What Do You Do?

[Gerioke]

Perhaps there was an individual who needed your encouragement or prayers. When God leads us somewhere, I would assume it was either for our benefit or some other individual.

[wyguy]

What do you do?

Take pictures and blackmail them all on Monday?

[2Joyful]

I would worship God as I have always done, yet in the mist of it all truthfully tell Him that I'm completely confused, and need His help through the Holy Ghost to point out why was I directed to enter this church with this type of worship.

I believe sometimes God allow us to enter into places of worship thats so different to what we are use to ... just to see if in the mist of it all..do we really worship Him in Spirit and truth. Or do we sit back, and see things through our own eyes, when He truly is trying to show us through His.

Sometimes, the church I attend is invited to churches thats some have shared in this thread. They just stand, singing the songs off the screen...on the other hand, I'm use to rising my hands, giving a shout of I love You Lord from time to time. Now I could say those folks are dead and..how can you sing to the Lord like that and feel nothing?..or else raise my hand and send out a praise as I usually do.

I will raise my hands and praise Him..now if someone there would say....I'm wrong or out of order or we don't do that...I would quietly leave with no hard feelings. After all..I was just worshiping Him in Spirit and truth and if they had looked through the eyes of God, it would clearly have been seen.

2J

[refugepsa91]

Been there done that also. Ummm 'fraid I jumped over the person twitching and screeching on the floor next to me straight out the door to the nearest pay phone and called my dad to come and get me. I was young. My flee instinct took over.

Now, I just don't know what I would do...probably start CPR or something if I saw what I saw back then...

[georgedrw81]

We see them strange because it is not the way we got introduced to the first church. The first introduction is the one that remains with us. We may have changed church but everytime we pass in front of the former then nostalgia comes in and the urge to re-join is very strong. Sometimes we stay whilst other we do not.

Blessings

[Isaiah 6:8]

For me it would depend on a few things.

If you are in a foreign country (non-Western), how much of what they are doing is their cultural expression?

The other thing, for me, is a spiritual discernment issue. I can "feel" atmospheres. I've been to a few churches where everything was fine from normal perspectives, but something was just crawling in my spirit. So if at the church in question, I would be seeking that perspective out.

But in such a situation, there are some options. Like man suggested, sit back and observe. Like Botz suggested, communicate with the Lord about it.

Just remember that "greater is He who is in you," so you don't need to be afraid in any sense of the word. Thus, if you do decide to leave, you can walk out boldly, rather than running out of there as if chased by hornets.

I agree with Nebula. If in a foreign country, it can be a matter of cultural expression too. I lived in Bogota, Colombia for 4 and a half years and in the church I went to, the praise and worship part of the service is always lively and festive, especially when they sing praise songs. They clap, they sing, they dance, they jump. But you can really feel the Holy Spirit moving. It was awesome!

I come to South Africa and attend church and compared to what I had gotten used to in South America, the people here are at the other end of the pole. They don't even clap, they just stand there and stare at the screen as they sing. They are pretty stiff (sorry Fez ). But then I got the opportunity to attend a prayer meeting in a black community, wow, they are as festive as the Colombians when they do their praise and worship. They can sing three words (Thank you Jesus) over and over again in a way that can give you goosebumps.

I have also attended a few churches in the USA when I visited friends. In the Calvary Church I went to, the people also just stand and stare at the screen, more like in our church here.

I come from the Philippines and there, people are also very expressive when they have their praise and worship, but not as expressive as the Colombians but more expressive than the South Africans I have seen.

I also had the chance to visit churches in South Korea. Depending on the church, some churches did only hymns so it was very serious. But we went to more modern churches, and they were very expressive in their worship as well.

So to answer your question, do not depend on outward appearances, but pray for discernment.

Blessings...South

I agree with South. I have been all over the planet seen a lot and been in a lot. I think it depends on your discernment more then anything else!

[enoob57]

What do you do?

Take pictures and blackmail them all on Monday?

would you use color OR black and white?

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies.

And the answer is: I left.

I have no idea why I felt led to that church that particular morning, or what purpose it served. Maybe I'll find out in glory. I always sit in the back near a door when visiting new churches because you never really know what to expect and its nice to have an unobtrusive escape route just in case. The sense I had at the time was that it was time to go, and I went. The God I know is a God of order, and there are plenty of examples of worship in Scripture. When real, genuine worship of our God is going on, the hair on the back of my neck and arms never stands on end. God is not "creepy", which is the only description I can come up with for the feeling I had at that moment.

[Botz]

Thanks for the replies.

And the answer is: I left.

I have no idea why I felt led to that church that particular morning, or what purpose it served. Maybe I'll find out in glory. I always sit in the back near a door when visiting new churches because you never really know what to expect and its nice to have an unobtrusive escape route just in case. The sense I had at the time was that it was time to go, and I went. The God I know is a God of order, and there are plenty of examples of worship in Scripture. When real, genuine worship of our God is going on, the hair on the back of my neck and arms never stands on end. God is not "creepy", which is the only description I can come up with for the feeling I had at that moment.

Hmmm...maybe if you had gritted your teeth and stayed it would have become apparent why the L-rd led you there, and you wouldn't have such a long wait to find out why. It seems odd that on the one hand He would prompt you to visit the place, and then after an apparently short while prompt you to leave again....sounds like mixed messages...in other words you were not hearing right.

[Guest]

Hmmm...maybe if you had gritted your teeth and stayed it would have become apparent why the L-rd led you there, and you wouldn't have such a long wait to find out why. It seems odd that on the one hand He would prompt you to visit the place, and then after an apparently short while prompt you to leave again....sounds like mixed messages...in other words you were not hearing right.

Could have been the enemy messing with my head, too. I have no idea, and its never been that big an issue for me since it was over 20 years ago. Just wondering how others might have reacted to a similar situation.