Does Your Church Have Formal Membership?

[The Lemon]

I still can't help but think that in some churches the idea of family is warped. Not only from the standpoint of the immediate family, but even extended family and church family. We are supposed to be a spiritual family, but it seems to me that in alot of cases, the system and structure are what we serve and not one another.

IMHO family is NOT a business, it is relational. I'm not supposed to make a gross profit off my family, I'm suppose to love, cherish, and invest myself into my family. It seems that there is way to much "going through the motions", and we become more casual friends and business partners then actual family members.

Anyway, I'm not trying to harp on this, I just think that sometimes the expectations of organized religion and the demands of building etc., can in some cases be unrealistic. when you add the life demands of how a person looks, were they can go, entertainment restrictions, etc., it seems more like a dictatorship then a relationship with Jesus through the Holy Ghost.

Funny thing is I have known some very Ultra Conservative folks who whole heartedly supported the formal structure and all the trappings, standards etc., and lived it to the tee. When they decided to not be in ministry anymore, guess what "things" they let go of?? It amazes me how alot of this formal or informal church structure makes perfect sense in the four walls and in a vacuum, but sometimes reality says different...