Christians; do you think churches are necessary to come close to God?

Question

Do you believe that Jesus would approve of churches or cults that use him as a banner?

Does Jesus approve of wealthy pastors getting rich from the tithes of their flock and not paying taxes?

What made you believe that your pastor/minister is the right person to get you closer to God?

Answer 1

No, Getting close to God is a heart issue. Do you love and seek him with all your heart? This is the most important thing ,not what church you attend. However church is a good thing because you fellowship with other believers..
Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.No using Jesus ans a means to an end is false religion. Jesus himself must be the end of all things including our worship and the reason for our church.

No , he does not approve ....Titus 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
Titus 1:11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. 1 Peter 5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

He refuses to embrace the world or its marketing techniques to build the House of God as so many modern churches do. He is steadfast and does not compromise in any way with the world or its prince Satan.

Answer 2

The Bible states in the New Testament that church is where believers are not a buidling.
There is debate on the tithe - I have not found evidence that we are required to tithe. The Old testament says we should, but then Paul says in the new testament that we do not have to follow the law of the old testament that the Jewish people had to follow.
Everyone can have a direct relationship with God through prayer no pastor is needed. I see pastors as normal people with better knowledge of the bible than I have and I enjoy when they point out things in the bible that I didn't know about or make connections that I would not have thought of.

Answer 3

1. Churches, i.e. institutions aren't necessary, but other people are. If you want to be close to God, you need to be close to people, because that's where God lives. Unfortunately, such thinking is no longer popular in church.

2. Jesus fought against the power structures of the church--against the conception of spiritual haves and have nots. Wherever inequality, spiritual hierarchy and exclusivism persist, Jesus would be "fashioning a whip out of cords".

3. Ha! Wealthy pastor is nearly an oxymoron. Better to worry about wealthy CEO's who make 400-800 times the salary of their base employees. Of course the high-profile televangelists are despicable, but people have always been willing to pay entertainers well.

4. He's a decent chap, but I don't give him that authority in my life. When he preaches a message, I still listen critically. Sometimes he is wise, other times not. Pastors are at their best when they are visiting the sick, IMO.

Answer 4

Good question!

Yes, I DO believe that a church is one of the tools that Christians are supposed to use to draw closer to God. The other two are daily (or simi-daily. Usually I have to settle with bi-weekly, counting Church) readings of the bible, and prayer. It's a little like having sterio speakers, or surround-sound-God. It comes through clearest when all three are in working order.

"Working order" is the key phrase. You (that's a general 'You-all" sort of you, and not specifically YOU you. Let's say that "you" refers to Christians, ok?) need to be in a HEALTHY church. Church should be a bit less about doctrine and a bit more about fellowship with believers. It's one reason I dislike big churches...it's impossible to fellowship with a thousand people, never seeing the same person twice in a row. It should have good accountablility, both to it's attendees AND to any system placed in governance over them. This includes financal matters. A church and it's governing body (council, board, elders) should obey the laws and open about it's practices, and should probably be a member of a "watchdog" sort of system, just because that's a visible method of accountability.

I do NOT think that Jesus approves of everyone that says they follow him. In fact, I think that bible verse about the people saying "Did we not prophesy in your name and do all these things for you?" and God replying "Depart from me, I never knew you" refers directly to those who use his name but are completely unhealthy in thier practices. The little cults and sects are the obvious ones, but I think the Prosperity Gospel movement is a HUGE slap in God's face (oh! oh! oh! Just put enough faith in the Holy Slot Machine, and God will give you a pony! or a boat! or a house! or debt free!...no. God is God, and if God decides you don't get a pony, you're not getting the damn horse, OK?)

Nor would Jesus approve of a pastor breaking the law. If a pastor is WILLING to break the law in the first place, that says something about hsi walk with God.

I chose my pastor and my church because it was doctrinally sound (no Prosperity Gospel BS, for example) the pastor defenately has his heart in the right place, It always spoke to me, and it has fantastic accountability to the government. It states upfront what it's a member of, what it stands for and even who does its audits (and that it has audits). I will, however, be church-hunting in the near future, as I'm not happy with a couple of issues, one of which is the lack of accountability among the individual members (the staff is trying really hard, but this church is FREAKING. HUGE. and it's nearly impossible to impose a system of accountability on five thousand people.) I'll probably continue to attend, because the pastor is just spot-on with his message, but I'll be looking elsewhere as well. And as I said, the church is not the ONLY way to draw close to God...just part of a balanced spritual diet, so to speak.

Answer 5

1) The Bible warns us to always come together for worship, and Church is a good place to do that.

2) Depending on your standard for wealthy, no, Jesus does not approve of wealthy pastors.

3) I chose my current church because it tries and teach every thing as the Bible tells it.

Answer 6

Absolutely not :) Church is unnecessary and the wrong church can be detrimental to your spiritual development. By wrong church I mean the ones where the pastors take advantage of their flock. I would have to see a true spiritual connection between a potential pastor and God. Seek him diligently on your own and with a few close friends... Because that is church in it's purest sense.

Answer 7

the church is a gift from God. it will aways be a gift. man can corrupt the church.

i go to church to have fellowship with others.

there are a lot of pastors with PH.D's. they cant get a pay check? not all pastors make a lot of money. just because you see whats on TV does not mean its happening in every church. a lot of pastors and minsters have everyday jobs.

do you think that Jesus approves of big business that cheats us out of our taxes? heath insurances and what not?

Answer 8

The same question could be asked: is a library necessary for reading? No.
However, it is a quiet place away from the world where you can focus on just praying or reflection.
A hillside or a forest can serve the same purpose, but not everyone finds solitude in a hillside or a forest, so churches serve as a designated place to get away from the stresses of the world.

Answer 9

In the book of Acts they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and came together for fellowship to share what God had done through them and prayed for one another and they became strengthened to go back out and be a witness to Jesus;
they were all sisters and brothers and Jesus was Lord

Should it not be the same today?

Answer 10

I will try to answer all your questions in order without being long-winded: (1. No. (2. No (3. Not sure. Is this pastor providing anything of spiritual value to his flock? (4. I never, ever believed that.