When Christians Quit Church

[beanieboy]

There is a great book called Qutting Religion without quitting God.

And while he leaves the church, he still meets with friends on Sunday Evenings and worships.
And he makes great points. For example, Jesus didn't spend every Saturday going to Temple, and the building is not what makes the church.

 

[Servo]

One question I have for you is why is it so important to you that the people you worship with are in 100% agreement with you doctrinally? Could you not fellowship with folks who are not Acts 9 disps. Or even with non-dispensationalists altogether? I have had some very warm fellowship with people who hold pretty different doctrinal stands than I do. Yet, in the end we are trusting the same Lord and Saviour. Sometimes I think we all (me included) look too much for conformity. Perhaps the Holy Spirit uses the differences to knock off the rough edges on all of us. What do you think?

Church should be sanctuary. We go there to recharge our batteries and build each other up. When going to church becomes about debate, it has the opposite effect. The whole agreeing to disagree thing does not work for me. We are in the battle all week long with the world. I need one place where I can go and NOT debate and just regain my strength and learn from a pastor who knows more than I do.

 

[Crow]

Church should be sanctuary. We go there to recharge our batteries and build each other up. When going to church becomes about debate, it has the opposite effect. The whole agreeing to disagree thing does not work for me. We are in the battle all week long with the world. I need one place where I can go and NOT debate and just regain my strength and learn from a pastor who knows more than I do.

I can live with agreeing to disagree on some issues. I could fellowship with Nori and Aimiel easily despite the fact that we disagree on some issues.

But I need to learn from a pastor who is rock solid scripturally based in his teachings. I don't want to listen to a sermon on how Christians have a duty to tithe, for example, then go into scriptures and see that this was a requirement for Jews, not Christians.

 

[Servo]

I can live with agreeing to disagree on some issues. I could fellowship with Nori and Aimiel easily despite the fact that we disagree on some issues.

But I need to learn from a pastor who is rock solid iscripturally based n his teachings. I don't want to listen to a sermon on how Christians have a duty to tithe, for example, then go into scriptures and see that this was a requirement for Jews, not Christians.

I look for consistency from the pastor, that is what I am most concerned about. On some minor issues with other believers, if we disagree, that would not really bother me too much. But I would hope that I and the other believers would be open to correction if any of us is wrong. Looking at the principles of our beliefs and staying consistent.

 

[Everglaze]

I never liked church...

No matter how much I tried to fit in, I couldn't.

Fellowship isn't just going to church and singing a few hymns together and listening to the pastor, then coming home.

Fellowship should be accountability, helping each other grow spiritually and discussing God together. I get none of that and I can't find a building where that's available either (also having to worry about whether they are biblically sound or not at the same time). I hate having to travel halfway across the city to find a place that supposedly has that.

In fact, I get more fellowship and help Online...

 

[Chileice]

I never liked church...

No matter how much I tried to fit in, I couldn't.

Fellowship isn't just going to church and singing a few hymns together and listening to the pastor, then coming home.

Fellowship should be accountability, helping each other grow spiritually and discussing God together. I get none of that and I can't find a building where that's available either (also having to worry about whether they are biblically sound or not at the same time). I hate having to travel halfway across the city to find a place that supposedly has that.

In fact, I get more fellowship and help Online...

I'm glad you get what you need online, but isn't that a bit sad? I learned a poem once that goes like this:To live above with saints we love,
that will be bliss and glory.
To live below with saints we know,
now that's a different story!

I do think that if Christ is living in us we should be able to have accountability and the trust ¡needed to grow. Not always to be comfortable, but to grow. It seems that REAL (non-cyber) interaction is where we put what we say we believe to the test. I enjoy TOL. I am here more than I should be., probably. But this is not the real world. We can project ourselves as we wish to some degree and people interpret us as they choose. There is no need to compromise or even be polite in a forum like this. In the real world we have to treat one another the way we really want to be treated. That is why, in spite of the many real and perceived deficiencies of the church, it is still a place we should gather for worship, grow in our faith and prepare for the struggle of life.

What impedes us from doing in real life what we do in cyber-space? Maybe we should be working to erradicate the barriers that prevent true fellowship (not just pot-lucks but real caring, sharing and nurturing).

 

[Everglaze]

I'm glad you get what you need online, but isn't that a bit sad? I learned a poem once that goes like this:To live above with saints we love,
that will be bliss and glory.
To live below with saints we know,
now that's a different story!

I do think that if Christ is living in us we should be able to have accountability and the trust ¡needed to grow. Not always to be comfortable, but to grow. It seems that REAL (non-cyber) interaction is where we put what we say we believe to the test. I enjoy TOL. I am here more than I should be., probably. But this is not the real world. We can project ourselves as we wish to some degree and people interpret us as they choose. There is no need to compromise or even be polite in a forum like this. In the real world we have to treat one another the way we really want to be treated. That is why, in spite of the many real and perceived deficiencies of the church, it is still a place we should gather for worship, grow in our faith and prepare for the struggle of life.

What impedes us from doing in real life what we do in cyber-space? Maybe we should be working to erradicate the barriers that prevent true fellowship (not just pot-lucks but real caring, sharing and nurturing).

Yeah, but check this out. If Christians don't act like Christians Online, what makes you think they really are Christians Offline? A Christian should act like one both On or Offline...

Funny thing is, I haven't found the same type of fellowship as a lot of these people so I really don't know. What I do know is that, those who I have met online have been much better help and were more caring.

It IS sad, yes...but that's how it has turned out to be for some people. How am I supposed to connect with Christians in the real world when I'm starting to believe they don't even exist locally? Everywhere I look (locally), there's only a minority in some areas...that's it. I don't find large groups of Christians walking down the street everyday or hanging out even. The only place I can even go to look for Christians are the churches and I don't even trust the churches.

 

[Chileice]

Yeah, but check this out. If Christians don't act like Christians Online, what makes you think they really are Christians Offline? A Christian should act like one both On or Offline...

Funny thing is, I haven't found the same type of fellowship as a lot of these people so I really don't know. What I do know is that, those who I have met online have been much better help and were more caring.

It IS sad, yes...but that's how it has turned out to be for some people. How am I supposed to connect with Christians in the real world when I'm starting to believe they don't even exist locally? Everywhere I look (locally), there's only a minority in some areas...that's it. I don't find large groups of Christians walking down the street everyday or hanging out even. The only place I can even go to look for Christians are the churches and I don't even trust the churches.

Maybe if you don't trust them, you could start out by checking them out online. Many churches now have webpages that keep people up with what their church is about. It's a possibility anyway.

 

[God_Is_Truth]

in regards to the OP, i sort of have the same problem up here at college, but not as bad. i dont' go to church here on saturday or sunday, but do go to the college ministry on thursday nights, which is equivalent. at home however, i enjoy going on saturday nights. the message never seems to be just something to entertain us, nor does the music come off that way.

just the other week, we participated in communion in a different way than normal in that we had each person be served by another and then serve another person themselves. it was also a time where people could get together and pray for one another or simply give encouragement.

my church focuses heavily on small groups (nearly everyone is involved in one) which i also believe is a very helpful thing especially in a larger church (over 1000). i do have a small group up here at college, which is beneficial as well.

so while i'm sure my church at home is not perfect, i think it does do many things right and is striving to grow in God's word and build up the body of believers so they may be fully equipped for the service of God.

 

[Nineveh]

Personally, I had to quit going to a church building to get saved. I was "raised in the faith" so I guess everyone there just assumed that everyone else who warms a pew is saved.

I'll admit, some of the sermons were extremely boring and reduntant. How many times did I need to hear "Jesus loves you..."? I find it much more fulfilling to listen to the context and history with the Scriptures presented than just hearing a few verses pulled out of context to fill an hour before lunch on a Sunday morning.

Perhaps part of that was not caring because I wasn't a Christian at the time, and maybe some of it was the feeling of a "dead spirt" in the building itself. I know quite a bit of it had to do with believing being in His Church meant being in a building for an hour or two a week then spending 40 hours a week in public school where nothing from the Sunday before seemd real. It wan't until much later after I was saved that I realized being in the Body was a 24/7 thing

 

[Lighthouse]

I've never thought about it like that, but that's basically been my experience with churches too.


"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Crow again."

I gave her some, in your honor.

 

[Lighthouse]

I think it's about time for me to start the thread I wanted to about why I left the Charismatic belief system behind.

 

[Yorzhik]

I had to leave the church because I found that I could be friends with Calvinists, but they couldn't be friends with me. They get stuck on a set of laws and since I don't follow them, it puts me on their blacklist.

 

[Zimfan]

I think it's about time for me to start the thread I wanted to about why I left the Charismatic belief system behind.

What exactly is the charismatic belief system?

 

[Lighthouse]

Well, I think there will be some excellent explanation of that in my thread, ZImmy. But it's a bit much to post in this thread. I don't want to hijack, unless it's for spam purposes.:chuckle:

 

[Frank Ernest]

Wrong, read the passage, it comes in the course of a discussion of church discipline. If it literally meant that He was with believers when we gather, what does that mean for his omnipressence we believe in? You see God is allready everywhere. The scripture you are butchering though comes in the course of discussion of church discipline, and He is basically saying that if two or three brothers stand correcting a fallen brother, He is there with the correctors.

M't:18:18: Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
M't:18:19: Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
M't:18:20: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Hmmmmm. Seems it ain't me who's doing the Biblical butchery.

Do not forsake the gathering together of the bretheren. (Hebrews) The literally dozens of commands we are given that we can not fulfill unless we are a part of a body. The fact that we are told we are part of a body, but what part of a body is not connected to the body?

Thanks for assuming I'm an idiot. Wanna split a soda?

Well, how about the churches at Phillipi, Galatia, Corrinth, Rome, Thessalonika, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea. How about the fact that this: there are two meanings for the word church, there is the universal church of all believers, and the local body of believers. The word church appears in the NT over 100 times. Only 4 of those times does it reference the church universal, every other time it is directed at a local body of believers.
Want another soda?

That is not church, that is denomination, and that is another issue entirely. The point is we are commanded to be a part of a body of believers, we can not fulfill all the things we are commanded to do unless we are.

Tell me what you just said here. Looks very conflicted.

You are not being faithful to His commands if you are not a part of a body of believers.

:sigh:

 

[Frank Ernest]

I am connected to a body of believers, but I'm not connected to a body that meets every Sunday for 3 hours and Wednesday night for 3 more. The home church meets sporadically as we all work different days and different shifts.

A church, in the sense of the article quoted, is a body of believers. But it is far from the only body of believers and the only way believers assemble.

I've gotten more out of the informal collections of believers that gather to worship and learn and the relationships I've formed with them and with other believers online and with other Christians that I've met by chance and fellowshipped with than I have ever gotten in a formal church setting.

It's sad to say, but in the formal churches I've attended the main goal has been to pay for and maintain a building and grounds, see that the regularly scheduled functions take place in a neat and orderly fashion, and that the choir all has matching robes.

:thumb: :first:

 

[Sold Out]

Currently I am just hungry for a church that is centered on some of the things I believe, but can still challenge me. And where I can challenge others.

As long as a church keeps their focus on reaching the lost for Christ, then other issues are secondary.

I have attended many churches over the years. Most were politically driven, run by the deacons, and going nowhere. They fought over carpet, lightbulbs, pastors, decor...you name. All those things kept them from focusing on what the church is really here for - bring the gospel to the world!!

The church I attend now has one focus - share the gospel, share the gospel, share the gospel....oh and did I say share the gospel? We have seen people saved EVERY SINGLE WEEK since we started 4 yrs ago. The pastor is the head of the church, not the deacons. The deacons are SERVANTS - which is what the greek word for deacon means. We have ministry leaders that handle the business of the church. None of the pastors (head pastor, assoc pastor, youth pastor) have anything to do with the money. They don't know who gives and who doesn't and they don't want to know.

We are not perfect, but we are trying to honor God in the best possible way by sharing the Gospel with every person who steps into the building. No one slips thru the cracks.

I didn't mean to go so long, it's just when you find the RIGHT thing, you can't stop talking about it! Keep looking Lighthouse.....God has a place for you to serve! I will be praying about it, k?

 

[Lighthouse]

I'd like to find a place that believes the gospel to be what I believe it to be.

 

[Frank Ernest]

I recommend finding a place where the Bible is taught as it is, not what some believe it to be.