Wayne Jacobsen writes in his book Finding Church ” I’d been living in church most of my life without recognizing her because I was too busy trying to create a version of my own. I’d tasted her reality in the closer friendships of virtually every congregation I had ever attended but because this was not part of the official program I didn’t see them as Church, it was a classic case of missing the forest for the trees and explained why we allowed the needs of the program displace those friendships.”
Now Wayne was a Pastor for decades. He has seen countless programs come and go and the conclusion that he has come to is that the needs of the programs over-ride and displace the creating of true fellowship. This has been my experience. If you have ever been involved in organizing anything, you will know that the reality of what you’re organizing takes over and the thing itself becomes the central focus. If there is one thing that I have learned in all my years as a Christian is that whatever distracts us from Christ Himself is the enemy of coming into His presence. Even as we go about our daily business, there is a reality of this world and there is a Kingdom reality and the reality of this world demands first place. It is immediate, it can be seen, it presses upon us and ignites our senses and demands to be attended to. The Kingdom reality is always there but never takes second place. If ignored, it simply fades into the background, retreats away from the noise of this world.
A Call To The Remnant 