Sorry for the long absence.

I posted a response today to a recent article defending the institutional church, at Christianity Today's website. I think the article is anecdotal and misguided on key points. However, it did give me the opportunity to pen some thoughts I've been mulling over with friends lately. I had to be terse (they have a 1000 character limit) and so recommend reading the article first, but it's not necessary.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/august/35.58.html

My Post.

After many deliberations I have come to believe that any gathering (regardless of venue, day of week, or size - minimum 2!) fails as to be church unless those involved cultivate a mutual awareness of the presence of Jesus as the central reason for their shared experience. The same is true in preaching: a Christ-less sermon is contra-diction. Moreover, the effectiveness of the community in every capacity depends wholly on the presence of Christ regardless of the fact that God may choose to bless methods borrowed from the marketplace, created by those unaware of God as the source of their true effectiveness. Still, the gathered community is first passive - we sit before God as Mary did, who made the best decision. The issue of 'institutionality' depends wholly on whether the particulars of the gathering(s) are in fact manifestations of the Spirit of Christ working for the whole body; but this is not a matter of 'Rabbinics'. The greatest lack in the church today is the gift of discernment.

Thoughs?