Conversation with Carlo

A note from a friend to me on Facebook:

Hi Mike. Long time. Forgive me for barging in, but I was drawn to your status and read your dialogue with Mr. Crutcher above.
Dear sirs, how evil does the church's example have to become before we conclude that God has rejected it/given it over? Could it be that the institutional church is the body of Satan and God's greatest enemy? Is it possible that God has replaced the church with humanitarian organizations (religious and secular) as the limbs and hands through which He now ministers to the world, much like He formerly had replaced Israel with the Church as His people/body? I ask not because of this issue you were talking about Mike, but church history and contemporary "Christianity." I also believe that while the institutional church is no longer Christ's body, He has preserved a (albeit sparse) remnant of authentic Christians.

My response here:
I want to be careful when we speak for God in ways that he has given up on the institutional church. Maybe I am a little naive but I am not convinced that Christ's bride, the church, is God's greatest enemy or the body of Satan. We are not without error, but we also do not walk with an eye towards the future. We are walking with our eyes always in the past trying to figure out how much causality will affect what will be. We are constantly living in the already/not yet world, so we see the glaring mistakes with more bias right now.

Is it possible that God has replaced the church? Yeah, it's possible, but I do not see it. And if it has been replaced, it seems inconsistent that humanitarian organizations would somehow be the carrier. Jesus was definitely a resident of Israel. He did not come from the outside in, but the inside out. Also, he never broke with what God had already been telling Israel for years. Therefore, I am not sure I agree that Israel was formerly replaced with the Church.

Remnant of authentic Christians... I think I feel this way more times than is actually true. Having met up and conversed with several hundred Nazarenes over the past couple of weeks has greatly encouraged me. Yeah, there are still things going on that I don't agree with, and it seems to take forever to change, BUT there are literally thousands of Nazarenes alone who are trying to serve God in all of their known capacities. If that is true about Nazarenes, how can it not be true with other Christians across the world? Granted, I took a logical leap, but I refuse to believe that Nazarenes are the only one who want to follow Christ. Which of these are a part of the sparse remnant? Can we really say?

So that is my response, Carlo. I'm sure we will continue to disagree, but I am okay with that. It is good to hear from you, and please feel free to barge in any time.

Grace & Peace,

Mike