Guest CathMc Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 My fears of joining a church is that they will call me all the time and that i wont like most th epeople but ill have to be nicce and either go do what they ask me to or avoid them all together and feel bad, thats my fear... If you are in Christ Jesus you are already in a "church" because the church is His body and when we meet as believers there is His church. You aren't a Christian in isolation and the reality of fellowship with other Christians is that some are and some aren't. If you feel guilty, condemned or bad it's because the Holy Spirit has convicted you and the Word of our Lord will affirm you. We are part of the church to build each other up in Christ, not to put each other down and condemn each other. The Lord has forgiven you and has wiped your slate clean, now you need to grow in Him and the church is the place where you learn, grow, serve etc. it's sort of an institution of flawed humanity hopefully faithfully proclaiming the gospel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca2 Posted September 1, 2007 Group: Junior Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 9 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 91 Content Per Day: 0.01 Reputation: 1 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/25/2007 Status: Offline Birthday: 02/22/1958 Share Posted September 1, 2007 (edited) Zol, I did not join a 'church' until I was 47. I didn't really fear joining a 'church' or even being involved with 'church' activities. I just felt no desire to be a member of any particular denomination. That, and I didn't want to join a 'church' that I did not agree with 100%. My parents come from two denominations that have different theologies, practices, and traditions. My father is Roman Catholic. My mother is Nazarene. They rarely attend church together except for weddings, funerals, family events, and holy days. They taught us that denominations or 'churches' are the result of man's interpretation of God's word. We were taught that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We were taught that the only way to have an eternal life with God is by confessing our sins and accepting Christ as our Savior. We were taught that to have a full life walking with God we needed to read the Bible and pray daily and that didn't mean once a day before we nodded off to sleep. After we became young adults (per Jewish tradition), we were allowed to attend different churches. I have two brothers who are Catholic, one brother who is Southern Baptist, and one brother who is Presbyterian. I have attended Catholic churches and Methodist churches. I can recite the rosary and have my own Catechism book. I attended different Nazarene churches where I was a Sunday School teacher and youth worker. I attended different Baptist churches for a few years before joining one. I do not totally agree with Baptist theology, but I resolved that issue. I believe in the essence of what makes the Baptist denomination a part of the Christian church and that is what really matters. When I joined the Baptist church, I was given a card to fill out that gave them a indication of my background, needs, and gifts. I was given an opportunity at that time to indicate just what level of involvement I wanted. I love books and I work in the library cataloging new books. I love to do crafts and I get to work on sets for plays. When I can't help I just tell the project coordinator and it's okay. These are my Christian brothers and sisters. I have no fear in telling them 'no' every now and then. Zol, I hope you find a 'church' home. We need Christian fellowship. Let God be your guide. I'll be praying for you. Edited September 1, 2007 by Rebecca2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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