Most of the world approaches God with an attitude of bitter contempt. To many, He’s just not fair and, you know what, they’re absolutely right.

When the question regarding church practice was brought up, there were only four requests that the Jerusalem church laid upon the Gentile believers. Of all the issues they could have addressed, they chose four that touched on diet and relationships. There was no mention of consistent tithing, church attendance, church membership, appropriate “spiritual covering,” or signed statements of faith.

When I talk to people about my experience leaving the institutional church, most people falsely assume that it involves a religious-flavored version of anarchy. Images of wandering individuals and purposeless gatherings flicker through my mind. They assume that I am living “life without walls.” Truth be told, leaving the institutional church does not require a departure from order.

Viral Christianity,” if it’s to spread effectively will want to be as small, as simple as possible. Including blueprints for buildings, reproducing twenty-page constitutions, and requiring four years of grad school to train a leader before you can start is not simple, and simply ineffective. I am not saying those things are inherently bad. I am saying that if you require them or rely on them, you’ll never go viral.