CHURCH HOPPERS: YOU ARE NOT CRAZY!

When I went to church, I remember the term 'church hopper.'

Preachers in pentecostalism coined this term to describe people who leave one church, only to 'join' another church.  I will admit...I was definitely 'a church hopper.'  I would readily-in a heartbeat-leave one church and go to another.  If I liked what I heard, if I agreed with what was being taught, then I would eventually 'join' that church.

I can honestly tell you that I 'became a member/joined' a total of 15 churches!  And I visited probably twice that number in search of 'the church.'  The place where I belonged.  The place where I felt God was leading me, where my 'destiny' awaited me.

I never allowed preachers who preached on me, labeled me a 'church hopper' to deter me from my journey.  The only 'agenda' I had was to 'hear a word from God' and to be where I thought God wanted me to be.

What would invariably happen is that I would go to a church, feel 'a presence' at that church, conclude it was the presence of God, and would be compelled to join.  That there was something that God had for me to do in said church.

There would always be a 'honeymoon' period, where everything would be peachy clean, copastetic, peaceful, just right.  Then reality would set in.  Invariably, the Spirit of God would begin to show me some type of problem in the church.  Or some secret sin in the leadership.  Or some corruption behind the scenes.  Or I just would outgrow the place.

I share my story of being a church hopper to tell the church hopper that YOU ARE NOT CRAZY.

Religious people will try to make you feel like you are in some type of sin because you cannot 'commit' to a ministry or church organization.  They liken your membership, your covenant, with the 'man of God' or the 'woman of God' to one with a spouse, or even the parent/child relationship (hence, where they got the term 'spiritual parents' from).

CHURCH HOPPER, listen to me.

You are NOT crazy!  That restlessness, that uneasiness, that revelation that God keeps showing you about your pastors, church leaders, and the such, your growing weary and tired of 'church,' your desire to leave .... these are ALL legitimate.  These are not coming from the devil, as your leaders have traditionally taught you. You are NOT rebellious, unteachable or scared of commitment or submission.

That prompting to LEAVE THAT CHURCH is FROM GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes!  That is correct!

It is the Spirit of God that is showing you the gross error of THE church, not just YOUR church.

Take it from someone who 'church hopped' for years....

There IS no 'right' church out here.  THEY ARE ALL CORRUPT.  THEY ARE ALL DEMONICALLY INFLUENCED AND CONTROLLED!

You saw right!  Yes, you DID see a demon running around in that church!

God has showed you the sin of the pastor NOT so you can correct him.  God is showing you the errors of the church NOT so you can stay, and try to intercede on the behalf of the rebellious church and its members.

Remember when the pastor(s) used to say, 'If you go to every church and encounter the same problem, it's not the church.  It's you?'

Well, those pastors LIED!

YES!  It IS THE church.  Not just THAT church!  But EVERY church!!!!!

YES....every church in the religious system was borne out of a gross spirit of error.  And if the seed of a thing was corrupt, then whatever grows forth OUT of that seed is corrupt as WELL!

The organized church system as it is practiced today was borne out of religious and spiritual error.  God NEVER ordained for us to congregate in a building made with man's hands.  WE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD, OF THE HOLY GHOST!

I encourage you to read the ENTIRE chapter of 1 Corinthians 3.  Read it in as many versions as possible.  Break open the Strong's Concordance.  You will get a whole new insight and revelation on WHO is the church.  WHO is the temple of God!

The fact of the matter is, according to 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, carnal people need buildings to worship God.  Carnal people flock to their favorite denominations (and even their favorite non-denominations) on a weekly basis.  Carnal people need to follow a man (I am of Apollos, I am of Paul/I am of Jakes, I am of Dollar) in order to 'feel saved,' and will do so religiously, 'faithfully,' even when that man is found to be in sin!

Carnal people forget the fact that 1 Corinthians 3:9 explicitly tells us that WE ARE GOD'S BUILDING!

1 Corinthians 3:9
"...Ye are God's husbandry; ye are God's building..."

1 Corinthians 3:16
"Know ye not the ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in YOU?"

Carnal people use Hebrews 10:25 with little to no understanding of that scripture.

Hebrews 10:25
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together...but exhorting one another...as ye see the day approaching..."

The Greek word for assembling is 'episynagoge' which means 'a gathering together in one place.'  Carnal people believe that 'fellowship' is relegated to watching the preacher, the singers, the praise dancers, and the back of 'your brother or sister's' head for two hours on Sunday mornings.  When if we are honest, what takes place in these controlled environments is anything BUT real fellowship!!!

This is why after going to a church for a few months, maybe even a year, these same people who spout off Hebrews 10:25 readily as justification for them wasting their gas, their money, their time, and other valuable resources to go and sit in a building with demons for two hours...these same people will 'church hop.'

And I don't condemn church hoppers.  I understand them.

I write a newsletter every week regarding issues pertinent to 'church hoppers,' or people who are fed up with church.  They love God, but cannot tolerate church as usual.

Here is a link to my most recent newsletter, entitled "There Are No More Good Churches!"

There is a VALID reason for your unrest...and for your desire to walk away.

THAT IS THE SPIRIT OF GOD TELLING YOU TO GO!!!

And once God tells you to GO, He will NOT (and I repeat, WILL NOT) send you to another church!

What?

YES.  That's right, church hopper.

All these years, you thought it was YOU who was going crazy.  You thought there was something wrong with YOU (and these preachers told you this constantly, almost made you believe it!)  Your 'faithfulness' to your church waned, tapered off.  You began to see a whole lot of foolishness that NO ONE should see...and you thought you should stay and intercede....

Let me tell you something....

God has ONE intercessor...and He is JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH!!!!

We can pray for people.  But HE is the only one qualified to intercede on our behalves!

AND HE HAS GOT THE POWER TO DO IT, TOO!

What will start to happen if you stay and God has told you its time to go is YOU will start to turn...INTO THEM!  You won't change them; they will change YOU.

And YOU will be in direct disobedience and rebellion to GOD...out of religious obligation and duty.

Do NOT disobey GOD because some carnal people made you believe going to church  made you holy, faithful and loving to GOD.

God never required us to assemble in a building.  Assembling together happens in MANY ways, one of them being online.

The phone.  By letter.  In the mall.  At the store.  In a car.  In a community room.

And you don't have to slap a church name on it either!

If WE are the temples of the Holy Ghost, and God NO LONGER dwells in temples made by man's hands (Acts 7:48, Acts 17:24), then WHY are millions of people flocking to temples, synagogues, church buildings, fellowships, and ministries....MADE WITH MAN'S HANDS?????

If, in fact, Ichabod is written across EVERY doorpost of a church building, if the Spirit of God TRULY is NOT in the buildings, then what spirit is being worshipped?????

The Spirit of Antichrist!

Church hopper, what you need to understand is that it IS the Spirit of GOD dealing with you about your church.  But He is NOT calling you to change your church, nor is He calling you to change your pastor....

He is calling you completely OUT of the church system!!!!!!!

Revelations 18:4

"Come Out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not her plagues."

So, church hopper, if you are feeling that pull to leave the church, LEAVE.  BUT don't 'hop' to another church.  Wait on God for further direction...your steps are TRULY ordered by the LORD!

TRUST HIM TO LEAD YOUR PATHS!!!!!