awomanafterHim Posted June 24, 2011 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 6 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 25 Content Per Day: 0.01 Reputation: 2 Days Won: 0 Joined: 05/30/2011 Status: Offline Birthday: 08/22/1976 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Well I thank God for the holy spirit because the church I attend has helped me become more spiritually mature but by attending I've had a much greater desire to know my Lord because my leaders really Do have fire in their preaching and they really want u to be all u can be for christ; yes there is a lot of controversy about my church but I know what the holy spirit does there; I was a unbeliever in fact I was a atheist for a short while but God brought me back home because many are called but few r chosen and I'm sooooooo privileged that God decided to love me again but this time I'm staying I told the Lord it is me and u now forever and I'm not letting no one or nothing come between me and jesus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodetoad Posted June 24, 2011 Group: Junior Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 8 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 86 Content Per Day: 0.02 Reputation: 4 Days Won: 0 Joined: 05/14/2011 Status: Offline Birthday: 02/06/1953 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Kind of reminds me of the Tea Party, of the way people felt their political parties had left them behind, and they had to get out and do ~something~. At first people felt isolated and worried nobody else felt like they did, politically. Seems like denominations are going off in weird directions, too. Mine is leaving me... Where I live, church is where I go to find people who even believe in God at all. In society it seems almost like faith has become a dirty word, not mentioned in public. It is rejected and despised, not in a way that gives it importance, but like something insignificant and useless, old-fashioned. I think this is the successful result of years of effort by people against faith and religion. Pastors tell us to evangelize, but the response I usually get is a sneer and a suspicious look. So I relate to what Neb's friend said, but wonder how to go about it. Revivals and tent meetings are not a 'fresh revelation' that unbelievers will unknowingly wander into. As individuals, the faith in our hearts is vital and alive, but 'church' is a group. Sometimes I wonder if the organization needed to function doesn't limit it in the long run. Looked up 'church': 1) the building, 2) a denomination, 3) institutionalized religion as a whole, 4) the body of all Christians. I think it would be easier to invite an acquaintance to a home group or small group than to 'church'. Remember the old word "happening"? Neb's friend is looking for a happening, maybe we all are. Not sure you find them by searching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted June 24, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.75 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.94 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 Good word, jodetoad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldzimm Posted June 25, 2011 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 85 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 1,874 Content Per Day: 0.34 Reputation: 348 Days Won: 12 Joined: 03/10/2009 Status: Offline Birthday: 07/08/1955 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Hey, I'm pretty new here. As someone about to end their high school career and start their own path, I wonder what church i will become a part of. Right now, I am happy with the church I attend, but recently I feel it being the setting of a spiritual battlefield. And it is this that makes me feel like my church is hardly a church anymore... My pastor has just announced he is leaving and taking a job not even in ministry. This is mostly due to church elders who did not agree with his teachings and were very hard on him. My friends and their families are quite distraught in their faith in our church, and I feel exhausted trying to keep encouraging them to have hope. I guess I needed to vent a little, but I would appreciate your prayers for my church, pastor, and fellow sibling in Christ. Congratulations Amy, on finishing high school and may God guide you on your new path. I really think it is wonderful that you are concerned what Church you want to attend for your continued Christian growth. Unfortunately most teens at this stage in your life do not have this same concern, their Christian growth is the last thing on their mind and that is when (in my opinion) most souls get lost. What I really find interesting in your post is your minister. There is nothing really wrong with a minster leaving the pulpit, BUT ( yes there is a "but") whatever line of work he will precede to, he will always be a minster and it is still his calling to bring lost souls back to Christ. Just because a person doesn't stand behind the pulpit anymore, doesn't mean he no longer stops spreading the word of God. I read one time that "once a minister, always a minister", not sure but I think I read that in the Bible, maybe Brother Joe can help us out on that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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