I think God can be experienced in lots of ways that don't involve singing and sermons. If you feel called to it, worshipping can look a lot like service. Sometimes it can look a lot like coaching and supporting a baseball team of a bunch kids who wouldn't be able to afford to play, otherwise. Or it can look a lot like spending time with someone who needs a friend. Or it can look a lot like countless other things that involve giving of yourself to someone else and then in the end finding out that it was you who was being ministered to the whole time.
You should go to the church my wife and I went to last Sunday. They couldn't have had more than twenty people there, and my wife and I were the youngest ones by at least forty years. I enjoy the sermons at church as long as they're delivered by someone I like, but I can't get into all the standing and singing and stuff. It just doesn't appeal to me (even when they try to make it more "hip" and add a guy with an electric guitar), so I tend to find religious fellowship in other ways. I did like the church I went to in Connecticut, though. It was a small church that had an uncommonly large number of 60s burnouts. It was far less structured than a lot of churches tend to be.
Lan lines are still more secure. My God's still a rotary phone dial away . . Actually I stopped going years ago and gave up on it. Last time I went a friend invited me to her 7th Day Adventist church. I opened up my angry college guy mouth about how I dont recognize the sabbath being on a Saturday...Shoulda kept quiet, that girl was solid long term prospect... (Which is the only way I'll go back, using it as a marriage market )
We go every Sunday at 10, unless we are out of town. This is my time with God and its my family time besides dinners or outings with the kids. They know this. Its great.
I was the exact same growing up. So now..I've gotten in to a church that is the complete opposite of the evangelical services I went to as a kid. I go to a Lutheran church and LOVE it. Nonbelievers love to Lump all churches together as being hypocritical and judgmental...but when you finally find the RIGHT church for you, its like you're experiencing church for the first time. Its completely different than just "going' to church. You just have to search for the Right Church for you, otherwise you'll never be happy with Church.
I understand your point but there are lots of charitable hands on activities that Catholic churches do. Mission to Mexico to provide clothing, hygiene accessories, food, and toys for families that are less fortunate. Community service of all forms for the homeless, handicapped, and mentally ill. I've personally had someone make a trip to my house when I was too ill to receive communion for a number of months, and I know this routine is not a rare occurrence. The reality is yes, its up to the community to be as involved as possible for a parish to prosper, and whether its from a large parish or small parish is irrelevant. It's not so much the church trying to make a sales pitch for more involvement so much as delivering a message welcoming everyone to do a charitable act for their fellow man. Some parishes deliver that message better than others. Really though I don't think you necessarily need to do charitable activities through the church in order to live a Christian life. I know atheists who do well in helping others that is the epitome of a Christian walk of life even if they define it a selfless act absent of religious affiliation. It's the deed that counts, and I think that's all Christ really wants, since that is living Christ like more than any donation to the church or exterior devotion to the parish. Both should go hand in hand, but I think a good person is a good person regardless of religious ideology or lack thereof is what I'm getting at, and whatever pulls you in to live a selfless life in helping others is fine by me.
Growing up, my parents never took me and/or introduced me to church so I am pretty much agnostic. My wife, was a devote catholic growing up and went to a Christian school her whole life. My son goes to Rosehill Christian Academy, so hopefully, he'll get the experience that I didn't and came make up his own mind about how he feels about religion/God/etc. After we had our son, we started going to Community of Faith on 290. Way too over the top for me. Now we go to a Lutheran Church here in Tomball. We really enjoy it. Even though I am agnostic, i still take quite a bit away from the sermon and the music.
I quit going to church at age 12. I started up again at age 36-- on the verge of a divorce. Now at age 54, I go every week. As others have said, find a community of people that excite you. Get involved; don't just go sit in a worship service. As Billy Sunday said, "Sitting in a church building won't make you any more of a Christian than sitting in a garage will make you a car." Church took on a Life when I got more involved with the people and the outreach. My wife and I do Sunday School (with the church renegades). We volunteer a week every summer for Vacation Bible School. We do a Friday night meal at the Urban Ministry 3-4 times a year. I help my wife with the children's choir on Sunday evening. We do the Children's Moment every fifth Sunday. I'm the new head of the Family Ministries committee. Mrs. Giddyup teaches first grade Sunday School every other month. I also meet with a group of men from different churches weekly to explore our lives as Christian men and to do service in the community. What I love about a life of faith is the mystery and majesty moreso than certainty.
I just started going to bible study every week last summer. My gf encouraged me to. I went every now and then to service but never had bible study. This church I'm going to just started to crack down on sermons. IE make them more hardcore and irrelevant to modern times. It makes it hard to stay awake or pay attention. The pastor even criticizes Joel Osteen for being too people oriented which I don't really understand. They put a heavy emphasis on "you are either with Jesus and have to study about him every chance you get or your not a real Christian" kind of style. Now the sermons have nothing to do with our lives but what happened to Paul in 300 AD or whatever. Is this the best way to preach to people?? Sorry for getting off topic.
to each his own. i like learning about paul, personally...and church history, generally. but everything else you said about thechurch absolutely freaks me out.
I grew up in an Assembly of God church were everything was shoved down my throat. After my years of rebellion, I've decided that it's time that I gt back in church, but I need a church that I actually enjoy and believe in. My GF wants to find a church, but is in love with the church she attended in college (UBC in Waco) and hasn't liked any of the churches we've tried so far. Does anyone have any recommendations for the Clear Lake area?
Drive in to town and go to Ecclesia. The guy who founded UBC was a close friend of mine in college and he's the founder of Ecclesia as well. www.ecclesiahouston.org
Thanks, I'll definitely tell her about it. I've been to UBC once, and know very little about it. Does the guy who founded UBC still participate at Ecclesia.
yeah, he's the pastor. chris seay. a big houston sports fan, too! at baylor, we had to go to pappa rollo's to watch the rockets on satellite because they didn't show anything but mavs games up there. that, and we played an assload of NBA Jams at Pizza Hut. http://youtube.com/watch?v=tZKLan6ea0s
Thanks MadMax! I'll be shocked if we're not at Eccelesia this Sunday. We've both talked about getting back into church, but she hasn't like the churches we've attended. Hopefully this will be the answer we've been looking for.
