church in the woods

"Jesus. Plain and simple. Jesus. No agenda, no sermons, no services, no ministries, no organizations, just this amazing guy named Jesus. ... He knew how to be a friend. He was real. He wasn't offended by them. He didn't judge them. He just accepted them. And then when He turned and said "follow me" He didn't lead them into a church service. ... I don't need soft carpet under my feet or nice sermons in my ears. What I crave, want, and yearn for is the real life of Christ lived out in the real world in raw reality. ... Jesus said where two or more are gathered there He is. So anytime I'm with these folks, Jesus is there and we are simply being His church. We pray together, talk about what He's doing in our lives, encourage one another, correct each other, and spur each other on in our walk with Him. But it's not programmed. It happens naturally in our daily lives so there is such a raw reality to it. ... I have such a desire to be connected with the body of Christ that I got tired of the structures and meetings getting in the way of building authentic relationships. ... If you took away the Sunday service and got rid of the building, would the relationships continue? Or were they built around an organization or a structure? ... I believe the people are the church, not a meeting. So the key is learning to live as the church through our daily lives. ... Jesus said that He would build His church. Perhaps what we have been building and what He is building are two very different things. Just some thoughts from a man who doesn’t attend “church” because he decided to be the church instead" (Loren Rosser).