05/28/2026
From the ministers desk:
Imagine a young soldier who enlists in the army during a time of active war. He takes the oath, puts on the uniform, and receives his weapon. But instead of marching to the barracks or joining his unit on the front lines, he retreats to a private cabin in the woods. When his commander calls, the soldier replies, "I love the country, and I believe in the cause. But I don't need the battalion, I don't need the officers, and I don't need the other soldiers. I will fight this war on my own terms, in my own living room, whenever I feel like it."
In any military on earth, that man is not called a dedicated soldier; he is called a deserter. He has abandoned his post, disobeyed his orders, and left his comrades vulnerable. Yet, this is exactly the delusion of those who claim they can be faithful Christians while willfully abandoning the local church.
Listen my friends, the concept of a "solitary Christian" who rejects the local congregation is entirely foreign to the New Testament. When Jesus shed His blood, He did not do so to purchase a scattered group of disconnected individuals, but to redeem His Church (Acts 20:28). To claim you love the King while rejecting His Kingdom, or that you love Christ while refusing to associate with His Bride, is a dangerous spiritual delusion.
Hebrews 10:25 does not offer a polite suggestion; it issues a direct, binding command "not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together." To willfully and permanently withdraw from the assembly is to live in active, ongoing disobedience to God's word, cutting oneself off from the very body Christ promises to save (Ephesians 5:23).
Furthermore, the New Testament establishes a strict pattern of local church organization, oversight, and accountability that cannot exist in isolation. God ordained qualified elders to shepherd the flock and watch over souls, and He commanded believers to submit to their leadership (Hebrews 13:17). A Christian who refuses to join a local congregation is actively refusing to submit to the spiritual authority God put in place for their protection. To reject the local church is to reject God’s design for your own spiritual survival.
With love,
Dr. Manuel B. Johnican Sr.