This is a guest post from Mike Donahoe, who runs the “Done with Religion” blog. Here is what he writes about his ministry:
Done with religion does not mean done with God, but done trying to please God by performance. We no longer submit to man’s rules and regulations, and we realize that the Church is the body of believers and not a place we go. Religion says do this, don’t do that and you will be a ‘good’ Christian. It tries to make us feel like successful Christians based on how well we perform and follow the rules. We want to take our eyes off following man made rules and gimmicks and focus entirely on Christ and living a life like His.
Along with this blog site above, you can connect with Mike on Facebook or Twitter.
If you would like to write a Guest Post for the Till He Comes Blog, begin by reading the Guest Blogger Guidelines.
So many times what we say and what we mean are two different things.
Church
Take for instance the word “church.” Most of us think of a building where Christians meet every Sunday for an organized, pre-planned service of music, prayer, and sermon by a paid pastor.
In reality, church is better described by the word ecclesia. It’s people. It is people who are following Christ and allowing Him to live and love through them.
Church isn’t a place, a building, or the house of God, and it isn’t at a set time or day.
Christian
Then there is the word “Christian.” We think of people who love God, go to church, pray, read their bible, and try to do the right things.
Actually, “Christian” is a man-made word that originally was used to describe those who followed the teaching of Jesus and were doing the works of Jesus. Today, rather than being the true sense of following Christ, it is more widely known as a religion. Christians are considered people who believe in Jesus, go to church, follow specific rules, adhere to a set doctrine, pray, read the bible and try to get more people to come to their church.
We think of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindu and a host of other religions rather than a way of life walking with Jesus, which is what the word refers to.
Prayer
When we talk about prayer, we generally think of a pastor or godly person saying spiritual sounding words to God. Many times prayers are written out and followed word for word to make people sound more spiritual.
Actually prayer is just talking. Like you would talk to a friend or relative, prayer is talking to God. Not only talking, but being quiet and listening for God to speak to you.
Bible
What about the Bible? Of course, our first thought is a book that God inspired men to write. We think of the Word of God.
Yet if we look closer at John 1:1, we find that the Word is not a book at all. “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God.” So actually, the Word of God is Jesus. He is the inerrant, all powerful, living Word of God.
The Bible is a book that contains God-inspired words which show us the ways of men and the Way of God. It is in the Bible that we read about the Word of God — Jesus Christ, who Himself is the ultimate revelation of God.
Does that mean we don’t need to read the Bible? Of course not, we can learn a lot about God and ourselves by reading it. What we don’t want to do is make the Bible equal to God. The Bible is not part of the trinity; it is a book.
Worship
The word worship is generally thought of as a time during the service when people are lead into song and outward praise to God by a leader or group, paid to lead people this way. The style of worship also varies greatly from group to group. Many people think worship are songs, or lifting of hands, or dancing. A lot of people think of worship as a church service.
Yet worship is a true sense of reverence and adoring praise to our Father. It is personal and does not need a professional leader. It is a sincere and earnest thankfulness we have for God.
Jesus is the all in all. It doesn’t boil down to our doctrines, beliefs, and man-made efforts. It boils down to following Jesus, allowing Him to live in us and through us.
What Words Can You Add?
There are many other words we could be discussed, but the point is that it is not as important the word we use, but the true meaning.
What words do you find have confusing usage in some Christian circles? What words can we start using more clearly?
Great common sense, yet sadly, largely uncommon for most.
Thanks for what you do, man.
“So many times what we say and what we mean are two different things.”
And sometimes we use words that we’re not clear on. . . we use them because they’re always used but the meaning is assumed by us and everyone else because we read and hear them and use them without thinking about them. Something’s lost in that. . . spiritual words should have a reality that is living that they point to. . . something that is not just for the head to explain but for the heart to embrace and a door to enter. I.e. heart and soul and spirit are 3 that get used – often for each other – without ever being clear on what each is and what each means/signifies and how they differ. . . and that’s just confusion. Don’t ever want to stop until the reality is laid hold of by faith.
I find it interesting as well in how we use words incorrectly. I think of Religion is something we should want but from the Greek one of the meanings is to bring back into bondage. Ecclesia is also a odd word because it is a word that can be used to describe the Roman Senate so it is much more of a political reference than they we use it to describe Church.
I think we over use words that Jesus didn’t really use such as born again this was a word that was spoken to only one person and never again spoken in public and yet we use it so often. I am not saying being born again is not important because it is how we enter the Kingdom. However Jesus spent way more time talking about the Kingdom than anything and yet we don’t seem to hear about it as much. Words can have more than one being and most of Jesus words were Paradoxical.
Just my take on the words we use and thank you for your article Jeremy.
I have a word, “Semantics”. It seems like anything closely related with “traditional Christian beliefs” is picked apart on this blog. The truth of the matter is “The Church” is a body of believers, many of which meet several times a week in a “building” to share with “Christians” (fellow followers of Christ), The Word (bread of Life Christ Jesus) “Praying” spending time with their (Father, talking and “Worshiping” in song, dance or whatever way the Spirit moves you. This also includes but is not limited to reading the inerrant divine “word of God, the “Bible”. A living, life source that is far more than just a book.. I’ve read too many “books” to number and none changed my life save this one.
“Semantics,” I love this word.
Cam,
Yes, some of it is just semantics….. until people who do all the things you say start condemning other members of the Body of Christ who don’t. What if a group of believers didn’t want to meet on Sunday morning in a building to do the things you list? Are they still followers of Jesus, or would you have some other term for them?
Good post Mike. These and many other words we use mean very, very different things to different people. We may think that the way we are accustomed to a word being used is the one and only correct usage, but then someone who uses the word with a much different meaning may think their use is the only correct usage.
Rather than use most of these words, and other common “religious” words, I try to use a short definition in their place whenever possible. I really dislike attempting to have a conversation with people who assume that “everyone know what _____ means” (implying that I’m stupid if I don’t know what they think it means, or if I think the word means something else). That’s a great way to quickly kill a conversation.
Jeremy, if you noticed, I said many not all “Believers” gather several times a week to worship in a “traditional sense”. If a person believes that Jesus was born of a virgin, died on the cross and on the third day God, the Father raised Him from the dead, then they are followers of Christ. It does not matter if they gather in their homes, a barn or in a tent, no matter what day of the week they are still followers of the risen Savior. No semantics here at all.
Cam,
Thanks. That is good. You do know, however, that there are millions of Christians who would disagree with you? They would say that a true follower of Jesus has to attend church on Sunday morning for edification, accountability, fellowship, and teaching. If you disagree, they may accuse you of splitting hairs or arguing about semantics.
One of the points I am trying to make on this blog is the same point you are making, that the day of the week doesn’t matter, nor does the size of the group or the type of building.