What to do with People who Believe but who Reject Organized Religion

As institutional Christianity declines and decays more and more in the United States, it seems to me that what remains of the church focuses more on the institution than it had in, at least, the past two centuries...and less on Jesus than it has in a long time.

So, what do you do if a kid shows up to a youth ministry activity and, in time, settles in, becomes a regular then, in more time, you meet the dad.

As soon as you meet dad, you pick up that he's standoffish. He seems to become uneasy and increasingly frustrated as you talk about your church and its ministries.

Then, he hits you with the classic line:

"I believe in God but I reject organized religion."

What do you do with that?

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Now, I understand that the way a person who possesses the Holy Spirit responds will be determined, to a degree, by his/her spiritual gifts.

But, that aside, what do you do with the assertion:

I can be a Christian but not a church-goer.

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I'm part of a denominational body that has recently, in effect, declared that it defines discipleship only in terms of a person's connection to organized Christianity.

It cares about three things:

1. Healthy, life-giving churches.
2. Healthy, life-giving pastors, and,
3. Healthy, life-giving (Conference) leaders.

However, in that same denominational body's early days, when it was thriving spiritually and growing numerically, the group's first focus was on connecting people, not with the institution of the church, but with a dynamic and vital relationship with Jesus.

Ironically, when the group didn't focus on church, it's congregations were growing and it was continually starting new churches. Now, as vision tightens around the organized and institutional church, it is closing churches and its focus on Jesus is nearly nonexistent, hence, the absence of Jesus in its threefold mantra:

Healthy life-giving churches, pastors and leaders.

Where's Jesus in that?

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The question of what to do with people who believe in Jesus but who, also, reject institutional, if not necessarily organized, religion fascinates me...

...because, honestly, as I've devoted myself more and more to red-letter living, i.e., obedience to the teachings Jesus which, in some Bibles are printed in red,...

I've gotten to the point that I love Jesus more than ever and think less and less of what the institutionalists have made of the organization that carries Jesus' Name.

More and more, I love Jesus but hate the (institutional) church.

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These days, if I met the dad who claimed to believe but also to reject organized religion, I'd talk about Jesus and living the life He taught and lived and of the Day when He'll separate the sheep from the goats.

The issue of the church would be secondary at best. The issue of the institutional church would never have a place in the discussion.