I get a weekly letter from a man who works with a lot of people who have begun looking to meetings in their home rather than getting everything they need from traditional church.  Here is a very interesting except and I believe it ties in really well with what is missing in today's christianity.
 
 

Among the qualities you'll find in the early church is that individuals cherished the presence of the Lord as seen in: His presence in other believers they were in relationship and community with, His presence manifest in their giving to one another as God's hands on earth to meet material needs, His presence seen in miracles performed by people they were in relationship with, His presence as others taught the Word, and as seen in the sharing about Christ the other living temples expressed during their home based meetings.

The early church realized the amazing truth that Christ lives in each believer rather than a building, making each believer a living temple of God. They loved His presence in each other, so they met in homes for God Himself established the home and family, and while maintaining their own homes they lived in a sense of community and family with people of faith. Their meetings were informal, in home, marked by the presence of God in worship, teaching and sharing, prayer, and the meetings of practical needs through fellow disciples.

The presence of God in their lives was first and foremost. They were dependent on His presence as manifest through other believers with whom they were in relationship.

Evidence you are a Christian

If you were arrested today for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Would they use church attendance as evidence? Not likely for people of all beliefs go to buildings called temples and churches, so church attendance isn't evidence you are a Christian any more than going to a health club makes you a professional athlete.

Would they dig into your financial records to look at your giving? Statistics show non-believers give as much as believers to charities and churches, so that wouldn't qualify as evidence. Would they take your word that you believe in Jesus? Maybe, but is that Jesus the prophet like Muslims believe? Or is it Jesus the historical figure? A decent 1st year law school student could tear that apart in a second.

The pattern down through 2,000 years of history is that authorities use the testimonies of other people to prove people are Christians. Not their attendance, not their giving, not just their admission of faith, but they use the testimonies of people once in fellowship with the accused to seal the conviction.

The Virtual Christian

Traditional church teaches righteousness, and that is good. However, though righteousness comes through faith in Christ, it is proven only within relationships. That is why authorities through the ages have used the testimonies of those who know the person to convict, because a true disciple of Jesus will be in relationship and fellowship with other believers, even if some end up betraying them.

If you remove relationships with other disciples from a person's life, you end up with a person who says they are a Christian, but there is no evidence. You have, the Virtual Christian. I've sampled some definitions on the word 'virtual' below:

From thefreedictionary.com and answers.com

1) Existing or resulting in essence or effect though not in actual fact, form, or name.

2) Existing in the mind, especially as a product of the imagination.

3) Computer science created, simulated, or carried on by means of a computer or computer network.

From Bing.com

1) Being something in practice; being something in effect even if not in reality or not conforming to the generally accepted definition of the term.

2) Generated by computer; simulated by a computer for reasons of economic, convenience, or performance.

3) Hypothetical; describes a particle whose existence is suggested to explain observed phenomena, but is not proven or directly observable.

As I said; chapter and verse in one column, our Churchianity culture in another

When I was first born again, we knew who the genuine disciples of Jesus were because together we sought the presence of God - among our home based meetings, in our relationships with one another as we worked through difficulties, in our own lives - all ideas, thoughts, and habits bowed their knee to the Presence of the Lord, for we wouldn't let anything come between Him in us, and us.