Do Religious Experiences Validate Church Reality?

  

Religious experiences experienced during programmed-event-driven meetings, no matter how solemn or boisterous the atmosphere, does not resemble true Church reality. What passes for Church in Sunday-event-driven meetings is so far removed from what Church reality is that it fails at even being a cheap imitation. 

Some institutionalized churches bring in big name speakers, big name singers and set aside time for special meetings and call what takes place in these event-driven meetings, "Church reality". The meetings are set up by denominational organizers who, in no doubt,  want to do a great work for God, but fail to see that Church reality is about God doing His great work in and through them in their living life 24/7.

Institutionalism has reduced the Church of God to a popular belief or assumption that has evolved around man-invented ideologies, is accepted as the norm and is confined behind the four walls of a building doing event-drive-meetings, while God is looking for His Church to fill the earth with expressions of His glory. This can never be accomplished behind the segregated denominational walls of segregation. 

Whatever the institutional walled-in church accomplishes for God due to man-made effort is of little value in fulfilling God's plan for humanity.

Institutions build large grandiose structures and call them "churches", we invent a myriad of programs to keep people in the buildings, but have little God consciousness and little understanding of His purpose and plan for humanity. We have more denominated trained professional ministers graduating from religiously denominated seminaries than ever before  who have little understanding of Who God is. We have seminars on spiritual warfare, how to defeat the devil, prosperity and healing campaigns and spend huge amounts of money on advertising to get people to attend these meetings. But where is the fruit of the Church?

We pride ourselves of in that we are bible knowledgable without realizing our doctrines are polluted with denominational influences. The knowledge we think we know has made us arrogant and obstructs our view of Christ who taught us it is being loving that edifies. We have no song on our lips and no hope in our heart because we have replaced true spiritual reality with religious hyperactivity. Our spiritual elite denominated theologians sit in their leather chairs and hand out directives as rules to be obeyed by the spiritually depleted pew-warmers so they can be spiritualized to the hierarchal acceptance of what spirituality is.

As a church we are power-hungry and covet hierarchal  positions as if climbing the corporate ladder to success is a spiritual objective. We place much value on numbers, programs, doctrines, rule following and budgets and little value on loving people. Those who are invited into leadership positions are denominationally trained to promote their denominational preference or are famous and influential. We forget that spiritual authority is not given to the savvy professional but to those who have the Spirit of God within them and share in His is ministry by working with Him.

Where are the people of God who are sick and tired of being sick and tired of the spiritual bankruptcy the Church finds itself in?

A true relationship with God brings us not only to the end of ourselves, but brings an end to religion as well. We will prostrate ourselves at the feet of Jesus, where we lay down our selfish hopes, dreams and ambitions and He transforms us, and transfers us to the other side of the cross where we rest in His love because of His grace as He does His work through us as the Church daily in bringing hope to humanity.