Spiritual but not religious

It’s not trendy or politically correct to say this, but I am religious, not spiritual.  I am a Christian; Jesus Christ is the head of the church, not me, not my inner thoughts, energy source, feelings, body contortions, and no other guru who is a flash in the pan with a webpage.  I’ve always been a bit puzzled by those who claim more personal wisdom than a 5th century Pope or a 16th century reformer, or even their own local church government, given how far removed they are from the founders’ work.   Even Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament to provide a structure for the church Jesus established 2,000 years ago, didn’t rely on his own personal experience.  He had many years of being taught and grounded in the Scriptures of the Jews, and after his experience of meeting the living Christ after his resurrection, he spent a lot of time in training with the disciples who worked with Jesus during his ministry on earth and who already had a “church structure”  of meeting together for prayer, sharing bread, evangelizing and service. When the Holy Spirit revealed something to him to pass along, he had some depth and learning to test it.  The New Testament is full of lists to define various appointments, gifts, personality characteristics of leaders and roles in the church—Romans 12:-6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11, Acts 6, 1 Timothy 5:17, Titus 1:7-9, Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:2, 1 Peter 5:1-5, etc.  In fact, other than the topic of hell, there are few topics as well covered as how to structure the church, so religion must be important to Jesus.