A few weeks ago, someone pushed back on one of my posts.
I had pointed out that the modern church system isn’t producing disciples. That 80% of Christians aren’t living what Scripture commands. That maybe—just maybe—the problem isn’t just individual laziness. Maybe the STRUCTURE is broken.
His response?
“That’s on the person, not the church.”
And you know what?
He’s right.
Not in the way he meant it. But he’s right.
The Blame Game
His argument was simple: If people aren’t living like Christians, that’s their fault. The church provides the opportunity. If people don’t take it, that’s on them.
And there’s truth in that. Personal responsibility matters. No one can follow Jesus FOR you. No one can make you read your Bible, pray, love your neighbor, or die to yourself.
But here’s what he missed:
What if the “church” he’s defending isn’t the church Jesus built?
What if the system itself makes obedience nearly impossible?
What if people ARE taking responsibility—responsibility for a religious routine that was never biblical in the first place?
What We’ve Seen
Over the past several weeks, I’ve laid out the evidence.
The word “ekklesia” was deliberately mistranslated. Jesus didn’t establish a “church” as we know it—a building, an institution, a Sunday service. He established an ekklesia—a called-out assembly of believers living life together.
The institutional model makes it about YOU, not Jesus. Your attendance. Your preferences. Your comfort. And you can do all the “church” things and still hear “I never knew you.”
The 59 “one another” commands are impossible to obey in an institutional setting. You can’t love, serve, bear burdens, confess sins, encourage daily, and be devoted to people you barely know and see for one hour a week.
Your table is a mission field. Biblical hospitality is personal, not programmatic. You can’t outsource compassion to a church program and think you’ve fulfilled Matthew 25.
The Lord’s Supper was a meal—and they stole it. For 300 years, Christians gathered in homes, shared real meals, and remembered Christ together. The institution stripped out the fellowship, added man-made rules, and reduced it to a 2-minute ritual.
The rules we fight over were never commanded. Unleavened bread. One cup. Silence. Rigid frequency. Man-made traditions that have divided churches and obscured what Jesus actually said.
So Where Does That Leave Us?
Right back where that commenter started.
It’s on YOU.
But not in the way he meant.
It’s not on you to try harder within a broken system.
It’s not on you to show up more, give more, serve more in an institution that can’t produce what Jesus commanded.
It’s not on you to keep propping up a model that makes biblical obedience structurally impossible.
It’s on YOU to decide:
Are you going to keep playing church?
Or are you going to BE the church?
The Real Choice
Here’s what it comes down to.
You’ve seen the evidence. You’ve read what Scripture actually says. You’ve seen what the early church looked like and how far we’ve drifted.
Now you have to choose.
Option 1: Ignore it.
Go back to Sunday morning. Sit in the pew. Sing the songs. Listen to the sermon. Put money in the plate. Shake hands. Go home. Repeat.
Pretend you didn’t read any of this.
Most people will choose this. It’s easier. It’s comfortable. It doesn’t cost anything.
But it won’t produce disciples. It won’t create Acts 2 community. And it won’t change the fact that the system is broken.
Option 2: Get angry and defensive.
Dismiss everything I’ve said as divisive, rebellious, or arrogant.
Tell yourself that your church is different. That your preacher is solid. That your congregation really IS a family.
Maybe it is. I hope it is.
But ask yourself honestly: Are you living the “one another” life? Are you sharing meals, bearing burdens, confessing sins, encouraging DAILY? Are you family—or just friendly?
Option 3: Take responsibility.
Not for a system. For YOURSELF.
Decide that YOU will pursue biblical community—whether your institution offers it or not.
Decide that YOU will open your home, your table, your life to other believers.
Decide that YOU will stop being an attender and start being the ekklesia.
That’s what “it’s on you” really means.
What This Looks Like
I’m not telling you to storm out of your congregation and burn bridges.
I’m telling you to take responsibility for what Scripture commands—regardless of what the institution provides.
Start small.
Invite a few believers into your home for a meal. Not a “small group” with a curriculum and an end time. A MEAL. With fellowship. With real conversation. With prayer.
Go deeper.
Start sharing life with those people. Not just Sunday. Throughout the week. Know their struggles. Carry their burdens. Let them carry yours.
Be intentional.
When you gather, remember Christ together. Break bread. Share the cup. Proclaim His death. Not as a ritual—as a FAMILY.
Make it about Jesus.
Not your comfort. Not your preferences. Not your schedule. HIM. At the center. In everything.
The Cost
I won’t lie to you. This will cost you something.
Your comfort. It’s easier to show up on Sunday and check a box. It’s harder to open your home and your life.
Your time. Biblical community takes more than an hour a week. It takes daily investment.
Your reputation. Some people will call you divisive. Some will say you’ve “left the church.” Some will distance themselves from you.
Maybe your church home. If your congregation can’t handle questions, can’t tolerate someone pursuing deeper community, can’t allow anything outside the institutional box—you may eventually have to leave.
That’s the cost.
But the reward?
Real community. Real family. Real discipleship.
The “one heart and soul” of Acts 4.
The shared meals, shared tears, shared struggles that the early church had.
A faith that’s LIVED, not just attended.
That’s worth the cost.
The Ball Is In Your Court
That commenter was right.
It IS on you.
Not on the preacher. Not on the elders. Not on the institution.
On YOU.
You can’t control what the institutional church does. You can’t make them change. You can’t force them to return to the biblical model.
But you CAN take responsibility for YOUR life.
YOU can pursue biblical community.
YOU can open your home.
YOU can share meals with believers.
YOU can practice the “one another” commands.
YOU can remember Christ around a table instead of in a pew.
YOU can stop playing church and start BEING the church.
That’s on you.
And it’s on me.
It’s on every single one of us who claims to follow Jesus.
Final Word
I didn’t write this series to tear down the church.
I wrote it to call us back to what the church was SUPPOSED to be.
An ekklesia. A family. A community of Christ-followers who share life, share meals, share burdens, and share the mission of making disciples.
Not a building. Not a service. Not a religious routine.
A PEOPLE.
The institution can’t give you that. Only you can pursue it.
So here’s my question:
What are YOU going to do about it?
Are you going to keep attending?
Or are you going to start BEING?
The choice is yours.
It’s on you.
