Somehow through someone I am connected with via Facebook I happened on to this ‘note’. I’ve never met the person who wrote this, but feel like I know him. This is an echo of my heart and am glad there is someone else out there who ‘gets this’. I am posting this with his permission…

You go ahead an post it Rocco, and I am not the slightest bit interested in getting credit in any way. I wrote it hurriedly, and would like to have refined it, but if you think it is good to go, you use it however you want. It is not mine, really. God speaks to me like this all the time, and sometimes I get passionate enough about it to write it down.

Church as a boat

The illustration of the institution of church being a boat has helped me to get through the mire of leaving organized church and learning to walk without it’s crutch.

First to clarify, I have NOT left my Creator. I am a child of Yah, and a follower of Yashua, till the end. I once went back to the world at a younger time in my life when churchianity ‘got’ to me in the past. The road I travel today is one of re-learning the lesson I should have learned years ago. Churchianity is NOT who God is.

When I speak of church in this note, I mean the organized institution. I am not talking about the true body of believers, my brother and sisters.

This is obviously referring to the story of Jesus walking out on the water. If you look at the church as the boat floating on the water, stepping out of it is more than a little scary. It really seems foolish on all sides, literally. With me being a terrible swimmer, this is even more appropriate.

When a person steps out of the boat, they sink immediately. The boat is a safe haven, but it is never what walking with God was about. People sitting in the boat try to keep their eyes on Jesus, sure, but they are not keeping their eyes on Him anywhere near the way Peter had to. The boat kept them from drowning. They may have been looking at Jesus, but they had their butts in the seats.

Many people step out of the boat, sink, and drown. Some swim their own direction for a time, then drown eventually. Sinking into the water is normal. After treading water for a period of time, I am finally, for the first time in my life, really looking to Jesus. I have no ‘boat captain’ to turn to. No boat captain ever truly helped me swim anyway, they just kept me in the boat.

Everyone in the boat can paddle together wherever the boat captain tells them, or get blown about by every wind of doctrine, but either way they will travel a lot faster than those who step out. The ones who step out flounder, learn to grab onto Jesus and slowly take steps with Him. We were never meant to row a boat wherever the captain led though, no matter how fast it can go. We were designed from the very beginning to

‘Walk with God’.

I am not saying the boat is wrong necessarily. I realize I am being overly metaphorical here, and I hate it when people do that, but this is very real to me. I hope it makes sense to some others, especially those who have just climbed out and are floundering in the water. It is ok. You are on the right track. Even if you still ride in the boat from time to time.

I have had people tell me Jesus can’t be my pastor, that I need a ‘real’ one. (in so many words) That is interesting to me. Every time I took an unanswerable problem to a pastor, all he could do is say “Just look to Jesus” or “Just keep your eyes on Jesus”. When I start learning to do just that, I am told “you need a pastor”! The few times a pastor COULD help me, I already knew the answer anyway. I am no dummy, and have been at this for some time. I always got upset when I would hear those words: “Just keep your eyes on Jesus”. It was nothing more than a cop-out in my mind. I was partially right in that. It WAS a cop-out, even though they were touching on the truth.

I have learned that all I need to do with every situation that comes up and every decision I need to make, is look at the life, the teachings, the actions, and the heart of Jesus. That makes it very clear how I should act. His Spirit in me is my teacher, (as the Bible clearly states) and points me to all truth, guided by the life of Jesus. It all points me to the heart of the Father, every time. We have a tendency to remember that Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” and leave it there. We then start worshiping Jesus, chanting His name, conjuring up emotions, you name it. (every wind of doctrine). Jesus went on to say: “…no man comes to the Father except through me”. He was always pointing us to the creator.

Being out of the boat is not about ostracizing yourself from your brothers and sisters. That is a lie to keep you trusting in the boat for safety. To be perfectly honest, there is no safety inside the boat anyway. Without Jesus calming the storm the boat is no safe haven. Those who trusted in the boat knew real fear when real trouble came. That kind of fear is not from the Spirit of God. Power, Love, and a sound mind is from His Spirit, not fear of the storm.

I have heard people justify the organization of church (the boat) because many people have gotten saved in it. That is completely void of all common sense. People have gotten saved in Bars, Foxholes, prisons, and whorehouses. Does that make any of those institutions ‘right’? God is no respecter of man’s institutions. He will go wherever He pleases, and it is by His grace alone that He pleases to go save His people wherever they may be, just as He meets with us wherever we meet together.
Jesus rode in the boat often in fact. (He even fell asleep in it sometimes too! lol) When the boat got rocked by storms, Jesus calmed it for those who had their trust in the boat. Their trust was not in Jesus, but in the boat. THAT is the problem with the boat. Being in the boat is not wrong in itself.

Trusting in the boat captain is where the true ‘corruption’ of church is. We see some of the results of corruption as being the problem, like money mishandling (or downright stealing) sexual improprieties, and so forth. Those are not the corruption though. They are just the result of corruption. They are just the natural occurrences when a human is in charge of people in a spiritually authoritative role.

The Bible tells us that ALL authority is given Him, in Heaven AND on earth. People have roles for sure, but they are not ‘ordained’ by institutes of men. People become elders by ‘walking out’ in faith. As we grow in this water-walk, we learn and can pass on what we learn. Becoming an elder is walking on the water and learning. Some are also gifted at passing the knowledge on. Those who step out of the boat (or into the water from the shore) are young in the walk and can benefit from others who have gone on before. They are not to look to elders as ‘spiritual’ authority though. Yashua is the good Shepherd (pastor) and His Spirit is our teacher.

Getting out of the boat and walking with Him, however bumbling and slow, is His perfect will for us. Even from the beginning, in the Garden. God’s Will does not change by our winds of doctrine. He is with us always and everywhere. It may be in the boat, it may be out on the shore, it may be in the storm or it may be out on the water. There is no ‘boat’ to look to for safety, only Jesus can be that safe haven. It CAN be done this way, and I am living proof. Just as I quit smoking, which I was convinced I could never do, it can be done.

I can also admit that it never gets to a ‘boat-safety’ feeling, that is for sure. Without a captain telling you just where and how to row, it can seem like floundering.

It can be a challenge to stay on coarse if you take your eyes of your real ‘Pastor’ Jesus, even for a minute, but it is still a peace that goes beyond the understanding of the boat. The boat ‘felt’ safe, but my inner man knew there was no safety IN it. Not from anything real.

Do I love those who are in the boat? of coarse. Do I love the boat itself? No. I hate it. It represents everything to me about being blown about by every wind of doctrine. It represents following in the footsteps of another man. It represents the hollow feeling (knowing) that I was going to be let down. If someone finds comfort in the boat, I do not want to hurt the person, but I can’t help but be concerned about WHERE their comfort is. It WILL let them down. Being comforted by brothers and sisters is good, in or out of the building, but your peace, your joy, your safety covering, can only come from Yashua. Walk with the Father, one-on-one, not in the back of a crowd. He really CAN be everywhere. He really CAN be right where you are.

Nathan

Thank you Nathan.

So, what do you think? Are you in the boat or in the water? Anyone want to leave a comment?