Why Do We Have Churches?

Ephesians 3:14-19, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

I love Ephesians 1:15, which says that every believer is part of God's family, and our whole family ultimately is in Heaven. I am so thankful for this wonderful privilege!!! To think, I am a child of the King of Kings, and He is preparing for me a home in Heaven. John 14:1-2, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” Our dear Lord worked as a carpenter while on earth. He is in the construction business!!! Amen.

I learned a wonderful philosophical truth from Pastor Jack Hyles many years ago, from his excellent book in which Dr. David Gibbs Jr., interviews Dr. Hyles. It is a rare book indeed, which I cherish in my collection. Brother Hyles teaches that the first church began with the first family. I had never heard that before, but it made perfect sense. I mean, what is a church? The church is a group of saved people. But more than that, the church is a FAMILY. It is our family as God's children. God is our dear heavenly Father. Jesus is the Head of the Church, and we are each and all members of Christ's BODY. The Apostle Paul makes it very clear in 1st Corinthians chapter 12 that every part of the Body of Christ is important, and no one is expendable.

When I attended Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College for the summer of 2021, Pastor Jeff Redlin mistreated me, making me feel like I wasn't welcomed. That is sinful, to be a respecter of persons (James 2:1; Romans 2:11). Pastor Redlin was not humble at all, he was arrogant and filled with self-0righteous haughty attitude toward me as a Hyles-Anderson Collège graduate. Sadly, Redlin went on the defensive from the moment someone showed him my website ministry, becoming judgmental and critical of my work for Jesus. In hindsight, I now clearly see that PCC are a bunch of cold-hearted academic types, who woefully lack compassion for hurting sinners, single divorced people that desire to remarry, and those who contend for the faith (which the PCC camp refuse to do), et cetera. It is sad.

The first family was the first church. But then as the population increased and families moved away from each other, and cities were built, it became necessary to have surrogate families. Hence, the local church. The local New Testament church is our family in the Lord. You may not have good relations with your earthly family. I often meet people who cannot even tell me where their parents or siblings live. Sadly, this is what the Bible means in 2nd Timothy 3:3b, “without natural affection.” The Bible foretold that in the Last Days, families would lack the natural love that should exist between blood relatives. Jesus foretold in Matthew 10:21 and 35 that families would turn against one another during the end times, delivering one another up to be prosecuted and even martyred for our faith. Jesus said that “a man's foes shall be they of his own household” (Matthew 10:36b).

So the reason why we have local churches today is to provide a FAMILY for you dear reader. One of my favorite sermons by Pastor Jack Hyles is called: "The Gift Of Prophesy." The title is a bit misleading. I didn't think much of the sermon at first, expecting it only to be about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but it is so much more! Dr. Hyles talks about the purpose of the church, which is TO BUILD FAMILIES. It is so wonderful a sermon! Please take the time to listen to it, you won't be disappointed. It is a beautiful truth that will burn your heart for God. Of all the gifts of the Spirit, the greatest is preaching to build homes, lift up the fallen and encourage the brethren. Amen and amen! Oh how we all need to center our life and family around a local New Testament Bible-believing church!!! That is God's perfect will for every believer.

The church is our spiritual family, remember that friend. No one needs to be alone in life. If you are attending a bad church that doesn't make you feel loved and welcomed, like Jeff Redlin at Campus Church (Pensacola Christian College) did to abuse and ostracize me, then go somewhere else where the pastor genuinely walks with God and loves everybody unconditionally. There is nothing worse than an academic type snob for a pastor, who selectively only cares about his chosen group, and not each individual.

It is arrogant haters like Pastor Jeff Redlin, who hide behind a cloak of false humility, that compel people to withdraw completely from church and write articles such as I am doing to expose him. PCC is not a family, it is a cult, where divorced people who seek to remarry are shunned and belittled, and anybody who offends the leadership is immediately targeted for removal and ostracization. Just ask this poor attacked girl, a former abused PCC student who was told to “repent” by PCC leadership after being violated by a male student. That is what abusive people like Jeff Redlin do. I came to Campus Church with a sincere spirit of love, but Jeff Redlin mistreated me simply because of my website ministry, which is shameful of him. I am another victim of the loveless bunch of sons-a-batches at PCC.