen and paper only? I don't think so! I don't know of any meaningful marriage where the couple communicates through pen and paper, having never seen each other.
There is a supernatural exchange/relationship that takes place between man and God through the power of the Holy Spirit. There is a spiritual peace that overtakes all information. There is something above and beyond this physical world that reaches out and touches us. We must seek it and it will find us. We must ask Jesus Christ to minister to us through the power of His Spirit. Then we will begin to understand this supernatural exchange of information (Bible) and peace (supernatural intervention).
Don't think that I am saying that the "inner light" or the "inner voice" outweighs the information contained in scripture. I believe the Holy Spirit guides and provides comfort, care, direction, and enlightenment to scripture and our lives. I believe that God never contradicts Himself. So scripture will never contradict the leading of the Holy Spirit.
What I am saying is that if denominations/traditional churches wish too survive, they must first get back to the basics of pushing people towards sitting under an Oak tree reading about and praying to God, walking at work and play in the power of the Holy Spirit while being mindful of the time that they were sitting, and learning to stand in the gap for people seeking hope in this world and pointing them towards the God of miracles and peace. This must become more important than filling pews/seats on Sunday morning and delivering a message verbally that will have 5-10% retained after 3 days. There is a better way to point people towards Jesus Christ.
Is Institutionalism of the Gospel going to die? I believe it will die and be replaced with a renewed sense of what it means to point people towards a living Savior. Having a relationship with God and their families rather than a relationship with a church building, church structure, church theology, or church system will become the priority. Humans do not relate well to brick and mortar. Humans become better humans when they relate to each other and a living God.
Remember that the church that Jesus Christ built was never made with brick and mortar. It was made of people,living stones. The message of a relationship with Jesus Christ must be imparted to our hearts and delivered to a dry and brittle world. Are building bad... No... However, they are if they take the primary focus away from getting people(individuals) to sit under the Oak tree with a Bible and the power of the Holy Spirit to interact with a living Savior, Jesus Christ.
The book of first Peter in the second chapter.
1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4 As you come to him, the living Stone —rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him — 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, ”
8 and, “A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message —which is also what they were destined for.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
18 Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19 For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
NIV — Holy Bible, New International Version — ©1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
Christ is the overseer of our souls! We are all a "royal priesthood"... all not just the educated. I believe the Holy Spirit makes up for our short comings. Look at what Jesus worked with... fisherman, tax collectors, and such. The key is learning to live under an oak tree, walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, and stand in the gap for those who have not yet been enlighted to the mystery of the Gospel. I need to go spend sometime loving my family and sitting under an Oak tree.
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