discussed and debated the proper way to worship God for two thousand years, and have often separated from one another in an effort to restore what they (rightly or wrongly) believed to be the “correct” way of practicing their faith. It is into this area of great contention that we submit our perspective. The premise is simple. Jesus, in obedience to His Father, has a specific purpose and vision in mind for what His people should be and what they should do while representing Him on the earth. The early believers grasped that vision. They lived it out to the best of their ability, and God blessed that humble beginning. But something took Christianity away from its simple, Christ-centered roots. Today, the original vision and purpose is largely unknown, and has been replaced with something else. This “something else” looks similar on the surface, but is actually far removed from the faith, practice, and spirit of the New Testament. Those who are concerned for God’s Kingdom and Will, who love God’s people and care about their spiritual growth and maturity, have looked at the history of the Christianity and have been compelled to ask: what happened? How did it happen? Why did it happen? And what can be done to bring us back into alignment with God’s purpose once again? We believe that God has answered these questions. We believe He is restoring that vision and is calling all of us back to that original foundation. This book calls attention to the difference between what God wanted from His people and what He actually received from us instead. If we approach the subject in this light – what God wants instead of what we want – perhaps it will help us to better understand why these things must be discussed. And when we compare the difference between the two, it stirs us to bring this message to the Body of Christ; not just for our sake, but for His. We love God, and we love the people of God. Our motivation is to see all of God’s people return to a Christ-centered (instead of church-centered) belief and practice, and be set free from all things that hinder, distract, confuse, or obscure that original plan and purpose of God for His called-out people. To do that, it is necessary to speak the truth in love: to stir up, reveal, confront, examine, investigate, and call attention to things said and done in the Name of Jesus when they do not, in fact, have anything to do with Christ, and have no connection or correlation to His Will for His people. Even worse, when an entire system holds itself out as the representation of God on the earth, while all the time actively opposing and frustrating His Purpose from being accomplished, it is our duty and responsibility to point this out as clearly and as convincingly as possible. Our prayer is that God will use this book to encourage those of you who are “outside the camp” and let you know that you are not alone. And we hope it will provide some answers to all of God’s people (both inside and outside the religious system) as to why so many have been led by God to take this difficult path out of Organized Religion and into the wilderness. Ultimately, the reader must weigh the things that are said, search the Scriptures, seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and decide how to respond.

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