QUESTION: What is the purpose of the modern day "organized" church? When did they begin, why did they begin? Should we continue with them?

I have been continuing to read about simple church/home church and I have to tell you it sounds really appealing. I love the simplicity of it. I love the relationship building it allows. I love the way it feels more natural to what I percieve God wants from his children here on earth.

I guess belonging to a "organized" church allows for accountability to what is being taught. Otherwise we might have some cultish type movements because we fallen and sinful humans are really good at wrecking things. As I mentioned before anything we do here on earth is just a imperfect means of trying to accomplish God's work and we will never get it perfect. So maybe with that thought we should/I should just keep doing what I am doing, attending my local church and doing what I can within its "spiritual" walls.

Sometimes I really wish that God would have laid it all out in black and white so that there wouldn't be so many areas for His people to mess things up, so that we could be all be united as one for God. I struggled for many years when I was a teen and in my 20's that there couldn't be all these churches (denominations), that only ONE of them could be right. But how does a person find the RIGHT one. An impossible task I tell you! But as I have become older and hopefully wiser, I do realize that having these many different denominations adds flavor to the christian world. How boring would it be if we were all the same. So I gave up on trying to find the perfect/right church and settled where I am now. Actually I really felt called to be where I am now. We attend a Lutheran church in our small town. Please be aware that I have always said I ATTEND a Lutheran church but I do not consider myself a Lutheran. I am a Christian and I feel that I could attend a great variety of denominations.

I had a great spiritual 'awakening' back in 1999 and spent much time studying God's ways. It is fun to go back and read my journals from back then. But sometime after that I fell asleep in my spiritual life, just happy with the status quo and happily living in my rut. This past year though I have been woken up once again and it is great. I feel restless in my spiritual life and my walk with God, which would be why I am looking at simple churches and questioning my own church. I am a person who likes change and likes to question they way things are. I am interested to see where God will lead in the next little while.

Well I am off to do more research and web surfing. Be back soon, hopefully.