The Modern Nontraditional Church

In my opinion the best definition of a modern nondenominational church is one that has as its goal, the ability to minister to all people in any and every situation. The traditional church was created for people who were very specifically targeted by the Bible to become members. Everyone who considers themselves "seekers of God" is part of this church. The reason it's traditional is that the Bible specifically states that those who have accepted Christ as their savior can and will be saved. 

Therefore, everyone in that category are in the "lineage of Christ", thus being saved from the fires of hell. The traditional pentecostal church had a much different set of rules and therefore required quite a different set of behaviors, but it still was created to have a mass membership. The modern church on the other hand, if we look at what happens when you don't have membership, is that the church can't get the conversions it needs to grow and thrive. Because it can't reach out to the lost and the forgotten, it has to look inward and build up a community of people who have previously accepted Christ as their savior. This in itself causes the traditional churches to restrict themselves to very specific demographics. They cannot have gay people in their midst because they wouldn't be considered "saved", and therefore they can't have black people in their midst because they wouldn't be considered "saved" too. Because of this, they get very caught up in their own definitions of what a "Christian" is, and don't allow non-Christians to have anything to do with the religion. If that isn't restrictive, then I don't know what is. 

I believe the modern nontraditional church goes even further in denying the reality of the world. People in general deny things for various reasons, and the church is no different. Since the church is founded on a belief in the fact that God is omniscient and omnipresent, there must be something else that is preventing God from answering our prayers and working in our lives. Make sure to check out this website at https://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/12/world/christianity-fast-facts/index.html for more details about religions. The people in the nontraditional churches in naperville face a unique set of circumstances. Because they are not part of the mainstream, they are denied access to the most powerful people in society. Many of them feel that their place is with God, but just can't find that God. This makes them seek God themselves, rather than turning to the religious leaders. Because they have left the religious leaders behind, they have little knowledge or experience with what's going on in their lives outside of what they are hearing and seeing from the pulpit. This lack of insight makes the leaders of the church more like politicians than leaders of a divine institution. The result is an artificially created political correctness, where certain behaviors are sanctioned while other behaviors are not. 

For instance, the church can decide that students should only raise their hands during prayer, and not talk in class. This will keep those who wish to question authority from participating in the class, but will not allow the questions asked by those who want an honest answer to be answered. So while the nontraditional church tries to follow the example of the early church, it winds up following an increasingly secularized version of what it means to be a Christian.