Over the years I've heard many excuses for not attending church. Prison inmates are funny. Many cite the fact that the church is filled with hypocrites. Imagine that. Hypocrites in among the liars, cheaters, and thieves in prison. Others are waiting until they get out of prison (uh huh) to start going to church. They don't want anyone to think they've got "jailhouse religion".
Yesterday I heard one I'd never heard before. An inmate told me that he studies the Scriptures on his own and he doesn't need church. In fact, everything that the preacher says in church he already knows. He told me, "I'm too far advanced from everyone there. I'm on a plane that most Christians never get to." Assuming I was in the presence of one of the great Bible scholars or theologians of our time, I asked just how long he had been so deeply entrenched in God's Word. "About a year and a half." "But I've already read the Bible through ... a couple of times."
I hope he took my laughter the right way.
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RYC: A good point which is why I stated "fat happy Christians a lot of times". I know that there are many givers and senders in the church who are just as important as the missionaries on the field. However if you look at the statics today of who's giving what, we're back to many Americans using church as a means to get fed, never serving, never giving, never going. And unfortunately there are many "health and wealth" preachers out there who never challenge them to experience church membership as more than getting fed on Sundays.
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