I Don't Like Church... thoughts?

[joeb]

I don't want anyone to take the following as if it is an attack on them, because it isn't. It's my experience.

What I've found in my spiritual ups and downs over the decades is that when I'm in a down cycle church is much less enticing to me. On my spiritual highs I very much love going to church. I cannot wait for Sabbath to come around so I can be around those who believe in God and can share what I've learned/experienced that week. Also, my spiritual highs and lows correspond a lot to how much I am witnessing for God. I can turn the cycle from a low to a high by beginning to witness for Him to those who don't know Him.

In my experience when I start asking God to use me, He does. He puts me in situations where I can't help but witness for Him. God is a God of miracles.

[LifeHiscost]

I don't want anyone to take the following as if it is an attack on them, because it isn't. It's my experience.

What I've found in my spiritual ups and downs over the decades is that when I'm in a down cycle church is much less enticing to me. On my spiritual highs I very much love going to church. I cannot wait for Sabbath to come around so I can be around those who believe in God and can share what I've learned/experienced that week. Also, my spiritual highs and lows correspond a lot to how much I am witnessing for God. I can turn the cycle from a low to a high by beginning to witness for Him to those who don't know Him.

In my experience when I start asking God to use me, He does. He puts me in situations where I can't help but witness for Him. God is a God of miracles.

Hope you had a !

God cares!

[RonP]

I don't think God likes the church either!

Have you read Ezekiel 16? Especially the last part of the chapter!

But don't miss who are the parents of it!

[olger]

If a person's heart is 'locked,' going to church only frustrates them.

[Naomi]

Agree

[JoeMo]

Quote:

can we find diversity in human acceptance when the instruction seems to define explicitly the parameters of the action that should be taken?

My experience is that the instructions don't seem that explicit. If by "explicit", you mean "clear", why are there so many Christian sects (or Muslim sects or Hindu sects, for that matter). What may be clear to you may not be all that clear to me; and vice versa. IMO, my "liberal" theology is totally Bible-based in the contextual sense; yet it runs against the grain of many; even here on CA. Yet, in my 60+ years , I have traversed the spectrum of total legalist Christian to an agnostic Bohemian - more than once. My answer to your question is another question from my perspective:

Can we learn to appreciate and accept human diversity, since the instruction is not sufficiently compelling to elicit universal agreement?

Don't get me wrong - I am a sold-out born again Christian. But it is because I choose to believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior by faith; not because the explicit evidence of the "fact" of Christianity is so compelling as to force me to come to no other conclusion. My personal experience confirms my faith. Jesus is the One! But that doesn't mean that I dismiss everyone else's experiences (or lack thereof) as deception, evil, or wrong. I truly appreciate the diversity of individual spirituality within and outside of Christianity.

[cricket]

And sometimes, when a person's heart is open to the word of God, the moving of the Holy Spirit and the agape love of fellow believers, going to church only frustrates them.

[CoAspen]

Quote:

But it is because I choose to believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior by faith; not because the explicit evidence of the "fact" of Christianity is so compelling as to force me to come to no other conclusion. My personal experience confirms my faith.

That is what can be scary to so many people. We want and demand proof. I think God want us to believe because we have an experience with Hm and must rely on faith. I think God sees us as having an 'aha!" moment when we get to that point. I believe He purposely left out the hows and whens of His creative process so we believe and follow with out proof. We make a choice! Perhaps Satan could still have come back and accused God of not being truthful to the universe if we had all of the answers written down in black and white, there by being forced to believe because of no alternative. Where would have been the choice?

Opps, not exactly about liking or not liking church!

I do 'like' church, for various reasons, but whether or not I attend has nothing to do with like or not like...for me. There, on topic!!

[LifeHiscost]

Quote:

I do 'like' church, for various reasons, but whether or not I attend has nothing to do with like or not like...for me. There, on topic!!

I like church because the big black book I carry there helps me understand why church is.

"...not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."Hebrews 10:25 NASB

"From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way."Psalm 119:104 NASB

God cares!

[Neil D]

My relationship with God feels more strained than strengthened by going.

I’ve yet to participate in a Protestant communion. One attempt landed me a shaky mess in that nursery hallway. A foundational sacrament of our faith paralyzes me, but I cry reading to my son from his Bible storybook. I choke on phrases like “I’m trusting God,” or “I’ll be praying for you.”

I’m often angry at God and some days I hardly pray. The last time someone asked me “how are you?” I almost resorted to a bitter, “You don’t want to know.”

Still, I keep going to church.

I’ve had to learn, there are some things I’ll never understand about God, the Bible, and Christians.

I’m now challenging myself to mature my faith in an imperfect situation. I am loving God in the confusion. Going to church is not about getting what I want or hearing what I agree with. God uses committed, honest people to make church what it needs to be: a haven of healing and hope.

We do it imperfectly, but we are the ones with a chance to get it somewhat right. That means I attend church.

Have you ever felt uncomfortable in church? Did you stay or leave?

This sounds like a relationship problem....

The Cross of Christ is nailed to the Son of God. His arms are open wide....

From this person's perspective, our perspectives needs to focus upon the vertical relationship...those moments that are between God and ourselves...and this IS true...we do need to do that...This verticle relationship should help us to ease our anger, put it away, and ease our confusion...not always possible, but it does allow for our trust to increase. It does allow our faith to grow, and to have an intimate relationship with him, sharing our most intimate secrets with God....

And there is, symbolized by the open arms, that horizontal relationship...that inclusive being one with the fellowship...the church....it is our practicing grounds, where we are allowed to practice our new behaviors...allowing for bad days and good ones...

But there is a two way relationship that is not mentioned nearly enough....The church's responsibilities to the individuals...The church is admonished to seek those who are lost...those who wonder...The church is NOT admonished to go after those who deliberately run away from the Church, as God alone needs to deal with these people....And He does....But to the churches' part of this relationship, people are to befriend people within the church.....trust them, strengthen their faith, love them when they need love, and give them hope....

Just my $0.02 worth of wisdom....not counting for inflation...

[Gail]

One friend would do it, I think. One godly, caring friend.

[M. T. Cross]

There must be some happy medium

As I stated earlier, I do not like and am very wary of denominational organized religion.

But with that said, there is something to be said for fellowship.

One of my Gwyddon teachers once told me something. He said " A hermit can live in solitude in a cave and learn all the secrets in the universe. He can learn of Gods, he can uncover every mystery. But in the end he is still a hermit in a cave and without other to share knowledge with, it is meaningless. He is just a madman living in a cave"

[Neil D]

One friend would do it, I think. One godly, caring friend.

As much as I want to agree with this, statistics show it takes more to keep a person in a church....I think the number is 7....Seven people who know you or is known by you is what keeps the newbie in church...

[joeb]

I am glad that the author resolved to learn something from her current experience. God doesn't waste anything... the pain she is enduring today may give her a ministry once she's through this time.

I do wish, though, that I knew of a way to include better those who feel isolated.

Yes, people can reject other people, but I think most often it's something from within us that makes us feel isolated. How often do you see bubbly, out-going, happy-go-lucky people feeling isolated? I can't say I've seen it happen very often. I'd say someone with that temperament rarely, if ever, feels isolated.

On the other hand, I know several introverted wall-flowers that often feel isolated. I've known people that feel isolated in the middle of a room full of people.

The Bible tells us that for a man to have friends he must show himself to be friendly. I can relate this to my wife. She's an introverted wall-flower who can feel isolated in the middle of a room full of people. She's so shy she acts almost unfriendly at times, but yet she's not. She's about as loving a person as you'll ever meet, but her shyness really isolates her at times.

She will see people she went to high school with, and was friends with years ago, yet she won't go up and say hi to them as it causes her anxiety. She'll wait to see if they notice her, and if they don't she'll go away feeling badly.

I wonder how often something like this is the cause of many people's isolation.

[Ted Oplinger]

Originally Posted By: Gail

I am glad that the author resolved to learn something from her current experience. God doesn't waste anything... the pain she is enduring today may give her a ministry once she's through this time.

I do wish, though, that I knew of a way to include better those who feel isolated.

Yes, people can reject other people, but I think most often it's something from within us that makes us feel isolated. How often do you see bubbly, out-going, happy-go-lucky people feeling isolated? I can't say I've seen it happen very often. I'd say someone with that temperament rarely, if ever, feels isolated.

On the other hand, I know several introverted wall-flowers that often feel isolated. I've known people that feel isolated in the middle of a room full of people.

The Bible tells us that for a man to have friends he must show himself to be friendly. I can relate this to my wife. She's an introverted wall-flower who can feel isolated in the middle of a room full of people. She's so shy she acts almost unfriendly at times, but yet she's not. She's about as loving a person as you'll ever meet, but her shyness really isolates her at times.

She will see people she went to high school with, and was friends with years ago, yet she won't go up and say hi to them as it causes her anxiety. She'll wait to see if they notice her, and if they don't she'll go away feeling badly.

I wonder how often something like this is the cause of many people's isolation.

I suspect it is much more prevalent than we think or like to admit.

There are times when I just don't feel like socializing, though I wouldn't turn down someone who wanted to with me - and yes, then end result can be like being in isolation in a room full of people. Yet this situation is rather common these days - wanting a little "social down time" in the midst of a group of people

I have also seen it where the bubbly, out-going congregate together, leaving the non-socializers to "socialize" together...and lots of people wind up barely socializing at all.

Place an introverted visiting person or new member into those situations, and I can understand why they would come away with a negative view of service/potluck that day.

Blessings,